RESCHEDULED: Rosy Finch Field Trip

UPDATE: The Rosy Finch field trip has been rescheduled!  The road from the highway to the parking area at Lewis & Libby Lakes will still be closed this weekend, so we are pushing the field trip date back to July 22.  We will meet at the Lewis & Libby Lakes parking lot at 9am!

Our next field trip is this Saturday, July 15 July 22.  We'll head up to the Snowies to look for Brown-capped Rosy Finch, and other high-elevation summertime species.

Black-capped Rosy Finch, 
photo by Shawn Billerman

We will park at the Lewis and Libby Lakes parkings areas and head down a walking trail of one mile to the north end of South Gap Lake.  The area may still have some snow, could be wet, and crosses sections of boulder fields.  The hike will go up to 11,000 feet.

The Brown-capped Rosy-Finch is a species of concern because it breeds only in the Snowy Mountains and on mountain peaks in Colorado and northern New Mexico. If the current global warming trend continues, its mountain habitat islands are likely to shrink and to be invaded by other avian species that are currently excluded by the harsh conditions. In spring and summer, Brown-capped Rosy-Finches often feed at the edge of snowdrifts, where seeds that were blown onto the snowpack during winter emerge from the melting snow cover.  In past years we have done surveys for rosy finches in this area, but this year we will just be heading out to see if we can find any.


Meet at the Lewis and Libby Lakes parking area at 9 am. Please bring binoculars and/or spotting scope, a field guide, warm clothes and rain gear, good hiking shoes, hat, lunch and snacks, water, sunblock, and insect repellent.

All Laramie Audubon field trips are free and open to the public; families are welcome.