The 2003 tour was another extremely successful and enjoyable one. Indeed it was by all measures probably the most successful yet. We saw all the target species, plus a good many more, (giving a total of 185 bird species in all), enjoyed some great spring weather and were also able to enjoy a couple of cold snaps when snow fell, enhancing the scenery but not diminishing our birding success. Indeed, the fantastic scenery was one of the highlights of the trip, and as usual we were treated to some excellent hospitality too.

We met up at Denver Airport, and drove to a nearby spot where we saw several Burrowing Owls at a Black-tailed Prairie Dog colony, plus a Baird’s Sandpiper, several Killdeers and Horned Larks and truly excellent views of two Swainson’s Hawks, one light morph and one dark. The motel was just a few minutes away, and after a freshen-up we went for supper at the nearby diner and then very early to bed.

After an early breakfast we set off for southeast Colorado and the Commanche National Grasslands. We encountered a little early morning fog, which is rather rare in Colorado, but the sun soon burnt that off and we shortly reached the Great Plains reservoirs where we broke the journey for a couple of hours. Highlights amongst a good variety of species included Ross’s and Snow Geese, some American Avocets, a Great Horned Owl at the nest with at least one chick, a small herd of White-tailed Deer and several sightings of Pronghorn Antelope. Continuing south we arrived at Springfield mid afternoon for a two night stay. After checking-in to our rooms, those who opted for some late afternoon birding (everyone!) hopped into the minibus for the short distance to the Commanche National Grasslands and were soon enjoying good views of a breeding plumaged Mountain Plover and six Burrowing Owls. We rounded off the day at Two Buttes State Wildlife area where we found another Great Horned Owls nest (this one with three chicks), our first Canyon Towhee and our first Myrtle Warbler.

Dawn next morning saw us already in position at a Lesser Prairie Chicken lek. Four of the group were in the small hide, very close to the birds, whilst the rest of us watched from the comfort of the van, still close to the lek. As the sun came up behind us, the full splendour of the performance became apparent and Reg (the keenest photographer amongst us) rolled off film after film. It was a great start! Horned Larks and Western Meadowlarks sang vigorously, competing for our attention with the prairie chickens, and this year we were again pleased to see a Cassin’s Sparrow as it sallied skyward in songflight rising above the prairie vegetation in which it spends its summer skulking.

We spent the rest of the day in the canyons and pastures of the Commanche National Grasslands, with Scaled Quail, Wild Turkey, another look at a Mountain Plover, and a Rufous-crowned Sparrow amongst the many highlights of a great day’s birding.

We overnighted at Springfield before a return dawn trip to the Lesser Prairie Chicken lek for those who opted out of a lie-in. We had another great morning at the lek, then after breakfast, we set off westwards towards The Rocky Mountains. We made several roadside stops and saw plenty of good birds including a pair of Curve-billed Thrashers, a drake Hooded Merganser, a flock of 400 Franklin’s Gulls in breeding plumage, White-throated Swifts, Mountain Bluebird, and a flock of Pinyon Jays to name a few. As we crested Monarch Pass at 11,300 feet we paused to admire the forested mountains laden with new snow (and spotted a Mountain Chickadee) before we headed down into Gunnison.

Dawn saw us tip-toeing into the private hide at a Gunnison Sage Grouse lek with our guide and we were soon enjoying a privileged view of this newly described and rare species. We had good but distant views of several displaying males through the telescopes on a stunning calm, crisp morning, white with a dusting of new snow. I never fail to be amazed at their display ritual and this morning with the bright snowy backdrop, it was more enjoyable than ever. The grouse left the lek shortly after dawn, flying towards us and passing almost directly over our heads!

