Mineral Springs, Magpies and Waterfalls

Today's adventure in Colorado began with a tour of the mineral springs found downtown and a short history of Steamboat Springs. I always thought it was a town catering to the rich who arrived by rail to take the "waters" for their health, like Saratoga Springs in New York, or French Lick in Indiana. To my surprise, that was not so. In 1910, the population was about 1,200, mostly miners and cattle ranchers. By 1960, it was only up to 1,800, and up to about 2,300 by 1970. Then the ski resorts were developed, and now the permanent residents exceed 12,000. Of course, the population doubles during the season. The bubbling is not from heat, but hydrogen sulfide, the chemical compound which is a colorless gas with the characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs; it is heavier than air, very poisonous, corrosive, flammable, and explosive. And it bubbles up in the water to make it look like the water is boiling.

Black-billed Magpies

 

I've seen Magpies several places out West, but there seem to be more of these members of the Corvid family here than anywhere else. You can recognize them in flight with their extra long tails, and the bright flash of white in their wings. I did not realize that their wings and tails have a blue sheen in the sun, rather like their cousins the Blue Jay. We just saw large flocks landing in nearby trees to roost for the night.

Fish Creek Falls

Several reservoirs at the top of the mountain, damming up Fish Creek, provide the water supply for the city, but the water still feeds a beautiful 280-ft tall waterfall. Imagine the water that must roar over it in the spring when 15 feet of snow pack melts!

The city's advertising describes it as "clear and fresh high alpine water," and I would agree. We climbed down into the creek bed and took our shoes off to cool our feet, and it felt like they would freeze at first!

Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel

Cheeky little Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels aren't shy around the hikers or waders at Fish Creek at all. They begged hand-outs from anyone with food, and munched on seeds otherwise, or chased each other around the rocks. We noticed more brightly colored butterflies in the creek bed than we have seen anywhere else so far. I wonder if they use these valleys as highways.

Hummingbird Female and Nest

A bright green female Hummingbird worked her way along the shoreline too, eventually ducking into some low hanging branches. Using binoculars, I found her at a nest on a small branch, not far above the cascading water. She stood on the side of the nest for a bit, then settled down on top of it, but not for long. Two of those brash ground squirrels got too close to suit her, and she chased them around the rocks until they went away. What a brave little Hummingbird!

Stagecoach Park

Whitewash from Falcon Nest in Cliff

This morning we followed the suggestion of a birder we met at the Botanic Park, and drove down the road to Stagecoach State Park. You will see some basalt cliffs down by the dam, he said, and there is a Prairie Falcon nest there. We pulled into a parking lot by the dam, and sure enough there were the big basalt cliffs, and the peeping call of falcon chicks! Even without a spotting scope, we found an obvious splash of whitewash.

Prairie Falcon Soaring

A little later, we moved to the river at the base of the dam, and saw at least three adult falcons soaring over the cliffs. I could swear I heard more peeping at this end of the cliff. Could there possibly be two nests of young? The falcons were joined by Red-tail Hawks and we heard the faint call of a Bald Eagle, which they rangers say lives at the park as well.

I'm one of the few people who takes photos of interesting rock formations. This one twists and turns as if painted by an artist.

Lazuli Bunting

Below the dam, the Yampa River is a popular fishing spot among anglers. We just managed to get the last spot in the parking lot. The state is restoring the banks of the river with native grasses and wildflowers, separating this area from the angler paths with wooden railed fences. Some Lazuli Buntings chowed down on the seeds.

This little brown sparrow hopped around, and I cannot find him in the field guide. With those pink legs, I'd almost think it's a Field Sparrow, but it didn't sing to confirm its identity, so we'll have to keep looking. (Thanks Dave, for identifying this female Cassin's Finch for me.)

Along the wetlands end of the lake, we found gulls, ducks, geese and of course, Red-winged Blackbirds. There should have been another wetlands area with trails, but we couldn't find it.   We managed to avoid hitting a cow ambling slowly down the road.

Last evening we rode the gondola to the top of the ski mountain for sunset and happy hour - a very enjoyable time!

Yampa River Trail

Osprey and Chicks

This morning we explored the Botanic Garden and the Yampa River Core Trail. As we started on the path in the garden, we saw two people with a spotting scope. Ah! Birders! They were nice people and talked with us for an hour about the best places to go birding. An Osprey platform had birds nesting this summer for the first time since it was put up three years ago, so the birders were excited about it.

 The Mom tried to call the Dad, but he didn't come up while we were there. Found him downstream a little later though.

The Park is free and open to the public, to enjoy the flowers and the trees, a place to revel in Nature and a hideaway from the stress of modern life. It is a place for summer music festivals, a place for weddings and yoga and a resource to see native plants. The Yampa River starts at 12,000 feet in the Flattop mountains, 50 miles to the south, and empties into the Green River at 4,000 feet, 120 miles to the West, and eventually into the mighty Colorado. The Park sits at 6800 feet above sea level, but, through the use of microclimates designed into the Park, it supports both alpine plants and desert plants found in the Yampa River Basin.

The Service Berry finished bearing fruit weeks and weeks ago in Kentucky, but we found many bushes with not quite ripe berried. The Cedar Waxwings are taking care of all the ripe berries.

Red-naped Sapsucker 

A Red-naped Sapsucker preened and checked all the willow trees for juicy bugs.

Lots of tubers enjoyed the river today. So many it would have spoiled nature's serenity for me. We can't decide if we want to tube on our own, or take a float trip with a guide on the Colorado River. The indecision must be an age thing. Plus, I could take my camera on the float trip, but not in the tubes. The core trail is advertised for walkers and bikers, but the bikers go so fast, they tend to take over. Some, but not all, are polite enough to say something as they pass you.

