Visiting birders to Colorado tend to fall into two main categories: Many come in April for a Colorado “Chicken Tour” to enjoy the grouse, prairie-chickens, and ptarmigan. Another major wave of birders visit in the breeding season (May-July) for the great variety of Colorado specialities. But the fall season also offers tremendous birding opportunities. Rocky...Continue reading
Cassin’s Vireo is an interesting bird here in Colorado. In 1997, the American Ornithologists Union determined that the former Solitary Vireo was actually three separate species and now we have Blue-headed Vireo, Plumbeous Vireo, and Cassin’s Vireo. The default breeding species among this trio in Colorado is the Plumbeous but Cassin’s does migrate through Colorado...Continue reading
Nice video of Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay in Colorado by Colette MicallefOne of the birds we typically encounter on our Colorado birding tours is Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay. But who in the heck is Woodhouse?Samuel Washington Woodhouse was a surgeon-naturalist from Philadelphia who accompanied a U.S. Army survey expedition in the U.S. Southwest in 1849-1851. During the expedition, Woodhouse...Continue reading
The World Wildlife Fund issued an alarming press release this past November stating that “In 2014 the Great Plains lost more acres of grasslands than the Brazilian Amazon lost to deforestation.” According to the WWF report, 53 million acres of America’s Great Plains “have been lost since 2009, threatening important and iconic species like grassland...
On December 16, 13-year-old twin young birders, Jack and Ryan Bushong discovered a Purple Sandpiper in Summit County, Colorado. This was the first recorded occurrence of this species in Colorado. In subsequent weeks, an estimated 400 birders braved snow and cold to get a glimpse. You can read more in the Denver Post and see...