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My final stop in Colorado was Cherry Creek State Park in Denver.
I didn't have time to explore any of the stands of trees but contented myself with a walk partway around the large lake.
Ring-billed Gulls were busy - and noisy - overhead.
There were Canada Geese on the opposite side of the water but on my side the only geese or ducks were a few Mallards.
Several Double-crested Cormorants were fishing for their supper.
I finally got to take a couple of photos of some Black-billed Magpies, a species that I had seen at every site I had visited in Colorado.
As I was driving out of the park, I came across a pretty little wetland area. A couple of Vesper Sparrows were in the reeds and a Northern Pintail (that I originally thought was a Blue-winged Teal!) flew off at my approach.
Overall, my visit to Colorado was very disappointing in terms of the number and variety of birds I had seen. However, the landscape was beautiful and I saw quite a few mammals, so the trip wasn't a total write-off!
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After a less-than-spectacular couple of hours birding at Barr Lake, I headed over to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal refuge.
On my way I passed a magnificent Red-tailed Hawk.
The RM Arsenal refuge was remarkably quiet for birds except for Ladora Lake. This had a pair of Western Grebes, a score of American Coots and several Double-crested Cormorants (below).
The edges of the lake had a few Dark-eyed Juncoes and a flock of 20 or more Chipping Sparrows (below).
I examined prairie dog burrows and mounds carefully in hopes of seeing one that had been taken over by Burrowing Owls.
However, for the fourth year in a row at this site I failed to spot any owls!
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.If Rocky Mountain National Park was rather disappointing for birds, it certainly wasn't disappointing as regards scenery.
The drive from the lush meadows and forests of the lower sections of the park up to the Alpine Center (at 11,000 feet) is spectacular.
I was surised to find that wildflowers were still blooming everywhere.
The higher sections of the drive take you through tundra, a landscape that seems fairly barren and uninteresting until you look carefully and see that it is absolutely alive with small plants and lichens.
After spending most of the day in Rocky Mountain, I headed back to Denver, stopping off at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Nature Reserve. A hot afternoon is not the best time to bird this site but it still turned up some interesting birds. Based on what I saw on previous visits, a Horned Lark was a pleasant surprise but I was expecting a Swainson's Hawk.
I also had good looks at a Loggerhead Shrike and a Western Kingbird.
Tuesday morning I flew back to Houston, where I spent the night before hitting the road again on Wednesday. This time I was going up to Missoula, Montana. I was excited because I'd never been to Montana before and I was going to have time to spend two days in and around Glacier National Park. I was hoping for dramatic scenery and perhaps some new birds. I wasn't disappointed.
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On August 21st I followed up my early morning encounter with an angry mommy elk by driving into Rocky Mountain National Park. As on my previous visit in 2010, birds were few and far between. However, this time there were plenty of mammals around.
My first sighting was of several deer wandering near the road.
Higher up I kept seeing marmots, sunning themselves on rocks.
This one was doing some stretching exercises to prepare itself for the day ahead.
Pikas were easy to recognize because of their large pale-colored ears.
Chipmunks, of course, were even more distinctive.
I saw only a few elk until I reached the Alpine Center. From there it was possible to see two large herds, each comprising 200-300 elk.
If mammals were plentiful, birds were not. On my 3-hour drive I saw only: one Steller's Jay, one American Pipit, three Chipping Sparrows and four Black-billed Magpies (below).
However, on my way out of the park I dropped in at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, where I was a little luckier. American Robins (below) were everywhere, as were Mountain and Western Bluebirds.
There were a few Lesser Goldfinch and Yellow Warblers, and lots of Cedar Waxwings.
A Broad-tailed Hummingbird disappeared too fast for me to get a photo but I had more luck with this Mountain Chickadees.
So certainly not great birding but definitely much better than in the park itself!
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I arrived in Estes Park on Sturday evening, just in time to watch the day ending over the Rockies.
I was up early the next morning to explore a bird sanctuary near the town's golf course. In fact, except for some Canada and Cackling Geese, I didn't see any birds.
However, elk were everywhere. The path through the sanctuary had several females and I and other walkers had to come within 3-4 yards of them to pass by. The elk seemed totally unconcerned and it was wonderful to be so close to them.
Across a small stream, the golf course had a mixed herd. One male looked particularly imposing.
He and other males occasionally did a bit of practice jousting.
One of the females near me decided to cross the stream to see the action up close.
After an hour of watching elk and passing by them only three yards away on the footpath, I got careless. I noticed a female grooming her calf and took a couple of photos.
Without any warning, the mother charged me. I yelled "Stop," threw up my arms and prepared to be trampled. Luckily, she stopped perhaps 4 feet from me. I swear I could feel her breath on my face. Then she turned around and went back to her calf. I kept my distance as I passed by on my way back to the car!
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