Jan 26 2023 - Heatherwood Trail
Met at 1:30 at Heatherwood Trailhead
Weather: Sunny to overcast, breezy, ambient air temperatures ~mid-30s (F)
Ellie was ill and could not join. Hector, a visiting PhD student from Spain joined us.
General route: Walked west on the Heatherwood Walden Link trail (name from Gaia GPS) along Boulder Creek about 0.6 miles, making many stops, then headed back to the TH.
Quick notes about observations:
- Across the creek we saw house finches and sparrows perched in trees.
- Mallard and gadwall ducks sitting together on icey banks and islands in the creek
- Dan talked about cross current exchange as a cold weather adaptation (plus pulsed blood flow)
- Ash trees (paired and round buds vs lanceolate maple buds)
- A juvenile red-tailed hawk and bald eagle flew overhead close enough to easily seem them, about 10 minutes apart
- Cottontail tracks in snow
- Attempted to key out a locust (tree). The Rocky Mountain Tree Finder book lead us to the New Mexican locust but some characteristics did not match up. Dan followed up to say that it was likely a black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
- Lots of fox squirrel around (and their nests high in trees)
- Dan gave a presentation about lichen
