This is a wonderful time of year in Ute Country, the days
are getting warmer, plants begin to sprout and animals are on the move. Migration
is the movement of animals from one location to another in response to the
changing day length. There are many reasons
animals need to migrate; food availability, habitat needs for raising young and
the opportunity to take advantage of more abundant resources, being the most
significant.
Last month I had an amazing experience watching birds
migrate through the San Luis Valley.
Thousands of Sandhill Cranes and hundreds of thousands of waterfowl were
feeding, resting and refueling before heading to their breeding grounds up
north. Northern Colorado, Wyoming and
Montana provide more suitable habitat for feeding and raising their young than
New Mexico where they spend the winter.
To experience the sights and sounds of this event is awe inspiring and
should be experienced at least once.
In our area we see many species that are long distance
migrators, coming from miles away to spend the warmer months and those that migrate
locally, not going a long distance but traveling from higher to lower
elevations.
Mammals
Elk (local migration). The weather is the major factor for
Elk migration. As long as they can find
a food source they tend to stay put.
Even in winter they search out open, sunny slopes with forest nearby to
protect them from the wind and cold at night.
As heavy snows fall in the high country they must move to lower
elevations where food is in the open or covered by less snow. They spend the summer at higher elevations
foraging on new growth of plants and brush, their preferred food. Elk can be seen at Florissant Fossil beds at
various times of the year.
Bighorn sheep (local
migration), unlike Elk, have a set route for migration. The sheep move from rocky slopes of the
mountains to grazing grounds at lower elevations each year and will not vary
from this route. Dome rock, near Mueller
State Park, is known for its healthy population of Bighorn sheep. Keep in mind that hiking in Dome Rock is
restricted due to the lambing season from December 1st to July 15th
annually. In the spring along CR 1 as
you head to Cripple Creek, grazing sheep can be often be spotted eating in the
grassy meadows. This is the Colorado
State animal.
Pronghorn (local migration) corridors are located in Fremont
and Chaffee counties. Again, weather is
a major factor for migration. They spend
the summer in high mountain prairies, eating grasses, forbs and sagebrush and
prefer to be located within a few miles of water. As the snow begins to fly they must leave for
lower elevations having little tolerance for the cold weather.
Birds
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (long distance) This little bird
migrates in the spring to our area from Mexico and Central
America…amazing! They race from the
lower elevations to the subalpine meadows to find a nesting area. As the pressure for a nesting site declines
they will spread out into the mountains and down to the foothills and plains to
spend the summer.
American Robins (local migration). These beautiful red-breasted birds move from
south to north in Colorado following the food.
They eat insects, snails and of course, earthworms. It seems that these birds are here all year
round but in actuality you are looking at the southern populations in the
summer and the northern populations in the winter.
Williamson’s Sapsucker (long distance). A sure sign of spring is the return of this
woodpecker. This bird, like its name
suggests, sucks sap. It drills holes in trees
and returns at a later time to feed on this golden liquid. Ants and other insects that come for the sap
become this birds’ meal too. Look for
them in a forest near you.
Lark Bunting (long distance). Honorable mention, this is the Colorado State
bird. It migrates from Mexico through
Colorado and spends the summers in more northern states and Canada. We will not see this bird in the mountains
but on the eastern plains where it eats grains, seeds and insects.
One more migrator:
Humans (long distance and local migration) can travel many
miles or come from the nearest city to spend the pleasant summer months in the
mountains. The recreational vehicles can be seen moving through our area in
high numbers. They come for lakes to fish, water, to float, boat and kayak on
and the cooler temperatures. Every
winter that passes I am feeling the need to become a migrator myself.
Enjoy the spring migration and the animals on the move; we
will do it in reverse in the fall.
