Winter Wren, Moraine Park, Rocky Mtn. Nat. Park, Larimer Co. 5/23

[Jim Nelson]

We are enjoying a nice visit in the Estes Park area in Larimer County. This afternoon we drove slowly through Moraine Park in Rocky Mountain National Park watching and listening for birds. We spotted a small, stub-tailed wren at the base of a bush right by the road. It was a very pale gray brown over all, with a very light throat and pale barring on the belly. We concluded it was a Winter Wren.


Other expected birds included active Mountain Bluebirds, a female Western Bluebird bathing in a natural bird bath in the hollow of a rock right by the road, a singing Savannah Sparrow, Vesper, Chipping, and Brewer's Sparrows, and Brewer's Blackbird.


Looking forward to a break in the rainy weather.


Jim Nelson
Bethesda, Maryland