After breakfast the day was warming nicely and we headed northwest, soon arriving at Blue Mesa reservoir where we could readily appreciate the effects of the multi-year drought – the water level was 50 feet below normal. We were still able to enjoy many water birds including four Great Northern Divers (Common Loons) and 500 summer-plumaged Franklin’s Gulls. Nearby we saw several Sage Thrashers before heading to the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Monument for some of the most dramatic scenery of the whole trip. The weather was perfect, and the birding good with Clark’s Nutcracker one of many highlights, so we took advantage by having a picnic lunch accompanied by Steller’s and Western Scrub Jays. Afterwards we headed on towards Grand Junction, making a couple of short side trips, seeing a Clark’s Grebe on the first, and for the second we headed up onto the Uncompahgre Plateau to visit a Northern Saw-whet Owl – which gave us great views, plus a Townsend’s Solitaire, and our second species of Bluebird – Western. By the trip’s end we would see all three bluebird species.

And so into Grand Junction, where, late afternoon, in addition to a small covey of Gambel’s Quail, we visited my staked out pair of Western Screech Owls and a pair of Barn Owls, all seen in daylight.

We headed east the following morning, en-route to Steamboat Springs, passing through my Colorado “local patch” – with Barrow’s Goldeneye, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Cassin’s Finch, Lesser Goldfinch and Evening Grosbeak all on the target list. With a 100% success rate plus a hearty breakfast at home too – special thanks to my wife, Denise, it was a great start to the day. We continued our journey through Glenwood Canyon, where the Colorado River, here young and fast flowing, carves a spectacular gorge that is followed by the railroad and Interstate 70. Beneath the towering canyon walls, the two-tiered road is an engineering marvel reputed to be the most expensive section of highway in the world. It afforded us dramatic views of the canyon. Leaving the Colorado River behind we cut north towards Steamboat Springs and had more excellent roadside stops with highlights including four very close Golden Eagles (that gave incredible and prolonged views), Red-naped Sapsucker, Gray Jay, Juniper Titmouse, Red Crossbill and Pine Grosbeak.

Late afternoon, we left the motel and headed out of town to meet up with a friend of mine. En-route we paused for some roadside Sandhill Cranes before continuing to our rendezvous. Not long afterward Jim had taken us to a bluff from which we were looking down into a nearby Bald Eagles nest, with a delightful white fluffy chick basking in the evening sunshine. Frustration followed however in our search for Blue Grouse – with just a brief view of a single male. We returned the following morning, starting out the day at a nearby Sharp-tailed Grouse lek, yet another fantastic drama and once again, very different from the leks of the other species already encountered. The inflated purple air sacs of the males and their bow-winged quivering dance was yet another “seen-to-be-believed” experience. We built on this success shortly afterwards in the form of a displaying male Blue Grouse that walked within yards of my crouched and motionless body whilst the group watched on. Back at the motel, as we ate breakfast, the sky darkened and it snowed heavily, for a good hour or more, but it was to no detrimental effect. As we headed out of town en-route for Walden, the storm had passed and instead we were treated to stunning views of a dramatic snow-covered mountain landscape as we crossed the Continental Divide using Rabbit Ears Pass and then on across the inter-montane plateau of North Park. We made a small diversion to see a colony of California Gulls, and whilst there, a flock of 25 Mountain Bluebirds flying over was quite a treat. Following an early supper, we headed out on an early evening visit to our Greater Sage Grouse lek but it was without success, most likely due to disturbance by some unseen predator.

The following morning we awoke to driving snow with several inches already on the ground and as fast as I brushed it off the van it lay thickly again on the screen. The snow ploughs are usually out early in Colorado and this morning was no exception so the road was already open and once everyone was aboard we drove slowly through the snow to the lek. The weather eased and we were soon rewarded with an incredible lek scene in the snow that had 28 displaying male Greater Sage Grouse and at least one visiting female. The males are huge and with their inflated throat sacs to amplify the sound, they produce a surprisingly far carrying, tremulous liquid boom. Accompanied by a double reverse thrust of the head, and erect tail feathers, these near turkey-size birds were definitely yet another major highlight of the trip. Afterwards, in finer weather, we headed for some bird feeders that had been producing Rosy Finches of all three species all winter but alas none this morning. On the way back, by the roadside, a large flock of about 100 American Pipits in full plumage and several summer plumaged Franklin’s Gulls were a spectacular distraction in the swirling snow that had returned. We took the hint, went for an early lunch and headed out of town to cross Cameron Pass and thence out of the mountains and down to the Eastern Plains. Soon after leaving town the snow swirled in again and whilst we marvelled at the wintry scene it meant that we did no more birding until we were over the pass and down into the Cache le Poudre valley. Here we found some nestbuilding American Dippers as we paused before arriving in Fort Collins for the night. It had been a truly exhilarating and memorable day.

