CES Birding & Conversation field trip: Birds and Wilderness 07/08/26

This special field trip welcomed Will Roush, Executive Director of Wilderness Workshop, as our guest, with a focus on Wilderness and birds. After introductions, we began with birding in the field at the Riverdance property from Express Creek Road, where birds were abundant and very vocal, but quality views were few. It was wonderful to experience the diversity and get a sense of the busy breeding season in this productive patch of riparian willows adjacent to mixed subalpine forest and open meadows. Our first bird was a Swainson’s thrush singing from a distant spruce tree; later it perched on a fence rail for excellent looks at its subtle field marks. We encountered busy families of newly-fledged mountain chickadees and dark-eyed juncos. Various warblers sang from all sides, and we got a fleeting view of a yellow-rumped warbler as it perched briefly in the top of a small spruce tree. From the far side of the spring-fed pond, we watched fox sparrows in the willows, and red-naped sapsuckers and a pine grosbeak in the stand of snags. From this vantage, Will pointed out a parcel of land that is proposed to be added to the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, spanning the slope across the valley above and on either side of Toklat. We reflected on the values of the habitats, quietude, nighttime dark skies, unbroken forests, and so much more that Wilderness preserves in perpetuity. And we started to connect these Wilderness concepts to local birdlife and human history.

As we arrived at Toklat, we enjoyed seeing active nests of American robin and western flycatcher on a beam beneath the terrace roof. Inside, we gathered around a table with tea and lemonade to dive more deeply into Wilderness and the important work of Wilderness Workshop. First, Trevor gave us a brief history of Toklat and the Mace family legacy. Will provided informative history of both the Wilderness Act and Wilderness Workshop, and questions led to conversation around how policy is made and the essential work on the ground that is required to pass Wilderness legislation. Rebecca discussed a handful of bird species for whom Wilderness is especially beneficial to their habitat and life history needs, including the American goshawk which has been seen around Toklat in the past few days. We left with a sense of duty to participate as citizens in support of Wilderness, and the inspiration of the local work being done to safeguard and increase our surrounding Wilderness areas.