San Juans and West Elk Wilderness 8/15-8/20 (Hinsdale and Gunnison Counties)

[Lee Farese]

Hi Folks,

I've just come back from a great trip to the Uncompahgre Wilderness and the West Elks. Both areas were full of good birds, and a few worth noting:

Uncompahgre Wilderness: 

Camping along Matterhorn Creek the first evening (8/15) we had two Boreal Owls come calling directly over us around 11:00pm or so. Climbing Matterhorn we found a Vesper's Sparrow high on the tundra at about 12,500 ft. Also, it was a great couple of days for raptors. We saw two Kestrels (one on Wetterhorn, another between Matterhorn and Uncompahgre), a Peregrine high on Uncompahgre, a Prairie Falcon just west of Uncompahgre, a Red-tail way overhead from the summit of Wetterhorn, and three Golden Eagles seen separately and then all at once.

West Elk Wilderness:

The birds in this area were incredible, with several huge passerine flocks of Chickadees, Chipping Sparrows, Juncos, Wilson's and MacGillivray's Warblers, Kinglets, and Vireos. The highlight of this trip was a female Townsend's Warbler seen 8/20 with a mixed flock at around 11,000 feet high on Mt. Guero - a nice unexpected migrant.

Non-avian life was fantastic in both places. A pair of Snowshoe Hares and several Mule Deer in Uncompahgre, and deer and elk in the West Elks. Wildflowers were beautiful, the highlight being five species of Gentian in the San Juans.

Happy Trails,

Lee Farese

Colorado Springs