by Michele Kadison

With more than 960 species of wildlife in the state of Colorado, it is no wonder that vacationers come here from all over the world to see these creatures in their natural habitat.  Your rockies.com editors recommend the following sites located throughout the Colorado Rockies:

Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge (South Central Region)
Among the wet meadowlands as well as in the river bends and pools, you will find a wide variety of birds.  Situated within the flood plain of the Rio Grande River and on the edge of the Sangre De Cristos mountains, there is a wide range of viewing points for seeing all the area has to offer.

Visit in wintertime and early spring to watch the bald eagles as they dine on local fish.  Here you will see a wide variety of waterfowl, wading birds, great horned and short-eared owls, and golden eagles.  From March through October, the sandhill cranes are roosting, providing you with a wonderful photo opportunity.  Take the two-mile trail that follows the Rio Grande for some ideal viewing spots.

There are many nesting and migratory birds in the region, including woodpeckers, flycatchers, warblers, blue grosbeaks, and indigo buntings.  Take a drive to see some of the wetland species throughout the area.

The refuge headquarters has many interpretive exhibits. Open Monday through Friday.
For more information, contact The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 719-589-4021

Barr Lake State Park (Denver Area)
Near the town of Brighton, Colorado, wildlife records state that this area has been famous for viewing more than 300 species for over 100 years.  With its grasslands, woodlands, and open water vistas, the park is an ideal home for a wide range of species.  Numerous water birds and water fowl can be seen along the lake, including white pelicans, grebes, geese, coots, and duck.  The shore provides nesting areas for hawks, wading birds, songbirds, and owls.  See the great blue herons, the black-crowned night herons, and the double-crested cormorants along with the park’s most renowned couple, the famous bald eagles.

Hike through the area to spot pring foxes, mule deer, squirrels, Muskrats, raccoons, and pocket gophers while being serenaded by chorus frogs that share pond space with turtles and bullsnakes.

With its extensive interpretive programs and displays at the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory along with a viewing gazebo and easily accessed wooden boardwalks, Barr Lake State Park is ideal for the vacation traveler looking for an intense wildlife viewing experience.

For more information, contact Colorado State Parks: 303-659-6005.

Bonny Lake State Park/South Republican State Wildlife Area (Northeast Region)
Bonny Lake, located near Idalia, Colorado, is a manmade body of water that sits in the center of the plains.  With grasslands, agricultural terrain, a reservoir, and cottonwood and willow lowlands, the area attracts a plethora of wildlife often not found in Colorado.

By the lake you will find white pelicans, wading birds, and ducks.  In the west end of the region you will find beaver, muskrat, and turkey vultures.  During the winter it is easy to spot bald eagles and waterfowl nesting around the lake’s rim.  From October to November you will see migrant snow geese, snowhill cranes, egrets, herons, black terms, and white-faced ibis.  In addition there are plenty of tundra woodpeckers, eastern bluebirds, orchard orioles, eastern screech owls, and the rare loon.   Watch for white tail and mule deer all year long.

For more information, contact: Colorado State Parks: 970-354-7306

Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge (Northwest Region)
A remote refuge near Maybell, Colorado, this wildlife park is filled with ponds and wet meadows located along the Green River.  Here you will see migratory songbirds and waterfowl galore.  With its sedimentary areas along the river along with steep rocky slopes, the park is ideal for long walks where you can spot Canadian geese, mallards, canvasbacks, redheads, cinnamon and green-winged teal, along with ruddy and merganser ducks.  Coots, white-faced ibis, red winged and yellow-headed blackbirds, swallows, hummingbirds, snipes, sandpipers, kingfishers, golden and bald eagles, and great blue herons are some of the other birds that comprise the 220 species found in this great park.  Moose, beavers, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, coyotes, and muskrats are other types of wildlife that you can catch sight of as you traverse the refuge from east to west.

For information, contact the United States Fish and Wildlife Service:  970-365-3613

Durango Fish Hatchery (Southwest Region)

With its educational center consisting of interpretive exhibits, videos, and mounted displays, the state hatchery is ideal for learning about the process involved in hatching fish eggs and raising fish.  Once the fish, such as cutthroat, brown, rainbow, and brook trout are at the right age, they are released into Colorado’s streams and lakes.  Visit the pools at the hatchery containing “fingerlings” (two to four inch long fish) and “catchables” (eight to twelve inch long fish) to see how the fish look at their different stages in life.  There is a show pond where visitors are free to feed fish.  You can then proceed to the nature trail surrounding the hatchery where educational displays will further your knowledge about raising fish.

The educational center is open Tuesday through Saturday, May 1 through September 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Estes Valley (Front Range)
This area boasts the Big Thompson River, majestic Colorado Rocky mountains that include the 14,255 foot high Longs Peak, and a lush valley.  Incorporating the town of Estes Park, the area has a four-mile paved walking trail that loops around the lake as well as a four and a half acre bird sanctuary that is situated on the west side of the lake.

Take your vacation travel during the fall to see male elk at their mating best.  With their strident call, you will know they are around no matter where you are in the park.  During the first two weeks of June, the area is closed while the new elks are born.  Along Fall River Road, between Estes Park and the entryway to Rocky Mountain National Park you are likely to see big horn sheep, coyotes, ground squirrels, chipmunks, voles, beavers, muskrats, and mule deer.  In the winter months you will see a wide variety of waterfowl and birds such as mergansers, redheads, wigeons, trumpeter and tundra swans, common and Barrow’s goldeneyes, Thayer’s gulls, northern shrikes, and bald eagles.   Mallards, coots, Canadian geese, blue-winged and cinnamon teal, and white pelicans can be spotted during the fall.  Spring and summer also bring a wide assortment of birds.

In the bird sanctuary you will enjoy watching the migratory birds such as gray catbirds, green-tailed towhees, American redstarts, hermit thrushes, cliff and barn swallows, western tanagers, orange crowned warblers, mountain chickadees, dippers, broad-tailed hummingbirds, Cassin’s finches, McGillivray’s Wilson’s, common snipes, Franklin’s and California gulls, and spotted sandpipers.  Look up to the telephone wires to spot red tailed hawks and prairie falcons.

For more information, contact Estes Valley Recreation and Parks District: 970-586-8191

Lake Pueblo State Park and State Wildlife Area (Southwest Region)
With its short grass prairie land and juniper-pinon forests up above, the Pueblo Reservoir is home to this state park and wildlife area.  Along the Arkansas River you will find a cottonwood-riparian environment and a 21 mile long paved walking and biking path that takes you from the Greenway and Nature Center of Pueblo along the Arkansas River to Fountain Creek.  Here it connects to a 16 mile hike that takes you through Lake Pueblo State Park.

The Nature Center overlooks the river where you can see bass, trout, and other fish.  Kingfishers and great blue herons perch on the water’s surface to find their lunch, and overhead songbirds compete all along the river’s length.  In the autumn and spring you will see Ospreys and in winter, the bald eagle.  Head over to the west end of the reservoir where there is an Osprey nest that often is the center of activity for these great raptor birds.  Ducks, geese, cormorants, grebes, and white pelicans are prevalent as are Swainson’s and red tailed hawks.  On the north shore of the lake at the Swallows Viewing Site you can stand on the viewing platform for some great bird-watching.   There are plenty of educational signs that will help you identify what you are seeing.

If its mammals you’re looking for, there are plenty of fox squirrels, muskrats, beavers, and red foxes to be seen in the area.

For more information, contact Lake Pueblo State Park: 719-561-9320 ext.0

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