Leaving the mountains behind we headed east to the Pawnee Grasslands where we soon enjoyed considerable success with all our target species on a beautiful sunny day. Most notable were great views of stunning summer plumaged McCown’s and Chestnut-collared Longspurs, as well as a couple more Mountain Plovers and our first Blue Jays of the trip, here at the westernmost extent of their range. They were our fifth species of jay. Stopping for lunch we enjoyed some Cedar Waxwings in trees right by the car park. Our final stop of the day was at Bonny State Park, one of my favourite sites for birding in the plains. We were not disappointed, and amongst a very long list of ducks and waders highlights included a Wilson’s Phalarope and the best of all, a Piping Plover. This endangered species was a first for the cumulative Colorado tour checklist over the years, and a new bird for my Colorado list too! Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird and Brown Thrasher were amongst the many species of passerine. Back in town we wasted no time finding the Eastern Screech Owl in it’s favourite trees – a fitting end to another very successful day.

The following morning we headed out to the hides on a private ranch that had been set up right at a Greater Prairie Chicken lek for us. As dawn broke the birds were so close that the ground seemed to resonate as they boomed and strutted just yards away. They did not want to give up and we were entranced by them for over an hour and a half, until the sun was well above the horizon and all the visiting female chickens had seen all they needed. We then headed back to Bonny State Park and the Republican Wildlife area for some final birding on the Plains before heading back to the mountains. Lincoln’s Sparrow topped the list of interesting birds. We had by now grown accustomed to the altitude (even the plains are at 4,000 feet or more and we had spent several nights at over 7,000 feet) so it was with acclimatised confidence that we looked forward to the culmination of the trip – searching for White-tailed Ptarmigans atop the Rocky Mountains. On the way up we spotted some Bighorn Sheep, feeding near the road, before we headed for some feeders at about 9,000 feet where we saw two species of Rosy Finch, as well as an out of range White-throated Sparrow and more expectedly, several Pine Grosbeaks. Our other goal however was currently unattainable due to heavy fresh snow that had closed all the high passes so we could not drive to above the treeline to search for the ptarmigan. Undaunted we trained scopes at the ridges and peered at the rocks and snow. The weather was beautiful, calm and the skies were a clear powdery blue. We gave it a valiant try but could not spot a ptarmigan so were heading back down to the motel when I spotted some trucks coming down one of the mountain passes. The road had just been re-opened! Heading on up we parked at the roadside in an area where the ptarmigan frequent and climbed out of the van into a snow covered winter wonderland several hundred feet above the treeline. It was not long we were onto on a flock of several birds and were able to walk to within a few feet of them. It was truly the climax of the trip, here on the roof of the Rockies, a clear, calm evening with the last rays of the sun turning the mountains a glorious shade of pink. As we soaked up the stupendous view we reflected on what an extremely successful trip it was proving.

The following morning we revisited the feeders to seek Rosy Finches once more, and saw the final species – Black Rosy Finch. We headed for some final birding in the forests of the foothills en-route to Denver. Invited in to watch the feeders in the garden of a large rural house we marvelled at the damage the bears do in the summer to any feeder they can reach. Meanwhile we enjoyed Pygmy, Red-breasted and White-bellied Nuthatches, the first Broad-tailed Hummingbirds of the summer, several black phase Abert’s Squirrels and a couple of tiny chipmunks – either Colorado or Least Chipmunk, they are almost impossible to differentiate in the field. Nearby, a spectacular pair of Williamson’s Sapsuckers drummed on a dead tree. Was it really time to go??

Yes, all too soon it was time to drive down past Denver and on out to the airport.