beg for food. Many a tent has been gnawed through and many a food bag ripped asunder by marmots. Nighttime assaults on tents can be especially annoying, as the persistent pests not only threaten your food, but they can also rob you of precious sleep. Marmots are also quite curious about parked automobiles, and more than one has been known to chew clean through rubber hoses, lured by the sweet scent of brake fluid or antifreeze (both of which are obviously toxic). Marmots can be pesky at times, but the mountains wouldn’t be the same without them.
Pikas are small, grayish, mouselike animals with large ears. They can be seen popping in and out of rocky talus fields, industriously gathering straw and flowers for their dens. No doubt you have heard their trademark “rubber ducky” squeak at one time or another. Their soft gray fur is indicative of their relation to rabbits; they are of the same family. Amazingly, pikas do not hibernate in the winter. Instead, they rely on densely insulated burrows and large reserves of stored food to get them through the cold months. This incredible system makes them one of the elite animals that can actually endure winters above 14,000 feet. Biologists fear pikas may be headed toward extinction as development and pollution encroach on their environment.
Beavers are always hard at work in high-elevation ponds. Beavers that live in higher elevations develop thick and luxuriant coats, a trait that made them appealing to early fur trappers. Salt-loving porcupines are the second-largest rodents in Colorado, behind beavers. River otters were believed extinct in Colorado by 1970, but efforts to reintroduce new populations have been successful, notably along the Dolores, South Platte, and Colorado Rivers. These playful members of the weasel family are a delight to watch as they frolic on riverbanks, tumbling and swimming just for the fun of it. The unmistakable stench of the skunk indicates that they too are out in the mountains. Mink and muskrats round out the smaller water-loving mammals. Like beavers and river otters, they are semiaquatic animals that live on the banks of rivers, ponds, and lakes.
Finally, how can we forget about the little guys? Uinta chipmunks are curious and bold, and too often their cuteness is rewarded with an ill-advised handout of pretzels or peanuts. They need to retain their foraging skills to get them through the winter, so please make a point of not sharing, even if they are agreeable to taking food from your hand. Golden-mantled ground squirrels are often mistaken for chipmunks because they share the same habitats, color schemes, and personalities. An easy way to tell the two apart: Chipmunks have stripes on their furry faces and squirrels do not. A variety of rabbits exist in Colorado. The mountain cottontail is the most common; as a result, these bunnies serve as a food source for coyotes, mountain lions, and other predators. Snowshoe hares are speedy animals whose coats change color with the seasons. The smallest of the mammals include field mice, pocket gophers, and shrews.
On the Wing: Major Birds of the Rocky Mountains
Bird-watching has gone mainstream in the past few years, proving that it’s not only nerdy foreigners in giant Coke-bottle glasses who peep at the life in the sky (which is not to imply that I have ever subscribed to the stereotype that bird-watchers are necessarily nerdy, foreign, or visually impaired!). Birds in the Rocky Mountains are plentiful and come in a delightful array of colors. There are far too many to cover in this brief overview, but I’ll note some of the most prevalent birds you’ll encounter in the mountains. (Bird lovers should check out birding.com/wheretobird/colorado.asp or pick up a copy of Birds of Colorado Field Guide by Stan Tekiela, published by Adventure Publications).
No other bird conveys majesty on the wing quite like the bald eagle. Bald eagles were nearly extinct in the lower US by the early 20th century, but they have made a great comeback, thanks to conservation efforts. (The only American bald eagles born outside of North America in this century were hatched in European zoos.) Today, a healthy population flourishes in Colorado. Females may have a wingspan of 7 feet and are larger than their male counterparts. An interesting bit of eagle trivia: Native Americans are rumored to have set up eagle traps on the summit of Longs Peak, giving strength to the argument that John W. Powell wasn’t the first person to stand atop that fabled 14er. Golden eagles are slightly smaller than bald eagles and have brownish-beige colorings. Incredibly agile in flight, these birds of prey mate for life and are one of the few threats to rodents living above 13,000 feet.
Peregrine falcons prefer cold mountain regions, migrating north to the Arctic and south to the Rockies and other northern American mountain regions. Because they are seasonal visitors, your best chance to see peregrine falcons is during spring and early summer. They are unrivaled as the fastest animals on earth, capable of unleashing a free fall, diving attack that regularly exceeds 200 miles per hour! In this incredible display, called a stoop, the falcon folds its wings, extends the razor-sharp talons on its feet, and plummets at mind-bending speeds toward an unsuspecting bird below. The aim is to damage or completely sheer off a wing (a direct impact would injure both birds). When the disabled prey hits the ground, the falcon descends to finish off the job. If you are fortunate enough to witness a peregrine falcon stoop, the awesome image will remain in your mind for years to come.
Red-tailed hawks are smaller simulacrums of the golden hawk. Whenever you hear the telltale screech of a bird in movies or on TV, chances are that you are hearing the distinct cry of the red-tailed hawk.
Ravens and crows can be found throughout Colorado. Both are large black birds with fancy ebony beaks. The two are difficult to differentiate. One major difference can be seen in their flying postures: crows tend to flap, flap, flap their wings, while ravens will flap a little and then soar through the air, similar to the way hawks fly.
Gray jays are friendly avian beggars with stylish gray and black markings. Jays relentlessly haunt campsites and picnic tables, looking for scraps of food. Mountain bluebirds are a striking electric-blue color, painted the same hue as the clear mountain sky. As you make your way along mountain trails, several varieties of swallows may gleefully zip by you with an audible thwipp. Appropriately named redwing blackbirds are distinguished by the bright red “armband” on the shoulders of their black wings. Robins, owls, ducks, cranes, herons, and woodpeckers are also common in the mountains.
Ground-patrolling birds are abundant. White-tailed ptarmigans are extremely likable, peaceful fellows. They amble about on the tundra, only mildly concerned when hikers approach. “Mumbling” ptarmigans often have broods of adorable chicks in tow. Ptarmigans are masters of camouflage, with brownish, speckled, ground-imitating feathers in the summer and pure snow-white plumage in the winter. On one occasion, I came across pockets of nearly invisible white ptarmigans huddled against the cold in a January subzero whiteout. Their hearty, stoic, stick-it-out approach to winter earns my respect. The more fidgety pheasant is equally good at camouflage but has a bad habit of abandoning its guise when hikers come too near. The loud and frantic flapping of startled pheasants has been scaring the living daylights out of hikers since time immemorial. There are other grouse species in Colorado, none of them as bizarre as the rarely seen Gunnison sage-grouse. Looking like a ruffled member of avian aristocracy, the male of this species has a distinctive white ring of feathers on its neck that it inflates with air sacs during mating rituals—what lady-grouse could resist such a display?
Storms roll into the Pacific Peak basin.
Last, but not least, are the iridescent hummingbirds that hover about in search of nectar. Usually blue-green or yellowish in color, hummingbirds are often mistaken for large bugs upon first sight. Despite their small size, they are curious creatures, prone to investigating bright-colored clothing and backpacks.
Something Fishy
Fish in the pure, cold mountain streams are the object of anglers’ affections (and often the objects of their meals as well). The only trout truly native to Colorado’s higher mountain lakes is the sleek cutthroat trout; other members of the trout family have been introduced. These include the speckled rainbow trout,
