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Colorado Calochotus, Columbines, and Chickarees A Greentours Reconnaissance Report 10th to 25th July 2017 By Paul Cardy Daily Accounts and Systematic Lists by Paul Cardy Day 1 Tuesday 11th July Arrival, Denver to Colorado Springs Having flown to Munich on Monday, I caught the Lufthansa flight to Denver. A great start to the tour as I was upgraded to business class, always a great bonus. We landed in the major hub of Denver, the airport architecture highly distinctive, at an ideal time, early afternoon. I sorted a few practicalities and took the shuttle to the car hire office where I procured a suitable vehicle for my recce. Then I set out south, by passing the sprawling city, and joining the interstate to Colorado Springs. At these lower altitudes (although still c.1600m) much of the vegetation was already brown but a fine selection of flowers on the roadside had me wishing I had time to stop. Both Argemone polyanthemos and Oenothera cespitosa had striking large white flowers. Once at Colorado Springs I headed west, now in more tranquil surroundings. I reached my small characterful bed and breakfast and settled in. I had little energy left after the journey so made a quick supply stop to a nearby supermarket and ate in my room whilst I prepared for my explorations tomorrow. Day 2 Wednesday 12th July Pike’s Peak Around the small lodge in the morning Black-billed Magpies were much in evidence, as were Mourning Doves, and Broad-billed Hummingbirds hovered at my window. After a VERY sweet breakfast shared with my fellow guests I set out for the exciting drive up Pike’s Peak, my reason for staying here, to drive the fine paved road all the way to the summit. The flowers were immediately interesting on the lower slopes. Red fading to pink flowered Ipomopis aggregata was abundant on roadsides in the area. The striking borage, Oreocarya virgata, with leafy white flowered spikes, resembled an Echium. Rudbeckia hirta was common, and Melilotus albus and Linaria vulgaris were invasive weeds on the verges. At the edge of the aspen, pine and spruce forest Geranium viscosissimum and Geranium richardsonii were much in evidence. Rather surprising was Yucca glauca Greentours Natural History Holidays www.greentours.co.uk 1 common in the area, somewhat incongruous in this otherwise rather boreal flora. Asclepias speciosa was another common roadside plant. I took a short walk through woodland and meadows. The beautiful Weidemeyer’s Admiral was in fine condition and settled very close to me. Also on the wing were Clouded and Orange Sulphurs, Painted Lady, and Western Tiger Swallowtail. There were a selection of Potentilla species, a large and confusing genus here. Angelica grayi flowered in the shade, and the familiar Campanula rotundifolia was common. There was delicate Allium cernuum, a tall twiggy Eriogonum, Galium boreale, one or more species of Erigeron, Penstemon glaber, Amelanchier alnifolia, one or more Castilleja species, Ribes sp., and both Rosa acicularis and Rosa blanda in flower. I was very pleased to find a beautiful Aquilegia coerulea, the state flower of Colorado. Plants continued with Thalictrum fendleri, Heracleum maximum, and the attractive Delphinium barbeyi. The white flowered Jamesia americana, Fivepetal Cliffbush, was initially puzzling but I later worked out what it was. It belongs to the Hydrangaceae. Sedum lanceolatum had yellow flowers. Mertensia ciliata was a species that would be very common on the tour. Thermopsis macrophylla was in fruit, and Anemone canadense in flower, the only place I saw it. Streptopus amplexifolius was here too. Dark-eyed Juncos were much in evidence, here of the grey-headed race, with an attractive brick red patch on its back. The prosaic American Robin was seen too. New plants kept on coming, among them Heuchera parvifolia and Phacelia heterophylla. Continuing the journey, one of the regular road signs told of Townsend’s Big-eared Bats! I made a quick stop at a visitor centre which sold a lot of tat and no significant books! Here a young lad, watching the squirrels, pointed out to me that there were two different species, although he did not know what they were (Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel and Colorado Chipmunk). Notable and somewhat reassuring, as coincidentally as I write this there is an article on Radio 4’s Inside Science about the disconnection of children with the natural world. The superb large white flowered Oenothera caespitosa was impressive. There were strikingly tall and robust Monument Plants, a gentian, and pretty Linum lewisii was in flower. Now in the subalpine zone, Oxytropis sericea and Senecio atratus became a feature of the roadsides. There was another visitor centre with no books, but here I found one Iris missouriensis still in bloom, and very floriferous Mertensia lanceolata. A very dark flowered Carex was impressive. Minuartia