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| Million Dollar Highway |
Then, she found out that she didn’t need to work for one more day.
So, we added a night in Ouray, Colorado, to break up the long drive home.
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| Our trip |
We would be in Ouray on July 4, so that seemed cool.
As it turned out, we were both pretty tired (especially because we had spent one night up in the middle of the night to shoot the Milky Way in Marble Canyon near Lee’s Ferry).
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| The Milky Way |
So, we drove to Ouray through some spectacular scenery without stopping much for photos. We did pause briefly to take some photos on the Million Dollar Highway as we avoided some storms moving through the area.
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| A beautiful part of a beautiful state |
When we got to Ouray, we crashed early even though we could have walked to the town festival/fireworks display. I regret that now, but we were so, so tired.
Box Canyon
The next morning, before we drove the rest of the way home, we went to Ouray’s famous Box Cañon Falls.
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| Box Cañon Falls |
Canyon Creek slices through the deep narrow quartzite canyon and plummets 285 feet, forming an impressive waterfall. The canyon walls loom another 100 feet above the Falls.
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| A rugged landscape |
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| Top of the Falls |
There is a small fee to visit Box Cañon Falls Park: $3.00 for children 4-17 years old, $5.00 for adults 18-62 and $4.00 for seniors.
A 500-foot-long trail leads to the base of the Falls and a steep trail goes to the top. Since our time was limited, we only went to the base.
When you reach the actual Canyon, you walk through what is basically a metal cage with a see-through metal walkway and closed metal-grid walls.
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| Not pretty and tough for photos |
You can take metal stairs down to the River level.
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| Caty from above |
Black Swifts
One of the draws of Box Cañon Falls is that it is a nesting spot for the rare Black Swift. The last time I visited Ouray I was not into birding and did not know this. So, I really wanted to see one to garner another lifer.
The Canyon is dark and the Swifts are Black, so seeing them is tough.
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| Dark birds in the shadows |
At first, we didn’t know where to look and there were no Swifts flying around to guide the eye. Then, Caty found one nesting on the canyon wall. A few minutes later, a Volunteer came by and pointed out two more.
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| Oddly, we didn't see the best lit one first |
Black Swifts are the largest of the Swifts that migrate to North America. They typically arrive at the Box Cañon Falls in early June, where they build (actually generally rebuild) nests of mud and grass. The female typically lays only one egg during the breeding season. The chicks are hatched after 24-25 days. Parents both care for the young birds.
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| Photo: eBird |
The chick develops strength by hanging on the edge of the nest and flapping its wings like a hummingbird. This is the only exercise they have before migration to the southern hemisphere. We were too early to observe this. The Swifts we saw were sitting on their nests, hardly moving at all.
Once the chick is old enough take flight in early September, the Swifts leave the nest for autumn migration to the rainforest in Brazil, a distance of more than 4,300 miles.
So, yay! Another lifer!
Feeders
Box Cañon Falls has some bird feeders near the trailhead and I was really hoping to see Rosy Finches.
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| Male Cassin's Finch (well, he looks rosy) |
No such luck, just some Cassin’s Finches that I did photograph and some Steller’s Jays that I didn’t.
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| Female Cassin's Finch |
The feeders also attracted Least Chipmunks and Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, which were amusing visitors with their antics.
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| Little cuties |
A Good Trip
Then, we headed home without really stopping. It was a good trip with lots of great sights.
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| Another good trip! |
Trip date: June 29-July 5, 2022
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