Photo Gallery
Photos by Michael O’Brien and Louise Zemaitis
Southwestern Colorado offers some of the most varied and spectacular terrain in the country. In mid-July, birds, butterflies, and mammals are amazingly conspicuous as they enjoy the brief summer weather. We begin our tour in the front range, near Denver, where we search for butterflies such as this Bramble Hairstreak at Apex Park…
…and often see such typical western birds as this Spotted Towhee.
Our hike at Eagle’s Nest Wilderness area…
…often produces high-elevation forest birds such as this Pine Grosbeak.
In the sagebrush country near Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, in addition to a variety of waterbirds, we may see the stunning “Baird’s” Old World Swallowtail.
Farther west, along the headwaters of the Rio Grande, we’ll search for American Dippers.
In the arid plateau country of Colorado’s southwest corner, we’ll visit Mesa Verde National Park and its Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings which were mysteriously abandoned in the 13th century.
As we explore the pinyon-juniper habitat at Mesa Verde, we should find noisy family groups of Black-throated Gray Warblers. Here a recently fledged young waits to be fed.
As we head north through the San Juan Mountains, we’ll view some of the most breathtaking scenery in Colorado. Near Andrews Lake, we’ll search for butterflies…
…such as this lovely Aphrodite Fritillary…
…or this Colorado Hairstreak.
In the old mining town of Ouray, we’ll visit Box Canyon Falls where Black Swifts nest.
While visiting the spectacular sandstone formations at Escalante Canyon…
…we’ll search for such varied species as Chuckar, Gray Flycatcher, Pinyon Jay and a number of uncommon butterflies like this Becker’s White.
In stark contrast with Escalante, we’ll visit the lush wildflower meadows at Grand Mesa where butterflies are numerous and birds may include Three-toed Woodpecker and Red Crossbill.
We’ll also view the deep gorge at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Wildlife Refuge…
…where we’ll hope to stumble into the recently-split Dusky Grouse.
In the rolling sagebrush country near Gunnison we’ll search for another recent split, the Gunnison Sage-Grouse.
We’ll end the tour above 14,000 feet at Mt. Evans. Here, two Mountain Goasts graze near the peak…
…and a Pika suns himself on a rock.
Nearby, we’ll search the alpine tundra for Colorado Alpine…
…and maybe a White-tailed Ptarmigan.