obtusiloba was in flower, and Penstemon hallii was beautiful. Chipping Sparrows called and California Tortoiseshell flew among the trees. Before long the ever impressive road took me into the tundra, boulders scattered across the open landscape, and fine views. American Pipit was much in evidence here. Mertensia alpina was in fine form, according to the ‘eastern slope’ flora, endemic to Pike’s Peak, but it is not. It occurs very locally elsewhere in Colorado, and also in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and New Mexico! Yellow-flowered Geum rossii was abundantly in flower. I was delighted to find the first Primula parryi in perfect flower, but this species really does have a strong skunk smell! Also in fine form was Primula angustifolia, both these flowering close to each other in wet flushes and under boulders. The umbel Cymopteris humilis, Pike’s Peak Alpine Parsley, is endemic to this mountain and was in fine flower. There was fine Greentours Natural History Holidays www.greentours.co.uk 2 Eritrichium nanum, can we call it King of the Alps here? King of the Rockies? Actually here it’s called more prosaically Arctic Alpine Forget-me-not. I had seen very many in the Alps just a few days previously. Caltha leptosepala was impressive, and there were fine Snowdon Lilies (also seen in the Alps with the Eritrichium recently). Trifolium nanum was a most distinctive clover, and a feature of the habitat. Every step found new plants such as Rhodiola integrifolia, Saxifraga chrysantha, Micranthes rhomboidea, Noccaea montanum, Castilleja occidentalis, and Silene acaulis. Heterotheca villosa (Hairy False Goldenaster) was common. Ravens were typical of the habitat. At the top of the road, the peak at 14,115 feet, I took a short stroll in the rarified air. The cafe and visitor centre here really was full of tat, with many queuing with overflowing baskets of the stuff at the till! The cog railway is an alternative method of ascending the mountain and terminates here. Views were misty up here today. American Pikas scampered over rocks, where Claytonia megarhiza was in bloom, and there was more Eritrichium nanum. The drive down was necessarily slow, with most drivers being sensible and keeping to the enforced speed limit, in low gear to stop brakes overheating. Near a sign for Bighorn Sheep I did indeed see some rather scruffy individuals with shaggy coats, three females. Green flowered Paronychia pulvinata superficially resembled Minuartia sedoides. At several stops the classic thing happened, a short walk from the busy road, and there was no-one at all, I had the fine habitat to myself. There were impressive snow patches above. Yellow-rumped Warbler was active in the conifers. Fine Hymenoxis grandiflora, The Old Man of the Mountain, and the first of many Zigadenus elegans, flowered among Juniperus communis depressa. Phacelia sericea was attractive, a species that would be common on the tour, and there was much Solidago multiradiata. The wonderfully woolly Cirsium scopulorum was impressive. The brake check lady was friendly and complemented me on the low temperature of my brakes, due to the fact I’d been stopped for an hour nearby I told her! Chequered White nectared, there were again several species of Potentilla, amd more robust Monument Plants. Late in the afternoon, rain came, but not before I’d had time to explore fully all the sites I’d intended to. So I drove to the nearby town of Woodland Park to sort some practicalities. That evening I found a good restaurant in the village, suitable for the group when we stay in the area. I realised that I had seen no Europeans at all today! All voices I heard on the mountain were American. Surprising as there are so many flights arriving into Denver from Europe. Indeed for the whole two weeks I met no Europeans until the last evening! Day 3 Thursday 13th July Journey to Grand Junction Today was a transfer day with much of interest en route, through a great variety of scenery and habitat. Lesser Goldfinch, American Robin, and Broad-tailed Hummingbird were outside my room before I left. Greentours Natural History Holidays www.greentours.co.uk 3 As I got ever further west the road became somewhat quieter, and the roadsides were very flowery, notably with various penstemons and Ipomopsis aggregata especially. A green flowered Platanthera appeared in wet roadside flushes, something to stop for next time. Turkey Vultures were in the air. Wilkerson Pass allowed fine views of snow-capped peaks. There were books for sale in the small visitor centre, several flowers, and even moths attracted by the lights. The latter included the arctiid Aemilia ambigua, in fact this being very close to where the specimen illustrated in ‘Moths of Western North America’ is from. Attractive Oenothera coronopifolia flowered in the car park, the only place I would see it.

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