Park County Explorations - Ptarmigan and Montane Species (Co-sponsored trip with DFO)

Join us for a high elevation hike and exploration in pursuit of the area's highland specialties: White-tailed Ptarmigan, Brown-capped Rosy-Finches, American Pipits, and more. 

We'll begin with a moderately strenuous, birding-paced, 12,500 feet elevation, 2 mile hike around Kite Lake searching for White-tailed Ptarmigan families, montane breeders, and wildflowers. We'll then descend in elevation in pursuit of breeding ducks, shorebirds, and more at a collection of ponds near Alma. We'll stop at the town of Jefferson and later check out some residential feeders in hopes of spotting resident Band-tailed Pigeons and more.

We'll be using a lot of the tips and tricks found in the "Habitat Blast: Cone Forests (APR 2025)" BIRD BOMBS episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1F0MaG6fg4

Plan for roughly 2 miles of moderately strenuous hiking at elevations near 12,500 feet, 3.5 hours of driving time, and some walking at our post-hike stops. As always, birders of all experience levels are welcome. Bring binoculars, water, lunch, snacks, and layers. The leader will drive, and we'll need one additional driver. Restrooms available at a few spots. 

This trip is led by David Suddjian and Ryan Corda. 

To register for this trip, click here to visit the registration page on DFO's website. Please note you will need to create an account on the DFO website to register for the trip.