When Elk Meadows resident Rebecca Kindred first noticed rosy-finches visiting her feeders in the winter in 2016, she was intrigued. She had been a bird-watcher for years, but these were life birds for her, a term used by birders for the first time they’ve spotted a species in their own lifetimes.

When long-time birder and former Ouray resident Sue Hirshman put the word out that she was looking for winter sightings of t...