The Sage Sea

There are some places where the landscapes overshadow the birds.  A very specific and endemic bird lives around the town of Gunnison.  It is a special place for us both and it's one of the few places I don't mind dipping on the Gunnison Sage-Grouse.  Only because it means I get to come back again. And again. And again. 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Little did we know, our time for finding new birds was over.  After Utah, it was just exploring, hiking and really just loving our road trip.  Whatever we saw was a gift.  After the extremely hot temps of Utah, Arizona, California and Nevada over the past several weeks, it was refreshing to be in the cold and misty town of Gunnison, Colorado. 

I love the grasslands of Southern Arizona so much that when we came to Gunnison two years ago, we fell in love with the landscape. Somehow, when I stand in the miles of grasses, I forget all the problems of the world.  It's like the wind carries all of life's burdens and blows them away.  I had that same feeling in Gunnison among the sea of sage.  When it rained, the sage gave off this most fragrant smell. And we hiked miles and miles within the sage forest.  At one point, I really think I had two of the sage-grouse fly up and bank sharply behind my back.  I caught 7 seconds of these birds before they disappeared.  I'm not counting them until I have much better looks.  I want pictures!

Sneak attack from a curious llama!  This character seriously came out of nowhere!

So I helped make some important markers for ebird since Gunnison is not well mapped out nor ebirded often.  I know this bird's habitat well.  We even went to visit the lek that they visit in April and May. Overall, we spent 3 days in this location walking through sage-grouse habitat.  These secretive birds hang low in the sage brush and feed from these plants in fall and winter.  The weather in Gunnison was unpredictable. It rained off and on each day.  The important part was that it didn't snow like it did last time! 

These dirt roads are long and wind around many rock outcroppings. Just to give you the magnitude of this overwhelmingly beautiful landscape, I put Micheal's car into the pic.

Somewhere in that vast sea of sage are about a thousand sage-grouse:)

The grayish green color of the sage becomes a blue-green during a rain event.  There are rivers and streams in these areas where Aspen grown.  And from within these little corners, Mountain Bluebirds, Red-tailed Hawks, Dark-eyed Juncos and other birds fly. 

Townsend's Solitaire on a cloudy day.

It was a relaxing outing full of fresh air and fall color.  During our personal journey, we made Gunnison our own special place. 

In the small courthouse of Gunnison, we filled out our paperwork for a wedding license.  After 11 years together, it was time.  

When we left the building, it felt strange.  A good strange but still....strange.  I can't explain this emotion, but after many years of being treated like a second class citizen, it felt wonderful to be recognized as a citizen with full legal rights.  It was a moment we'll never forget. 

And that is why dipping on THIS grouse is okay.  It means we get to keep coming back to this place of serene beauty over and over again. 

Our trip into Colorado would bring with it friends and family, happiness and an unexpected farewell.  But with the good and the bad, there will always be birds!

Paint The Wind

As the year begins to wind down, we head into the heart of autumn.  Today we take you to the southwestern regions of Colorado state to search for the beautiful Black-billed Magpie. 

Earlier this year, we, the band of birders, tried to find this bird in the 4 Corners region within the reservation town of Teec Nos Pos.  Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the birds, but on this epic road trip, we finally discovered at least one hanging out around the town. 

Spotted Towhee

Once we quickly located the bird(8 minutes!), we were off to Gunnison, Colorado for one of the most scenic autumn treks ever. Highway 50 right now is gorgeous!

The weather went from sun to rain to snow! What is a journey without a little adventure? 

Along the way, we stopped at watering holes and snapped pics of not only the birds but the amazing fall colors.  The brightly colored leaves swirled all around us as we inspected each site for that rare bird.

Mountain Bluebird

When life gets a bit....well....crazy, a road trip always seems to do the trick:)

Most of the birds in Colorado have already been seen this year in various parts of the country.  We were hoping to spot the endangered Gunnison's sage-grouse, but the weather had other plans.  However the addition of the Black-billed Magpie to the year list was great. 

Black-billed Magpie

Hunting season has begun and the hunters were out in FULL force.  The deer, pronghorn and elk kept their distances. While high up on a sage hillside, we noticed dark clouds approaching us. 

We were unsuccessful in our attempts to locate this grouse, but I now have a better understanding of their habitat.  However, having past experiences with a storm like the one approaching made us depart earlier than expected.

With our elevation and cold temps, I knew we weren't looking at rain in the forecast...... 

We high tailed it off the dirt roads before they became impassable and turned into mud and ice.  

The surreal autumn colors were blanketed by frost. There were several moments in whiteout conditions that had me at the edge of my seat. Winter had come.

We made it down the mountain and thankfully had an uneventful trip to Colorado Springs.  

Black-billed Magpie

Magpies still made their presence known and we really had fun observing these beauties.  They were very numerous and in most of my ebird reports while in Colorado. 

Our journey continues.  Check out the video below made from my cell phone over this past year.  It shows a bit of the Hwy 50 magic. 

Update on the owl from last week's post.  The bird is doing well and healing. It had a fractured humerus(the bone that attaches the wing to the body).  The appetite has come back and things are looking up. For more about birds from around the world, check out Wild Bird Wednesday.