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Sharp-tailed Grouse were definitely the best dancers among the lekking birds we observed. Their lavender air sacs were eyecatching as well. (Photo by guide Eric Hynes)

Thanks so much for choosing Field Guides for your Colorado Grouse adventure. Pepe and I had a blast showing you so much of the state and a little bit of Kansas too. We pulled off the clean sweep of targeted grouse, vanquished a number of your nemesis birds, and encountered over two dozen mammal species along the way.

Our first afternoon was principally spent traveling south, but we looped in some productive birding on the plains east of Colorado Springs. Prairie species highlights that first day included Mountain Plover, Burrowing Owl, numerous Swainson's Hawks, Sage Thrasher, and the first of many Great Horned Owl nests.

Day two was our first full day of birding together, and we put a serious dent in the checklist by the time we called it quits. Our route roughly followed the Arkansas River going east, with stops at several key reservoirs. Tardy Snow Geese, Cinnamon Teal, Scaled Quail, Clark's Grebe, Ferruginous Hawk, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Snowy Plover, and hundreds of male Yellow-headed Blackbirds stood out.

In order to pick up our first targeted grouse, we were forced to expand our route into Kansas. The extra early start and lengthy drive on day three were worth it as we scored Lesser Prairie-Chicken. The rest of the day was spent getting ourselves north to Wray. A conversation with Bob Bledsoe at the end of a long haul proved very interesting and we discovered a few new things about each other.

We found ourselves surrounded by Greater Prairie-Chickens at sunrise on day four. The squawks, cackles, and hoots were as memorable as the displays. A short drive into the vast Pawnee National Grassland produced killer looks at McCown's Longspur. Our afternoon's birding was at Lower Latham Reservoir, where we picked up several shorebird species not encountered anywhere else on the tour.

Day five began with a hearty breakfast at Marion's of The Rockies. The chicken du jour was White-tailed Ptarmigan, so we wound our way up to 12,000 feet at Loveland Pass. Thanks to Pepe's sharp eyes, we quickly got on a small covey of them. After repositioning below the pass, we savored outstanding looks at those hardiest of grouse. The duration of the day was filled with one spectacular view after another as we made our way over to Gunnison. Many of you exchanged high fives when we picked up a cooperative American Three-toed Woodpecker en route. The day ended with a dash up to Crested Butte.

Our scheduled visit to the only public access viewing area for the rare Gunnison Sage-Grouse was successful, although a hunting Golden Eagle kept the grouse at quite a distance. We complimented the lek experience with some birding around Blue Mesa Reservoir, and scored our only Clark's Nutcracker up in Taylor Canyon in the afternoon to round out day six.

We awoke to falling snow on day seven in Gunnison. Luck was on our side that morning, as we happened to find ourselves behind a plow truck, which we clung to as we traveled west up and over another summit. It was a different day when we descended into Montrose. Sweitzer Lake, like it does every year, turned up a number of species we hadn't seen yet on the tour, and some we never saw again. Swallows skimmed the lake by the thousands, and a large flock of coots miraculously grew legs and become White-faced Ibis in the scope. Fruit Growers Reservoir held a Willet and a Wilson's Phalarope, and a cooperative pair of Lewis's Woodpeckers visited a cavity.

We turned up a suite of new birds in the juniper and pinyon habitat of Colorado National Monument on day eight. Pinyon Jay, Juniper Titmouse, Bushtit, Townsend's Solitaire, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Bewick's Wren, Black-throated Sparrow, and Violet-green Swallow were spotted before we tracked north-northeast to Craig.

Some said it couldn't be done, but we pulled off the unlikely "double chicken maneuver" on the morning of day nine. It took several passes, but we eventually scored a displaying Dusky Grouse before sunrise, then raced over to a Sharp-tailed Grouse lek to see a fantastic dance party. We celebrated our rare feat with Colorado's best breakfast at Winona's in Steamboat Springs. On our way up to Walden, we spotted several Rough-legged Hawks and Pat got us onto Greater Sage-Grouse before we even got near a lek. Walden Reservoir was a waterfowl smorgasbord, including the highly coveted Barrow's Goldeneye.

The Greater Sage-Grouse lek on our last morning was outstanding. The 114 individuals was a high count for me in the last five years. Thanks to a friendly conversation with a local the day before, we visited a private home and observed the full set of rosy-finches before making tracks to the south. Another helping of Barrow's Goldeneye was welcomed at Windy Gap Reservoir on our way back to Denver. Our last birding stop was at Genesee Park where we scored excellent scope views of Red Crossbills and some busy Pygmy Nuthatches.

By the time we arrived back in Denver, we had covered the equivalent of driving from Washington, D.C. to L.A. It was a heck of an avian adventure and we thoroughly enjoyed every mile of it with all of you. Thanks for being such a fun bunch to bird, drive, and dine with. Greater Prairie-Chicken and White-tailed Ptarmigan tied for favorite species of the tour. Greater Sage-Grouse took the silver medal and Mountain Plover and Lewis's Woodpecker tied for third.

Good birding and I hope our paths cross again some day!

-- Eric in Vermont

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: 155 bird taxa and 26 mammal taxa