Join Arden Anderson and Katie Renga for a bit of birding in the Gunnison Valley. The group will meet at 8 am at the base of the Rainbow Lake Road along Highway 50 about 1 mile east of the road to the Elk Creek Marina on Blue Mesa Reservoir or about 14 miles west of Gunnison. We will carpool up there to reduce the number of vehicles and head south of Gunnison to start looking for some sagebrush birds including Gunnison Sage Grouse. We will return to the Gunnison River stopping by the McCabe Wetlands and Neversink riparian area. Continuing west we will check the reservoir for ducks, grebes and other water birds. We will return to the Rainbow Lake Road and allow those who are short on time to break off from the field trip around noon. The rest of the group will continue up the Rainbow Lake Road traversing a variety of habitats as we go from 7500 ft to 11,000 ft on a well maintained gravel road. Along the way we will hear a presentation from Hilary Henry who is involved with the Gunnison Public Lands Initiative - a conservation oriented proposal that she is hoping that BCAS will support. If time and weather permit we may even have time to hike a bit into the West Elk Wilderness to look for some high altitude birds. We should end up back at the base of the road around 4 or 4:30 to end the field trip. It will be a full day so bring water, lunch, insect repellent, sunscreen and extra clothes for changing weather. The higher altitudes and cooler temperatures should be a welcome relief from the heat of summer. We hope you will join us.

Call Arden Anderson at 970-641-5322 or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions.