When you’ve birded for more than 40 years, the thrill of finding a species you’ve never seen before becomes a rare event indeed, unless you venture far from home into rainforest or remote oceanic islands. Yet most of the time we are right here, at … Continue readingA Lifer
Each monsoon season brings the marvelous Gila Monster out of its underground burrow in search of protein, usually bird or reptile eggs. Here in Portal near the eastern edge of its range, the beast is rather rare––or at least seen only occasionally. It was an … Continue readingThe Jeweled Lizard
Today Alan, Noel and I seek out a spot recommended by Carol Boggs, a butterfly expert at Rocky Mountain Biological Lab. We return to Crested Butte, then head over Kebler Pass (where the myriad flowers are strangely devoid of butterflies) to Erickson Springs, a national forest campground … Continue readingBlack Canyon of the Gunnison
Noel, my sister Lisa, and I venture up Nellie Creek today in a rental jeep, under brooding skies. The summer rains hold off for the entire time we hike in the alpenfields at the foot of Uncompahgre. For most of the day, the tip of … Continue readingAbove Timberline
Alan, Noel and I take the intrepid Highlander up North Henson in the San Juan Mountains today. All day it is partly cloudy and cells of rain are drenching nearby regions, although the rain never falls on us. After about four miles, the road becomes … Continue readingNorth Henson Creek
Big Blue ––a watershed flowing from Uncompahgre Peak to the Gunnison River––and the nearby Alpine Plateau score high on several points. For one, they offer about the levelest hiking anywhere in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Count us in! Big Blue Creek flows from Uncompahgre’s northeastern … Continue readingThe Big Blue
Flush with our success at finding the Lustrous Copper, Alan, Noel and I embark on a daytrip into the Elk Mountains, in the hope of encountering something new and extraordinary, and also with the intention of visiting our friends, Mary Price and Nick Waser, who … Continue readingGothic Moods
To find the Grail, that quarry of legend, a quest is essential. And Noel and I have quested, for years. (For Alan, it is more of a diversion from ice cream, not so much a quest.) We have sought our Grail––the Lustrous Copper––at Slate Peak in the … Continue readingQuest for the Grail
Last week Alan and I set off for Lake City in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, on a butterfly expedition with our good friend Noel Snyder. For two years, Noel has been daydreaming of Tailed Coppers, ever since I found them along Henson Creek on … Continue readingCopper Tales
Have you ever tried hunting for scorpions at night using an ultraviolet light? They fluoresce! Here is a scorpion near Portal, at night under the “normal” illumination of a camera flash: (Photos by Narca) And here is the same beast under a UV light: Quite … Continue readingScuttling Scorpions!