Tour Narrative
In Brief: There is simply no better time to visit Colorado than April, and this year’s grouse tour demonstrated why. It is a season where winter and spring collide. Barrow’s Goldeneyes lingered along the Colorado River with a great variety of other waterfowl. Brown-capped Rosy-Finches remained in spectacular numbers in Crested Butte. Boreal Owls, already paired and likely incubating eggs, still sang under a spectacular starry sky. Williamson’s Sapsuckers had recently arrived to vie for our attention with throngs of Red Crossbills, Pygmy Nuthatches, and Pine Siskins. In mountain valleys and on the eastern plains, the first blush of green-lined riparian woods, with migrants including Gray and Ash-throated Flycatchers, Virginia’s Warbler, and Northern Parula. Shorebird migration was nearing full swing, and a Mountain Plover delighted us with its magnificent courtship display flight. April is also a time for the unexpected—this year a Summer Tanager eating a worm in a small feedlot, an Osprey sitting in a dirt field, and an early Mississippi Kite virtually side by side with a Prairie Falcon and a Peregrine Falcon in what was likely my best 30 minutes of hawk-watching ever in Colorado. But nothing about this season is as rewarding as the fantastic displays of the grouse. From the bizarre sage-grouse to the foot-stomping sharp-taileds, from the maniacal cackles of Lesser Prairie-Chicken to a displaying Dusky Grouse only yards from our feet, this year was among the best ever for our Colorado chicken trip.
In Detail: We began our birding at Red Rocks Park, widely regarded as one of the best amphitheaters in the world. Canyon Wrens seem to agree, and their musical notes cascaded down the sandstone walls. After a brief stop for American Dipper, we headed to a nearby park with open stands of Ponderosa Pine. Birdlife was perhaps more abundant here than I had ever seen before, with no fewer than four Williamson’s Sapsuckers, dozens of Red Crossbills, and numerous flocks of Mountain Chickadees and all three nuthatches roving through the pines. From here, we headed to Loveland Pass where we eventually found a White-tailed Ptarmigan on a barren patch high on the ridge. While traversing another mountain pass, we had a completely unexpected adult Northern Goshawk—the first ever recorded on this tour. Not much later, we were treated to spectacular views of several male and female Pine Grosbeaks. Mammals were in abundance all day, with Bighorn Sheep and Moose leading the list of spectacular mammals.
We woke in darkness the next morning to travel to the west side of North Park. Not long after we arrived, moving shapes materialized in the sage: Greater Sage-Grouse. As the sun rose, we enjoyed wonderful views of these remarkable grouse. After leaving, we found the first of what would be many Golden Eagles, this one soon joined by a second on the nest. Walden Reservoir hosted impressive numbers of birds, from the raucous California Gull colony to hundreds of ducks, including Barrow’s Goldeneye and Cinnamon Teal.
The next day we watched the foot-stomping Sharp-tailed Grouse,which completely surrounded our vans at times. Spreading their wings and stamping their feed rapidly, they revealed the almost iridescent purple air sacs, nicely complementing the bright yellow eye-combs. It was easy to see why Native Americans incorporated these displays into some of their own dances! From here we hoped to have better views of Dusky Grouse, but none of us expected that we would be watch a bird displaying with tail fanned and raspberry-red air sacs inflated only yards off the road. As we watched, he sat on the ground and hooted, so close that only his head and upper neck could be seen in the scope.
As the sun set, we headed up Black Mesa, finding an unexpected Slate-colored Fox Sparrow. Conditions were great for Boreal Owls. and we heard at least four different birds. As we listened beneath the stars, one Boreal gave a single staccato song that lasted well over a minute.
After a bit of a rest, we headed to Wild Horse Canyon, where Black-throated Sparrows sang and an early Gray Flycatcher made an appearance. We encountered a surprising number of migrants at a nearby migrant trap, including several Virginia’s Warbler, Western Kingbird, Marbled Godwit, and Franklin’s Gull.
The next morning we awoke early to watch one of North America’s most endangered birds, the Gunnison Sage-Grouse. They delighted us with bizarre displays as the sun rose behind them. As we headed toward Pueblo and left the stunning mountain scenery behind, we said goodbye to some of our last mountain species with spectacular views of dozens of Brown-capped Rosy-Finches, a Red-naped Sapsucker, and good numbers of Cassin’s Finches. We were joined that afternoon by Brandon Percival, who showed us Curve-billed Thrashers nesting in his backyard, Scaled Quail, Burrowing Owl, Great Horned Owl, and Barn Owl, the latter two on cliffside nests.
While Colorado’s mountains and canyons offer the state’s most spectacular scenery, the eastern plains are home to a great variety of nesting and migratory birds. Highlights included impressive numbers of shorebirds: Snowy Plovers, Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Long-billed Dowitchers, Wilson’s Phalaropes, and Semipalmated, Western ,and Baird’s Sandpipers. But it was the displaying Mountain Plover that stole the show. At the Lesser Prairie-Chicken lek, several males called and wailed, jumped and inflated air sacs, and provided us with great views. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, a couple of females walked onto the lek, inspiring near pandemonium in the displaying males.
The next morning we set off to explore the little-appreciated meeting point of Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Highlights included amazing numbers of Vesper Sparrows and singing Grasshopper, Cassin’s, and Rufous-crowned Sparrows. Migrant landbirds were present in good numbers, including a Northern Parula and a very early Tennessee Warbler—the earliest ever for Morton County, Kansas. But it was a Texas Horned Lizard that really stole the show as he sat motionless until our flash cards were filled.
Our final day brought several surprises, from a vagrant Summer Tanager to strong north wind and drizzle. Despite the rain and wind, Greater Prairie-Chickens, the last of the grouse on the tour, performed their displays on the lek. The experience was made only better by the great coming together of ranchers, the local chamber of commerce, and the Colorado Division of Wildlife. The future for all the grouse we enjoyed on this trip depends on partnerships and collaborations like those the wonderful people of Wray have put together.
- Chris Wood
Updated: June 2010