Sweet Pea Restaurant

By the time we reached downtown, I was ready to have lunch. We checked out the riverfront restaurants and enjoyed our lunch under the shade of a humongous willow tree! The city sponsors a free transit system, so we took the bus back up to our car at the garden, then returned to the condo for a much needed nap.

Twice a week, the gondola stays open in the evening for sunset on the mountaintop. A very enjoyable ride and fantastic views of the valley and wildflowers.

Mosquito Bloodbank Donations

Steamboat Springs, CO, is in the broad valley of the Yampa River, one of the few wild rivers left in the state. It took us over four hours to drive here from the Denver airport, with backed up traffic, a rain shower, and of course, the mountains themselves. We drove through the Eisenhower Tunnel, which is 1.693 miles long and at an altitude of 11,013 feet, much higher than Denver or Steamboat Springs.

We first visited the Carpenter Ranch, owned by the Nature Conservancy. Restored from one of the original buildings at this site, a visitor/education center provides both cultural and ecological information about the Valley. The historic barn and house are registered with the Colorado Historical Society. In fact, the director said they currently have four interns from Fern Creek High School in Louisville on the site. The Conservancy's Yampa River Preserve is located just upstream, and we finally found it, but did not find many trails to hike. Barn Swallows are  everywhere!

Any time you see a flash of white in the sky, it will be a Magpie which is about the size of a crow. Of course, there are plenty of crows too, but we haven't seen any ravens yet. Thought we found a Peregrine Falcon along the drive, but it flew off making non-falcon sounds. It may have been a Swainson's Hawk.

 There were lots of Red Tails and even more Kestrels in the grassy flood plains. One hawk got too close, apparently, and the Kestrel dive bombed him and chased him away. Two Sandhill Cranes made enough noise for twenty. The grass and willows are so thick, we never did see the river itself, but we made a generous donation to the Mosquito Blood Bank! Bug spray has no effect on them.

At the ranch house, we were amazed by the number of pine cones on the trees in the front yard where we ate the lunch we packed. Pine Siskins buzzed in the high branches.

The Yampa River Preserve gave us a quick view of the river, but we couldn't walk close to the river, again because of the trees, bushes and grass that surround it. Tomorrow, we'll walk on part of the paved trail along the river right here in town, and I hope to get some good photos of it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy some of the wildflower we saw.

Broad Run Park

21st Century Parks is developing the area around Floyd's Fork as it winds through Jefferson County. They are a donor funded group, with many wealthy corporations and individuals supporting them, so they have been able to do a great job without the limitations of county government. We enjoy going to their two original parks, Beckley Creek and Pope Lick, to walk, go birding and look for wildflowers.

Now they have opened two more parks downstream, and we finally managed to find time this morning to check them out. Broad Run Park is just off Bardstown Road, and still in Jefferson County, although it feels like you are driving clear into central Kentucky. They have a very nice splash park and playground near the entrance, and the road winds up and down hills, by-passing some property which is still privately owned. Since it just opened in the last month or so, we found nice signs pointing to trails that don't seem to exist yet. The Limestone Gorge exists, but we couldn't find the trail down into it. Well, it's still a work in progress. The Louisville Loop is a paved trail extending through the entire park system, and very pleasant to walk on. Just watch for speeding cyclists as they come down the hills!

The park people have done a terrific job planting native wildflowers along the Loop, and we enjoyed them immensely. It's a challenge to identify them when I get home though!

The next park north of Broad Run is Turkey Run Park, named for a tributary of Floyd's Fork. At the top of the hill is a big yellow silo, approximately 6 stories tall! I declined the climb, but Dick made it with little trouble for a bird's eye view. They have a big barn that looks like it's available for events and some nice picnic areas. Again, the "trails" aren't always completed.

We heard many different kinds of birds this morning, starting with a Yellow Billed Cuckoo, but were unable to find many of them. Several Gold Finches flew by, and one Indigo Bunting perched nearby to serenade us as we climbed back up the hill to our car.

Several Barn Swallows flew around the information kiosk, so I knew there should be a nest around somewhere, and sure enough, there it was just under the roof. Looks like these guys are just about ready to fledge!

Friday Morning Steps and Birding

Red Headed Woodpecker

Beckley Creek is the Century 21 park closest to my house, and since I was out that way this morning, I decided to get my 10,000 steps for the day started and do a little birding at the same time. I can reliably find Red Headed Woodpeckers here along the banks of Floyds Fork.

Red Winged Blackbird

And I usually under-count the numbers of Red Winged Blackbirds if I send in a list to eBird because there are so many of them in the meadows.

Indigo Bunting

I've learned to look carefully to tell the difference between the Indigo Bunting and the Blue Grosbeak, although I didn't find any Grosbeaks this morning. Meadowlarks and Common Yellowthroats called from the grass, but wouldn't come up to see me when I played their calls on my bird app.

Song Sparrow

I can always count on the Song Sparrows to entertain as I walk around. A Northern Bob White called from a tree, instead of the grass, then flew over my head to the next field to defend his territory.

Common Milkweed

Butterfly Weed

 The various milkweeds are beginning to bloom, but I only saw the little white and yellow butterflies.

Cliff Swallow

Other walkers greeted me, asking what I'd found, or sharing what they had seen. One couple was amazed by all the swallows under a bridge, so I headed in that direction. I'm pretty good at recognizing Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows, but these looked like Cliff Swallows, which I had only seen before out west.

A colony of Cliff Swallows have built their jug shaped nests of mud under a bridge over Floyd's Fork. They are protected and yet have easy access to bugs around the river.

Some of the babies are leaving the nest and learning to fly, or preening after getting a bug from the surface of the water. What a great way to spend the morning! And I got my 10,000 steps in with no trouble!