January Birding at Hallam Lake 1/3/23

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Tuesday, January 3, 2023, 8:00am-11:00am
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Hallam Lake, Aspen, CO

 

Today’s observations were especially high quality against the backdrop of snow and the winter landscape. A bald eagle perched in the prime snag over the lake, a dipper foraged near the shore, several snipe flushed and one landed where it stood out against a snowy background, and two pied-billed grebes moved about on the ice-free part of the lake. We discussed lots of interesting behavior topics, and one particular question came up that required research: where do grebes sleep at night? The literature describes their sleeping routine to be similar to that of ducks in that they sleep while floating on open water with heads tucked. This keeps them safe from terrestrial predators. Interestingly, pied-billed grebes prefer to dive to escape danger rather than flying away. After birding the loop at Hallam Lake, we walked along the Roaring Fork River where we found two more dippers, many chickadees, and various corvids. Join us next month for Morning Birding on February 7th!

Species List:

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide

Featured photo: Pygmy nuthatch by Russ Taylor.