All 3 !!

Friday and Saturday I went for another short adventure to see some more of Colorado. In the morning I drove up Loveland Pass, simply spectacular alpine scenery at nearly 12,000 ft. I hoped to find Ptarmigan just down from the summit. On this beautiful blue sky day, I did not expect winds of 50 mph. I could not be outside the truck for more than 2 mins, I would be blown off the mountain and into the next county !! So much for searching small bushes for Ptarmigan.
I descended the mountain, continued west and north thru White River National Forest and on to Kremmling. Landscape here is high sagebrush plains, with a few trees. 2 Black-billed Magpies flew over. I followed Hwy 40 over Rabbit Ears Pass and stopped to hike in Routt National Forest. Dense firs and pines sheltered the trail from the strong gusty winds. This is a beautiful forest.
Saturday morning before dawn I drove on well-maintained dirt roads north of Hayden. Grasses and bushes were taller than the sparse sagebrush plains along Hwy 9. In the pre-dawn darkness I found the parking spot for the lek. Sharp-tailed Grouse were already dancing and jumping in the grass. Their bowing and wing displays were hidden by the tall grass, but I could see their tail wagging, courtship jumping, and the erect yellow combs on their heads.
As a bonus 2 Dusky Grouse were walking in the road near the 2nd cattle guard. I almost didn't see them in the dark.
The past several weeks have been successful for all 3 prairie-dancing birds I wanted to see, Grouse and Prairie-Chickens. Amazing birds.
Photos from Loveland Pass road, and the late winter landscape west of the Rockies.