On a walk through the neighborhood or a hike in the mountains, birds can be spotted just about anywhere.
Sometimes it is a common crowd and other times it’s an unfamiliar friend that offers an array of colored feathers that catch the eye from 100 yards away.
“That’s always the prize, finding something different that you haven’t seen here before,” said local birder Tresa Moulton. “It is such a good way to connect with nature and spend time outdoors. For me personally, it is also a bit of a competition to see how many you can find and build your life list.”
A life list is what birders use to catalog the endless species of birds they encounter in their lifetime. Upon seeing a bird, they will mark down their location, the date and the type of bird on their list for reference later. In the digital age, apps like eBird will help keep this catalog on a phone and will transfer live information to a database at the Cornell Lab on the whereabouts of all birds everywhere.
Tresa’s husband, David Moulton, says now is the perfect opportunity to begin a lifetime of birding adventures.
“Spring is a particularly good time for birding,” I explained. “The birds are in their breed plumage, they have fresh feathers with their brightest colors and they are active. “A lot of the birds migrate and come through our valley and many of them keep going.”
What to look for
More than 400 unique species of birds can be found in Colorado and, according to Tresa, 294 species have been recorded in Routt County. In the spring and summer, approximately 150 species call Routt County home to about 45 or so in the winter.
“That’s over 100 species that come through here and don’t stay,” David said. “You’re going to find the most birds in the spring and they are particularly active running around trying to attract mates.”
Some of the marquee birds in the area to get excited about include the brightly colored Western Tanager and Bullock’s Oriole, the Yellow Warbler, American White Pelicans and Bald Eagles. Routt County is also home to three kinds of grouse; the sharp-tailed, greater sage and dusky grouse.
Osprey are quite popular as well and an active nest can be found just outside the botanic park where the gate opens up onto the Core Trail.
Maybe no bird in Routt County gets as much love or attention however, as the Sandhill Cranes.
Sandhill Cranes return each spring at the beginning of March and by mid-April, they will have begun nesting in and around the Hayden area.
Nancy Merrill, the President and co-founder of the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition, said the native cranes will stay through September and others will come down from the North and remain as late as October and even November.
When nesting, the cranes can be very secretive and hide their nests so viewers are more likely to spot one crane at a time while they feed. With a little luck, they can be spotted at times along the side of US Highway 40.
Merrill explained, the cranes are extremely territorial while nesting and almost never congregate in groupings.
“The best place to view them is of course our crane nest camera “Merrill said. “Our organization has a live streaming camera focused on a crane nest here in the Yampa Valley. Anyone can go to our website — ColoradoCranes.org — and go to the nest camera and it is focused on an active nest. It is on 24/7 and you can see all the action right there. “It is fascinating.”
The cranes, named Rocky and Athena, can also be seen in highlight videos that the coalition edits to offer viewers the best moments from the crane cam.
Tips from the experts
The first trick of birding is knowing where to go.
The Moultons believe the best in town to spot birds are along the core trail, exploring the backside of Emerald Mountain, locations traveling down to Stagecoach or by checking out the Yampa Preserve which is not far from Hayden.
Butcherknife Creek has a path between Stehley Park and Steamboat Springs Middle School which has a riparian area on one side and dry sageland on the other, offering different kinds of birds with every turn of the head.
Loudy Simpson Park in Craig can also be a great spot for birders because that area is known in the birding world as a ‘migrant trap.’ While birds are migrating south, they will fly across the sage area north of Craig and eventually spot the trees and the river in town. Being the first stopping point in a long time, many birds determine the area as a good place to stop.
Once a location for a sojourn in birding is nailed down, there are a number of ways to approach spotting them.
“Birds react to motion so standing still can be an excellent strategy,” Tresa explained. “I find if you are in an area with a lot of birds and you’ve just arrived, the birds seem to then disappear. If you just stand there for a while, they become comfortable with you and come back.”
“When birding, we are generally walking very slowly,” David added. “We try not to make too much noise and by not making noise you are not spooking the birds and you are also able to hear them better. “I will stop periodically to look around, particularly I will look behind me — where I just came from — and sometimes birds are filling in behind as you go by.”
The Moultons agreed birders should be aware of their timing when going out. Birds are easier to spot while they are in search of food, particularly bugs. The bugs wait to poke their heads out in the cold and if there’s no bugs, then there’s no birds.
According to Tresa, there is a sweet spot between when it is too cold and too hot.
“Usually in the spring, birds are setting up territories for nesting and trying to attract mates and they will often do a lot of that early in the morning,” she said. “There is what’s called a ‘Dawn Chorus’ when you go out at first light to see who is singing and getting up and about in the bird world. Early is best to catch them singing — later in the day they will go around doing other tasks like nesting, eating, fighting off predators and things like that.”
What to bring
Along with the traditional outdoor needs of sunscreen, water and a snack, birders should always carry a field guide with them. In the day of the smartphone, field guides can be downloaded and kept in a back pants pocket at all times.
The Moultons recommend the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s app, Merlin, which shows pictures, descriptions, bird sounds and more. The Sibley app can also be a useful one.
Another best article to bring is a decent pair of binoculars. David believes spending a couple hundred dollars on a half decent pair of binoculars is worth the price for birding. He says the optimum binocular size is 8×32.
The first number is in relation to the magnification power. According to David, anything more powerful than eight will become a challenge to hold an image still while viewing a bird. The second number is in reference to the diameter of the outer-lens in millimeters and 32 is a good size to keep a bright picture in low-light situations.
Next time out in nature, the Moultons invite everyone to record a pair of binoculars, download a birding app, take a breath and listen to the chirping and singing of birds in the area. They don’t think it will become a regret.
“For me, when I am out looking for birds I am generally not thinking about any problems or worries,” Tresa said. “I am out in nature and it becomes a treasure hunt.”
