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Our focus on this tour was clearly grouse, but we enjoyed so many other wonderful birds, mammals, and landscapes along the way. One of the undeniable signs of spring was this male Broad-tailed Hummingbird buzzing around us in Colorado National Monument. (Photo by guide Eric Hynes)

Mother Nature threw everything she had at us this year: a dust storm, howling winds, two feet of snow, even a lifer precipitation for some: graupel. Despite her best efforts, we still managed a clean sweep of the native grouse, observed more than two dozen mammal species and 150+ bird taxa, and had a tremendous amount of fun along the way. The birds and their behaviors will be ingrained in our memories for years to come.

We launched our avian adventure from Denver International Airport. Day One was a meet-and-greet travel day but we managed to squeeze in some birding en route to Pueblo. Our loop east of Colorado Springs, principally birding along Squirrel Creek Road, turned up some real gems. Point-blank views of Swainson's Hawk, Mountain Plover, Burrowing Owl, Scaled Quail, and Loggerhead Shrike kicked off the tour with a bang. Black-tailed Jackrabbit and Pronghorn were the mammalian highlights that first afternoon.

Day Two was spent birding our way east along the Arkansas River Valley from Pueblo to Lamar. First stop was IL Road, where we scored our targets pretty quickly: Scaled Quail, Mountain Plover, Sage Thrasher, Curve-billed Thrasher, and Loggerhead Shrike. The immature Ferruginous Hawk we studied in the scope turned out to be the only one we saw all tour. A mid-air prey exchange between a pair of Northern Harriers was a behavioral highlight. After a pit stop in Ordway, we scanned Lake Henry and saw Clark's Grebe as well as you could ever hope to see. At Lake Meredith, we all remarked that the concentration of Gadwall (several thousand at least) was more than we had ever seen in one spot. The flock of Yellow-headed Blackbirds at the feedlot was trumped by the neon pink bellies of the Franklin's Gulls. Our afternoon birding was focused around Holbrook Reservoir, where we turned up two pairs of Snowy Plovers, a Western Sandpiper, American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts, and a close, perched Bald Eagle.

Our first lek experience was with the scarce and declining Lesser Prairie-Chicken at dawn on Day Three. We had a particularly cozy viewing situation thanks to a double-booking snafu made by the local operator, but it worked out fine in the end. Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists were on hand trying to trap chickens, but it didn't seem to disturb the birds in any way. Our journey north to Wray was marked by countless Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks, an odd concentration of Swainson's Hawks standing in a field, and an intentional detour through Simmons State Wildlife Area where we scoped a nesting Great Horned Owl. The raccoon reaching its paw into the cottonwood cavity was pretty cool, too. Our conversation with Bob Bledsoe always ends up a major talking point the rest of the tour. He is a real character.

The strutting, stomping, inflating of air sacs, and flashing of erect pinnae of the displaying Greater Prairie-Chickens were amazing, but even more memorable were the bizarre wails, cackles, clucks, moans, and hoots. Day Four was a huge success even before the sun was up. Our out-and-back in Pawnee National Grassland produced the target: McCown's Longspur. Screaming winds and pelting dust at Lower Latham Reservoir kept us in the vans, but we still picked out Cinnamon Teal, a Long-billed Dowitcher, and Baird's Sandpipers in the marsh.

A forecast of heavy snow for the Rockies had us up and out the door early on Day Five. We beat rush hour around Denver and enjoyed a great breakfast at Marion's in Idaho Springs. Normally we spend this day traveling down through the mountains but the weather quickly deteriorated and we prioritized safety. It meant a long detour and some white-knuckle moments but eventually we made it unscathed to Gunnison.

The continued snow meant we had to postpone our Gunnison Sage-Grouse experience, but we made the most of it. The snow seemed to concentrate the birds and perhaps drove some down from higher elevation. Our Day Six morning spent in the East Elk Creek section of Curecanti National Recreation Area, along the shore of Blue Mesa Reservoir, was outstanding. Two species of rosy-finches at our feet, a flock of 31 Mountain Bluebirds, a perched Golden Eagle, a Black Phoebe, a Green-tailed Towhee, and hundreds of the "Gray-headed" subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco were just some of the highlights. In the afternoon we were thrilled to watch an American Dipper do its thing, then we cruised up Taylor Canyon. American Robins and "Gray-headed" Juncos lined the road by the thousands. We picked up Clark's Nutcracker and many Mule Deer and Bighorn Sheep.

Day Seven was much less snowy and the Gunnison Sage-Grouse came and did their thing, thank goodness. Our excitement over a mixed flock of rosy-finches along Blue Mesa Reservoir was heightened when a hunting Prairie Falcon slammed into the flock and came away with a meal. As we worked our way west, a roadside "Slate-colored" Fox Sparrow was a nice pick-up. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is spectacular, but you will have to take my word for it since the weather obscured the views. Besides scenery, we always try to visit the park for Dusky Grouse. It wasn't until we were moments from giving up when that female appeared -- phew! Sweitzer Lake State Park was noteworthy for a Peregrine Falcon making a pass at a Mourning Dove, a soaked Golden Eagle ID challenge, Bank Swallows, plus Marsh Wrens and a calling Virginia Rail in the cattails. Our last stop on our way to Fruita was Fruit Growers Reservoir. The north-end causeway was bird rich but the rain really dampened our efforts there.

The habitat in Colorado National Monument is conspicuously different than anywhere else on our route, so Day Eight always brings about a dozen or more new birds. Highlights included the dramatic flight of many White-throated Swifts, a buzzy little Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Pinyon Jays, Juniper Titmouse, three wren species, and Black-throated Gray Warbler to name a few. After studying a Golden Eagle on a nest, we landed in Craig for the evening.

An overnight coating of fresh snow accentuated the scene at the Sharp-tailed Grouse lek outside of Hayden the morning of our penultimate day. Those guys are clearly the best dancers. Heck, a few of them were in such a frenzy that they battled in the road. After a scrumptious breakfast at Winona's in Steamboat Springs, we drove over Rabbit Ears Pass and reached Walden midday. Lake John was quiet, but Walden Reservoir was absolutely loaded. We cleaned up some missing waterbirds and then headed to the mountains. At the Moose Visitor Center in State Forest State Park we watched some feeders for a bit. On our climb toward Cameron Pass, we were pelted by a flash downpour of graupel.

Our last full day together began at a Greater Sage-Grouse lek. The fact that it was selected as the top species of the tour is a reflection of the awe-inspiring experience we took in that morning. With perma-grins on our face and weather on our side, we ascended up to Loveland Pass. Once again, Jason was the first to spy our target: White-tailed Ptarmigan. We marvelled at their incredible camouflage as we slowly realized there were a total of seven birds in front of us. White-tailed Ptarmigan was a close second on the favorite bird voting, so our last day truly was a grand finale. A quick visit to Genesee Park added Pygmy Nuthatch to our list, and then it was down to Denver.

Thank you all once again for choosing Field Guides for your Colorado Grouse adventure. Jesse and I had a blast birding with all of you, and we would love to do it again some day. Until then, take care and good birding.

--Eric Hynes

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 156 bird taxa and 27 mammal taxa