The San Luis Valley is really a large place and we have
ranged over a better part of it during our one-year odyssey to see as many
birds as we can in the Valley. So far we
have seen over 180 birds. On this field
trip we went to the western alluvial plain below the Crestone Needles.
Following the trail guide in the Rawinski we headed up Hwy.17 to the Black
Canyon.
As we drove north we saw sandhill cranes loafing in a field
east of the highway. We also saw a red-tailed hawk diving at unseen prey and
pronghorns racing across the chico. As
we turned east across Saguache County Road G we saw a golden eagle flying on a thermal
and a peregrine falcon sitting on a pole. We drove north on a rugged dirt track
to the Black Canyon trailhead. Many horned larks darted across the road and
disappeared in the brush. Ravens cawed across the sky and magpies dropped in
and out of trees. The trail continues to
Orient Mine, where during summer evenings large numbers of Mexican free-tailed
bats leave the mine in a spectacular scene that thrills spectators.
We drove over rugged tracks and dirt roads until we found
ourselves heading back down Hwy. 17.
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