Good afternoon!
Even though its windy, rainy, and cold now, we had a beautiful morning this morning! There were mostly clear skies, no wind and it was 27°F at the lek site.
We saw 11 Gunnison sage grouse this morning. 7 males in the North Meadow, and 4 males on the East Ridge. The birds in the meadow have left by 6:30 this morning, and yesterday morning, and I am not quite sure why that is. There could be a predator that we are not seeing, or the weather could be affecting them. Not really sure why, but all I know is, they are leaving pretty early from the North Meadow. The birds on the ridge, however, can still be seen all morning long!
This storm is supposed to clear up late tonight, so hopefully in the morning we have nice weather!
Happy birding!
Friday, April 26, 2019
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Hello everyone!
We had a great morning this morning! I believe it was our first morning with temperatures above 30°F! (Temp was 31°F!) We had clear skies, and no wind! Spring is here! There is no more snow left on the site, which is making it tricky to find the birds! Make sure you are watching for movement, and the males white chest!
This morning we saw 11 birds; 6 males in the North Meadow, and 5 males on the East Ridge. All of the birds in the North Meadow seemed to have flushed by about 6:30am. There was nothing seen as to why this was, but my guess is a predator that we just didn't see...but who knows! The birds on the ridge could be seen popping back and forth over the top all morning, and looked beautiful being back-lit by the sunlight!
See you all tomorrow and happy birding!
We had a great morning this morning! I believe it was our first morning with temperatures above 30°F! (Temp was 31°F!) We had clear skies, and no wind! Spring is here! There is no more snow left on the site, which is making it tricky to find the birds! Make sure you are watching for movement, and the males white chest!
This morning we saw 11 birds; 6 males in the North Meadow, and 5 males on the East Ridge. All of the birds in the North Meadow seemed to have flushed by about 6:30am. There was nothing seen as to why this was, but my guess is a predator that we just didn't see...but who knows! The birds on the ridge could be seen popping back and forth over the top all morning, and looked beautiful being back-lit by the sunlight!
See you all tomorrow and happy birding!
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Good afternoon birders!
Saturday was a closed day at the lek! We do this to give the birds a break from some of our noise!
Sunday morning we saw about 8 birds during the early morning. By 7:30am, the wind started blowing, and it started snowing! This made the birds hunker down, and they were not visible after 7:40am.
Monday was a great day, with a temperature of about 28°F, and 8 birds were seen!
Today we had another closed day, as we will tomorrow as well. We appreciate your understanding and willingness to work with us for our two closed days per week, and look forward to seeing you the other five days!
Happy birding!
Saturday was a closed day at the lek! We do this to give the birds a break from some of our noise!
Sunday morning we saw about 8 birds during the early morning. By 7:30am, the wind started blowing, and it started snowing! This made the birds hunker down, and they were not visible after 7:40am.
Monday was a great day, with a temperature of about 28°F, and 8 birds were seen!
Today we had another closed day, as we will tomorrow as well. We appreciate your understanding and willingness to work with us for our two closed days per week, and look forward to seeing you the other five days!
Happy birding!
Friday, April 19, 2019
On our closed day this morning, we had beautifully clear skies, a temperature of 28°F, and no wind!
From a far distance, a total of three birds were seen. During closed day, a volunteer parks at the top of the county road, and observes the lek as best they can and records anything they can see. We have two closed days a week, in hopes to reduce our noises and other disturbances.
We have one more closed day tomorrow, and will be back out bright and early Sunday morning!
See you all then, and happy birding!
From a far distance, a total of three birds were seen. During closed day, a volunteer parks at the top of the county road, and observes the lek as best they can and records anything they can see. We have two closed days a week, in hopes to reduce our noises and other disturbances.
We have one more closed day tomorrow, and will be back out bright and early Sunday morning!
See you all then, and happy birding!
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Hello everyone!
We had a decent morning this morning with a temperature of 28° and clear skies. It is starting to get windy here in the Gunnison basin! We saw a total of 14 birds; 11 males and 3 females. There was a hawk near by, and the birds seemed to flush shortly after it was seen.
Please remember that we are lucky to get to see these birds at all, even though they are a little father away. It is a privilege that we have a site that is accessible, and lets us be able to view these wonderful birds. To keep being able to do this, we have to minimize our disturbances, especially noise levels! One day we want to see the birds back on the main lek, and the only way to do that is by reducing our disturbance on the birds.
