It is hoped that this brief treatment of the birds will arouse your interest in these important members of the park’s wildlife population.
Park-naturalist-conducted bird hikes are scheduled during the summer, and bird books are on sale at Moraine Park Visitor Center. Birds are an important element in the enjoyment of the park; take advantage of the opportunity to become acquainted with them.
Clark’s nutcracker, familiar at parking areas, is often confused with the “camp robber,” or gray jay.
MAN IN THE ROCKIES
At least a thousand years ago many Indians passed through the park region. Evidences of their presence are few but conclusive. Arrow points, hand hammers, and even crude pottery fragments have been collected, and some are on display in the Moraine Park Visitor Center. In the past 200 years or so, the park was the haunt of the Utes (whose main territory was west of the Continental Divide) and, latterly, of the Arapahoes who ranged the plains east of the park. Many old Indian trails have been logged in the park; Trail Ridge was named for its Indian trail.
After the United States acquired the region through the Louisiana Purchase, a number of explorers and adventurers passed near the park in their travels: Stephen Long in 1820, William Ashley in 1825, Richard Dodge in 1835, Eliza Farnham in 1839, Frederick Wislizenus in 1839, Rufus Sage in 1840, John C. Fremont in 1843 and 1844, Francis Parkman in 1846, and Frederick Ruxton in 1847. From his narrative, there is reason to think that Sage might have been in Wild Basin; if so, this would mean that he was the first explorer to set foot in what is now Rocky Mountain National Park.
Both Ute and Arapaho Indians hunted in these mountains.
On October 15, 1859, Joel Estes and his son topped Park Hill and saw what is now Estes Park. The next year, Estes settled his family in the grassy meadow—a “park” in Colorado terminology. It soon became known as Estes Park, a name in use to this day. By 1867, the Estes family claim was acquired by Griff Evans, who later transferred his rights to a British nobleman, the Earl of Dunraven.