Strapped to 170cm-long skis racing down packed snow seven-feet deep at an elevation over 10,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies is usually not the safest time to observe birds. But before hitting the slopes, on languorous rides up the chair lift when it's not too cold, there are moments when birdwatching is all there is to do. Hawks may soar overhead and ravens might gather in pairs while mountain chickadees flit between pine tree branches. I've also watched Canada jays foraging on the trails below in two southwest Colorado ski resorts, the only places I've ever witnessed the birds.
Most recently was the first weekend of March while I skied Purgatory Resort north of Durango. Also known as the gray jay, a Canada jay was at the resort's mountaintop restaurant, Dante's, taking food from a skier. The skier told me that the jays used to wait for handouts from passengers on the lifts but ever since high-speed chairs were installed, the birds started begging at the restaurant. Watching the bird snatch some kind of snack from the skier's hand put an image in my mind of the same activity thirty feet above ground on a fast-moving chair; apparently speed impinged on that endeavor's success.
The Canada jay was quite easy to photograph with my smart phone, even though the digital zoom captured some grainy images. If the bird wasn't cute enough in its appearance, its interaction with the skier was enchanting as it waited on a nearby picnic table and made regular forays to the man's extended glove.
I was thrilled to have a close encounter with the jay as its range doesn't extend much further south than where I was skiing. While it does live at the highest elevations of far eastern Arizona, it's much more common farther north, ranging as far away as the boreal forests of northern Canada. No wonder the bird was so intrepid in grabbing morsels as it's already tough enough to survive winters in near arctic environments.
Later while having an après ski beer in the resort village, I spoke to a couple who share their time between two residences, one in Durango and the other in southwest Florida: snowbirds in pursuit of snow, not escaping it. A fire roared in the stone fireplace and a live guitarist's music played over the speakers. The late afternoon winter sun was already low behind the mountain range as skiers finished their last runs of the day, abandoning the dark trails until the next day. At the very same time, the indomitable Canada jays and other wildlife we left much higher up the slopes were living year-round in any amount of cold and snow Mother Nature threw their way.
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| A Canada jay at Purgatory Resort near Durango, Colorado. |
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| A Canada jay at Purgatory. |
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| A Canada jay at Purgatory. |
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| A Canada jay at Purgatory. |
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| A Canada jay at Purgatory. |
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| A Canada jay at Purgatory. |
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| A Canada jay at Purgatory. |
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