Field trip to the prairie canyons south of La Junta

On April 28 I led a field trip to the prairie canyon area south of La Junta. The eleven participants came from near Walsenburg on the south to north of Colorado Springs on the north with another two from Canon City which is 100 miles west of La Junta. We spent much of the day exploring one of the ranches that signed up on the Colorado Birding Trail. We were the first group to bird there so it was a true adventure from a birding perspective.

The ranch we birded is the Leininger Ranch which has thousands of acres of both prairie and canyonlands areas including some dinosaur tracks!. We also birded the Higbee Cemetery, the place we had lunch (yes, it is a really pleasant cemetery with picnic table under some shade trees and hundreds of blooming iris planted by locals who conscientiously keep the grounds in lovely condition). We stopped briefly at the Vogel Canyon picnic area to use their very nice vault toilet (replete with a real toilet seat and toilet paper) but didn't stay long as their was a scout encampment there.

Due to the heavy winter snows and a number of spring rains, wild flowers were in great bloom including the Sprawling Daisies (Erigeron colo-mexicanus) in this photo.
More on the trip in the following posts.
SeEtta

Colo Birding Trail Launches at Snow Goose Fest Feb 23-25

Looking for something fun to do next week-end (not this upcoming week-end but the one after)? The Colorado Birding Trail will officially be launched at the High Plains Snow Goose Festival in Lamar February 23-25. And the keynote speaker is none other than Pete Dunne, Director of Cape May Bird Observatory and Vice-President for Natural History Information for the New Jersey Audubon Society. Pete, who has been awaded the American Birding Society Roger Tory Peterson Award for promoting the cause of birding, has written 9 books and numerous articles about birding and natural history.

And what a bargan--registration is $10 with charges of $5-15 for some of the tours (though the Raptor Tour with Pete Dunne carries a fee of $30, also a bargain compared to what other birding festivals and conventions charge for birding with such a big name leader). And the banquet is only $15 for adults!

There are lots of programs and tours, not just birding but some to/about local historical areas and also rock art. A great opportunity for couples or families with non-birders who would enjoy these other diversions. And the motel prices are quite reasonable. Check it out here and print a registration form too. Read articles about it here and here.

SeEtta