Cassin's Finch (Carpodacus cassinii)

Cassin's Finch (Carpodacus cassinii)

I saw this Cassin's finch in the Rocky Mountain National Park on the weekend of June 11th, sometime in the afternoon. We were hiking the Cub Lake Trail when I heard this bird before it was seen. We had to narrow down where exactly the bird was based off of sound, and that was pretty cool to do. The bird's song was like a house finch's, but modded, and this was what tipped me off to the fact that it was a finch of some sort, I just wasn't sure which one until I found the bird. Even then, I had to whip out the trusty Sibley's Guide to ID this bird because I have never seen a Cassin's finch before. There were several other birds and creatures seen on this hike, so look for more posts. For now, you can listen to the Cassin's finch here, see a short video of Cub lake here, and read more about the near threatened conservation status of this bird here.