Rosy-Finch, Boulder County

[Tom Wilberding]

Greetings birders,

This afternoon my wife, Barb, and I drove up to Allenspark, where at the Fawn Brook Inn we saw some Brown-capped Rosy-Finch, one Black Rosy-Finch, as well as a few Evening Grosbeak and Cassin’s Finch. Also the regulars: Pine Siskin, Pygmy Nuthatch, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Steller’s Jay, Dark-eyed Junco, White-breasted Nuthatch, and American Crow. Allenspark now has a public restroom on highway 7 between the Fire Station and the Old Gallery—a new, clean outhouse, very welcome in a town with no MacDonald’s. :-) 

We then drove up highway 7 to beautiful Wild Basin and hiked for an hour or so. (Hiking boots work fine on the Wild Basin roads— only light snow today.) We were on the lookout for American Three-toed Woodpecker, but no luck. The Forest Service recently cleared almost all the snags and dead wood from the basin, piling the debris into countless large teepees, which I guess they will burn when conditions are safe.

Beautiful drive home as we watched the sun set above the mountains and its opposite eastern version with beautiful blues, grays, and pinks in the winter sky. So ended the auld lang syne,  the good old days, of 2013. Wishing you all a happy 2014. 
BTW, please join Colorado Field Ornithologists, or renew your membership, to ensure a very happy new year in the study, conservation, and enjoyment of Colorado birds.

14 recent pics: http://bit.ly/1clBbkw

Best,
Tom Wilberding
Treasurer, CFO
Boulder, CO