Tomorrow (Friday), and Saturday are both closed days. See you bright and early Sunday morning!
Happy birding!
We had a decent morning this morning with a temperature of 28° and clear skies. It is starting to get windy here in the Gunnison basin! We saw a total of 14 birds; 11 males and 3 females. There was a hawk near by, and the birds seemed to flush shortly after it was seen.
Please remember that we are lucky to get to see these birds at all, even though they are a little father away. It is a privilege that we have a site that is accessible, and lets us be able to view these wonderful birds. To keep being able to do this, we have to minimize our disturbances, especially noise levels! One day we want to see the birds back on the main lek, and the only way to do that is by reducing our disturbance on the birds.
Tomorrow (Friday), and Saturday are both closed days. See you bright and early Sunday morning!
Happy birding!
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Good afternoon!
This morning was a chilly 24°F with partly overcast skies. We are nearing the full moon, so things are bright! Sometimes this can cause the birds to display throughout the night, and by the time we get to the site, they are too tired to continue on, and we may end up missing them. We haven't seen this yet this season, but it is something to think about if you are planning a trip out!
This morning we saw 8 birds in the North Meadow, and by 7:00 am, most of them were gone, probably over to the East Ridge. After 7:00 am, we saw 13 males, 8 females, and 5 unknown birds on the top of the East Ridge. All 13 males were displaying beautifully, with their tails being back-lit by the rising sun!
A large heard of elk were seen beyond the East Ridge on a neighboring hilltop.
Most of the snow in the area is melted. There are still small patches in the North Meadow, and towards the north end of the East Ridge, otherwise most of the snow is gone. This is making it tricky to see the birds in certain areas, so be sure you are scanning slowly, watching for movement, and flashes of white from the males breast.
Happy birding everyone!
This morning was a chilly 24°F with partly overcast skies. We are nearing the full moon, so things are bright! Sometimes this can cause the birds to display throughout the night, and by the time we get to the site, they are too tired to continue on, and we may end up missing them. We haven't seen this yet this season, but it is something to think about if you are planning a trip out!
This morning we saw 8 birds in the North Meadow, and by 7:00 am, most of them were gone, probably over to the East Ridge. After 7:00 am, we saw 13 males, 8 females, and 5 unknown birds on the top of the East Ridge. All 13 males were displaying beautifully, with their tails being back-lit by the rising sun!
A large heard of elk were seen beyond the East Ridge on a neighboring hilltop.
Most of the snow in the area is melted. There are still small patches in the North Meadow, and towards the north end of the East Ridge, otherwise most of the snow is gone. This is making it tricky to see the birds in certain areas, so be sure you are scanning slowly, watching for movement, and flashes of white from the males breast.
Happy birding everyone!
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Happy Tuesday!
We have had more great days at the site this past weekend! Saturday and Sunday were closed days, but from the site we have designated for our volunteers to monitor from afar, they were able to see about 25-30 birds each day.
Yesterday was 24°F with clear skies. We saw a total of 16 males, 7 females, and 19 unknown birds, for a total of 42! The birds have been flying back and forth between the North Meadow and the East Ridge throughout the morning. We were also lucky to see two sparring fights between males yesterday as well.
Today was 28°F with partly cloudy skies. There were 15 males, 2 females, and 4 unknown birds on the East Ridge and in the North Meadow for a total of 21 birds. One of our public viewers said she saw a bird on the traditional main lek, which is exciting! There were several coyotes in the North Meadow, but it did not seem to have an effect on the birds.
Thanks for checking in and hope to see you all at the site!
We have had more great days at the site this past weekend! Saturday and Sunday were closed days, but from the site we have designated for our volunteers to monitor from afar, they were able to see about 25-30 birds each day.
Yesterday was 24°F with clear skies. We saw a total of 16 males, 7 females, and 19 unknown birds, for a total of 42! The birds have been flying back and forth between the North Meadow and the East Ridge throughout the morning. We were also lucky to see two sparring fights between males yesterday as well.
Today was 28°F with partly cloudy skies. There were 15 males, 2 females, and 4 unknown birds on the East Ridge and in the North Meadow for a total of 21 birds. One of our public viewers said she saw a bird on the traditional main lek, which is exciting! There were several coyotes in the North Meadow, but it did not seem to have an effect on the birds.
Thanks for checking in and hope to see you all at the site!
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