Incredible scenery and great birding make this Spring trip to Colorado one of the best birding experiences in North America, indeed clients in previous years have always raved about it.  Many birds and mammals are found more easily in Colorado than anywhere else and your guide Dick Filby spends much of the year in Colorado and knows where to find them.  What’s more, the endless vistas of the High Plains give a sense of freedom and space that is difficult to find in many parts of the world whilst the Rocky Mountains, their dramatic peaks still snow capped after 300 inches or more of snow from the winter, tower above great forests and deep gorges carved by gushing rivers.  The focus for this trip are the grouse leks for which Colorado is famous, with more grouse species to be found here than anywhere else in North America. There is no better place to view them.  The leks are totally spellbinding and in addition to the displays, also offer unusually prolonged viewing of the cryptic plumage of these otherwise shy and retiring species.  The supporting cast of other birds and mammals is impressive in its own right.

The grouse leks are some of the most incredible display rituals in the avian world and we will get amazing and close-up views.  Each species has its own unique and bizarre performances, which involve ritualised dancing, inflation of brightly coloured air sacs, curious vocalisations and extraordinary postures.  As we progress around the state in search of the different species, we will position ourselves at each lek prior to dawn and thrill to a new spectacle unfolding as the sun rises.  Captivated, we will spend an hour or more spellbound until the frenzied activity of the males diminish, the visiting females have departed, and we too head for breakfast.  We visit leks of Greater Sage Grouse, the recently split Gunnison Sage Grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Greater Prairie Chicken and Lesser Prairie Chicken.  In addition we will seek displaying Blue Grouse and Wild Turkeys, coveys of Scaled, Gambel and Northern Bobwhite Quails, as well as the enigmatic and beautiful White-tailed Ptarmigan.  As we search for the latter, a notoriously difficult-to-find species, we will be truly on the roof of North America, atop the Rocky Mountains, having driven up into the Arctic Alpine zone at almost 12,000 feet. Like the rest of the tour, we will look for the birds close to the road. It is set to be a fantastic culmination to an amazing tour.

We will seek numerous other exciting birds, some of which are not readily seen in much of the rest of the USA, including American White Pelican, White-faced Ibis, Snow and Ross’s Geese, Wood Duck, Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teals, Canvasback, Redhead, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Bald Eagle, Swainson’s, Ferruginous, Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks, Prairie Falcon, 10 spp of grouse and grouse-like birds as noted above, Virginia Rail, Sandhill Crane, Piping and Mountain Plovers, Killdeer, American Avocet, Willet, Long-billed Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Semipalmated, Least, Western and Baird’s Sandpipers, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Wilson’s Phalarope, Franklin’s, Bonaparte’s and Ring-billed Gulls, Chimney and White-throated Swifts, Black-chinned and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, Belted Kingfisher, Lewis’s, Red-bellied, Ladder-backed, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Williamson’s and Red-naped Sapsuckers, Eastern and Say’s Phoebe’s, Cassin’s and Western Kingbirds, Horned Lark, Tree, Violet-green, Northern Rough-winged and Cliff Swallows, Gray, Steller’s, Blue, Western Scrub and Pinyon Jays, Clark’s Nutcracker, Black-billed Magpie, Chihuahuan Raven, Black-capped and Mountain Chickadees, Juniper Titmouse, Bushtit, Red-breasted, White-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches, Rock, Canyon, Bewick’s, House and Marsh Wrens, American Dipper, Eastern, Western and Mountain Bluebirds, Townsend’s Solitaire, Sage, Brown and Curve-billed Thrashers, American Pipit, Cedar Waxwing, Loggerhead Shrike, Green-tailed, Spotted and Canyon Towhees, Cassin’s, Rufous-crowned, Chipping, American Tree, Clay-coloured, Brewer’s, Field, Vesper, Lark, Savannah, Grasshopper, Fox, Song, Lincoln’s, and White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Junco, Chestnut-collared and McCown’s Longspurs, Red-winged, Brewer’s and Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Western Meadowlark, Great-tailed Grackle, Gray-crowned, Brown-capped and Black Rosy Finches, Pine Grosbeak, Cassin’s Finch, Pine Siskin, Lesser and American Goldfinches and Evening Grosbeak.  This tour offers an excellent chance to see many of these species in summer plumage on their breeding grounds.  We will also seek several species of owls, including Burrowing, Western & Eastern Screech Owls and Great Horned Owl and with great luck, Northern Saw-whet Owl.

We start in the Great Plains, continuing to the Rocky Mountains and then back into the plains for a couple of days.  Finally the tour closes near to Denver, in search of the specialities of the Ponderosa forests and, weather permitting, White-tailed Ptarmigans by the roadside atop the Rockies.

For a fuller description of this tour, a full bird and mammal list, and tour reports from previous years, visit the WildWings website or contact the office.

Whilst this tour is not designed specifically for photographers, it will offer some good birding photographic opportunities, most especially if long lenses are used.  Digi-scoping opportunities can be excellent, as are the scenic photo opportunities.

The trip is designed for the birder who is prepared to go to bed early and get up very early.  Basic fitness is essential, but with no long walks planned, this is not a physically demanding tour apart from the early starts. We will generally be birding from, or close to the vehicle. 

Travel: is by 15 passenger van, with a maximum of seven participants.  Whilst there are some days with longer drives, this is balanced with days where we have two nights at the same place, or where the total distance between overnight stops is around 100 miles or less.

Itinerary

Day1: Fly UK - Denver.  Overnight hotel.

Day 2: The Eastern Plains.  Drive to Springfield birding en route.

Day 3: Lesser Prairie Chicken lek, Commanche National Grasslands and South East Canyonlands.

Day 4: Lesser Prairie Chicken lek again (optional) then into The Rocky Mountains to Gunnison.

Day 5: Gunnison Sage Grouse lek and the Black Canyon.

Day 6: Colorado River and valleys of the central Rockies.

Day 7: Sharp-tailed Grouse, Bald Eagles, Sandhill Cranes.

Day 8: Greater Sage Grouse, North Park plateau and Cache-le-Poudre valley.

Day 9: Pawnee National Grasslands.

Day 10: Greater Prairie Chickens, Bonny State Park and the Eastern Plains.

Day 11: AM Eastern Plains, PM drive to Denver area

Day 12: Final morning birding foothills of the Rockies, return to Denver, overnight flight.

Day 13: Arrive back in UK.

Holiday Information

Dates: 12th - 24th April 2008

Leader: Dick Filby

Cost: £1749 per person sharing a twin room

Single Supp: £299 per person

Deposit: £300

Group size: 7 plus leader

Price includes: Return economy class flights including airport taxes, all ground transportation by mini-bus, accommodation on a room only basis in twin bedded en suite rooms. Lek visits, services of WildWings leader, pre tour information pack and a day-by-day bird checklist.

Price excludes: Travel insurance (from £71.15), all meals, drinks, souvenirs, gratuities, laundry charges and other items of a personal nature. Allow approximately U$20-30 per day for food and drinks (or more if you choose to celebrate in style).  Food is generally at local diners and restaurants, with packed breakfast/lunch on some days.  Most of the tour is based in small towns so the restaurant opportunities are adequate and satisfying.

Birds:  Number of species expected (approx.): - 180

Mammals:  Notable mammals will likely include Elk, Pronghorn, Mule Deer, White-tailed Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Coyote, three species of Prairie Dog, Porcupine, possibly Moose or, with great luck, Bobcat or even Mountain Lion (Puma or Cougar).