Beaver Meadows and Cub Lake
6 / 8
We had such a great experience the first time that we showed up again for a second guided bird walk at Beaver Meadows. This time I finally got a photo of a Western Tanager, spotted a flock of waxwings, and saw a Green-tailed Towhee, among others.
Beaver Meadows bird watching guided hike
1 / 29
After the walk, the skies were clear, which meant another shot at seeing bighorn sheep. We swung by the Sheep Lakes overlook to check, but no luck. Leaving Beaver Meadows, we spotted a Northern Flicker perched on a rock as if it were monitoring its kingdom.
I decided to try birding on my own, so we returned to Beaver Meadows. Normally I am more of an opportunistic birder. If one crosses my path, great. But this time I was moving slowly and scanning the trees with the Merlin Bird ID app ready.
That is when we stumbled into some nest drama. A female Mountain Bluebird was bringing nesting material to a tree cavity, and while she was inside, swallows hovered nearby, clearly eyeing the real estate. The male bluebird stood guard close by. Farther down the trail, we found a pair of Violet-green Swallows working together on their own nest.
Later, a wild turkey casually walked straight into our path and strolled alongside us for a bit before veering off into the woods. Before disappearing, it gave us a full tail fan, just in case we had not fully appreciated the performance.
We headed into town for lunch at Nepal’s Cafe, which hit the spot, then closed out the day with a 5.2 mile in and out hike to Cub Lake. Along the trail we spotted elk nearby, and later a group of geese with goslings took control of the path. We gave them space. They gave us side eye. I even managed to get a photo with geese in the foreground and elk in the background, which might be the most Rocky Mountain National Park image I have captured so far. A marmot watched us from the rocks as we neared the end of the trail.
Everywhere we went, something was happening. Birds, mammals, nesting debates, turkey attitude. It was a full day in the mountains.
I decided to try birding on my own, so we returned to Beaver Meadows. Normally I am more of an opportunistic birder. If one crosses my path, great. But this time I was moving slowly and scanning the trees with the Merlin Bird ID app ready.
That is when we stumbled into some nest drama. A female Mountain Bluebird was bringing nesting material to a tree cavity, and while she was inside, swallows hovered nearby, clearly eyeing the real estate. The male bluebird stood guard close by. Farther down the trail, we found a pair of Violet-green Swallows working together on their own nest.
Later, a wild turkey casually walked straight into our path and strolled alongside us for a bit before veering off into the woods. Before disappearing, it gave us a full tail fan, just in case we had not fully appreciated the performance.
We headed into town for lunch at Nepal’s Cafe, which hit the spot, then closed out the day with a 5.2 mile in and out hike to Cub Lake. Along the trail we spotted elk nearby, and later a group of geese with goslings took control of the path. We gave them space. They gave us side eye. I even managed to get a photo with geese in the foreground and elk in the background, which might be the most Rocky Mountain National Park image I have captured so far. A marmot watched us from the rocks as we neared the end of the trail.
Everywhere we went, something was happening. Birds, mammals, nesting debates, turkey attitude. It was a full day in the mountains.