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CAMP REPORTS 2004

A report on RMBO On the Wing Camp

26 June – 7 July 2004

By Jacob Cooper

On June 26, 2004, I arrived in Brighton, Colorado, for the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory's (RMBO's) On the Wing (OTW) camp. There, I met 11 other campers from allover the U.S. There were kids from coastal California, South Carolina resort islands, Maine, and Colorado. The first day we just talked and got to know each other. We played a couple of games, and packed up the U-Haul. The next day, we drove into the heart of the Front Range. We drove up Mount Evans to look for White-tailed Ptarmigan and Brown-capped Rosy-finches. We didn't see any of those target birds, but we saw lots of American Pipits, a couple of mountain goats, American pika, and at the top of Mount Evans, a Townsend's Solitaire, singing, at over 14,000 feet in elevation.

After we went up Mount Evans, we proceeded over the continental divide into Grand Junction, Colorado. We spent the night at the local Audubon Office and watched a movie, played cards, etc. The next day we drove to Ridgeway to learn how to fly-fish with Stan Johnson. We fished along the Uncompahgre River for a while, but soon had to go up on top of the Uncompahgre Plateau.

There, we helped Tom Holland check owl boxes in a mixed conifer area. The first box had a Northern Saw- Whet Owl nest, with the owl sitting in an Engelmann spruce nearby. It had flown out of the nest when Tom was there before us. The next owl we saw was a Flammulated Owl. Hardly anyone had seen one before. After that, we drove to a campground to spend the night, where the instructors caught a Warbling Vireo and we saw Northern Flickers and Lewis' Woodpecker flying around.

That night, we tried to call in a Common Poor-will and some more Flammulated Owls, but just ended up playing games. The next day, we did an aspen hike with Rich Levad. We walked along and saw some more Lewis' Woodpecker, Western Bluebird, Mountain Bluebird, and Turkey Vulture. Then we came to a really cool place, with a colony of purple Martins we discovered at camp last year. There were 16 martins sleeping in the tree and some flew around. It is really weird because there is only one known nest in the colony. We continued on and saw a Red-naped Sapsucker and Western Meadowlarks. Then we heard it: Fox Sparrow, Slaty race. We all watched the willows, and suddenly, I saw it hop on a branch for a split second, and then disappear. It turned out only one other person saw it.

On the way back, we saw another good bird come out. A male MacGillivray's Warbler showed itself. We then left for a place called Rabbit Valley to meet with Ron Lambeth. On the way, we saw a pair of Williamson's Sapsuckers in some Ponderosa Pine. At Rabbit Valley we learned about many types of plant and saw Loggerhead Shrikes and Northern Mockingbirds. We then went to my house in Grand Junction to swim and went back to the Audubon office that evening.

The next day, we started off by going to the Colorado National Monument. There, we saw Ash-throated Flycatchers, heard Gray Vireo, saw Black-chinned Hummingbirds, saw Gambel's Quail, and saw magnificent stone pinnacles in the canyons. We then drove to Ouray, where the largest Black Swift colony in Colorado is. We watched the swifts and an American Dipper before hiking to the top of the falls. I didn't go up there this year, but, while watching some Cordilleran Flycatchers, I realized I had a cold virus. All I remember the rest of that day was misery until Mesa Verde that evening, when we slept. Everything was finally peaceful that night when suddenly, a Common Poor-will began its midnight calling. The fact that I was hearing a bird I had never seen before kept me up for a while, but soon I fell back asleep.

The next day, we toured Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in the park. It was amazing. We then piled into the van yet again, and were off. We drove to Great Sand Dunes and set up camp. The next day, we went to Monte Vista NWR near Monte Vista, CO. There, we looked for marsh birds, and found Marsh Wrens, Northern Pintail, Great Egret, American White Pelican, Redhead, and more. Then, we went to Rio Grande SWR. There, we learned about cottonwoods, saw a baby Mourning Dove in the nest, and saw a camper eat a grasshopper. Yum. That night, we hiked along the base of the dunes. We played games, told jokes, looked at bugs, and tried to track other campers. It was really fun.

The next day, we got all packed up and went to do laundry in Alamosa. After that, we went to the Great Sand Dunes pool (a.k.a. the Hooper pool). There, we swam in 100 degree water and caught fish in a stream. On the way back to camp, we stopped at Zapata Falls. Deep in a box canyon in the mountain are the falls. Only accessible by walking on stones in the stream, the falls are tucked away 50 feet below the canyon top. The two falls, a large upper one and a lower small one, create a roar as they fall. After exploring the cavernous canyon, we then went back to camp for the hike up high dune. When the sun began setting, we began the hike. An hour later, all of us sat on top of a false peak. Even though we never went on high dune, the dune was amazing. Soon, it was time to roll down to the valley floor to go to bed.

The next day, it was time to get moving in the van again. This time, it was to Salida for an art lesson with Sherrie York. There, we learned cool tips on how to draw and did some cool activities. We then drove on to Chico Basin Ranch near Colorado Springs. On the way, we saw a new trip bird; Pygmy Nuthatch. When we arrived at the ranch, we got stuck in the mud. One of the instructors drove the car out, but then we had to haul the U-Haul over 100 feet (U really do haul U-Hauls!). That evening, we caught a Common Nighthawk in the net. It was really cool.

The next day, we birded for prairie birds. We saw Cassin's Sparrow, Lark Bunting, and Horned Lark. While looking at some cholla, a car drove by. Looking back, we realized that Lori Fujimoto was in the car. We later caught up with them and all of us thanked her for our scholarships, awards, etc. Later, we drove around looking for Mountain Plover and also went on an in depth ranch tour. I learned a lot. We then drove back to the old stone house and began working on our project on the 14 habitat zones of Colorado. I did Prairie. The next day, we worked some more and presented our projects. Later, we just sat around and savored our last time together .Then I got an idea. I convinced two other boys we should toilet paper the girls' room. The other two boys did toilet paper the girls' room, but I was too tired to go. The next day, we all said farewell, and then sadly departed. I will always remember this camp though, because of how much fun we had.

July 2004

These young birders attended the camps/events they report on with the help of ABA scholarships.