While hiking the Gem Lake Trail today, my husband and I ran across two large mixed flocks of little birds - mostly (from the ones I could actually spot in my binocular) Pygmy Nuthatches, Wilson's Warblers, and Townsend's Warblers (surprised me too!). I saw a Townsend's early on the trail with a Yellow-Rump, but then found at least six more in the morning and afternoon flocks. The morning flock was more than half way up to Gem Lake; the afternoon flock was about one-half mile from the trailhead approx. three hours later. Maybe this was the same flock, maybe not. Other birds in these flocks were - Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Red and White-breasted Nuthatches, Mountain Chickadees, and a Hairy Woodpecker. I am posting this because I KNOW I missed birds in these flocks - bad light conditions, beginning to rain, other excuses. There were at least 30 birds in each flock, flitting around pretty high in ponderosa, Douglas fir, aspen, tall junipers, shrubs, etc. Clark's Nutcrackers were fairly common on the trail after Gem Lake. I checked Lake Estes and the Mathews-Reeser Bird Sanctuary late in the afternoon hoping for another "flock experience", but it was pretty quiet there. It was a great day to be out.
Denise Bretting
Loveland
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