Colorado Grouse Tour update

It was a terrific return of this ever-popular trip, and our full contingent of seven participants enjoyed one of the most successful trips yet. All five leks were observed in near ideal conditions, most of them at close range, and all from private hides. Plenty of great photos were taken, and we enjoyed many additional species including Scaled and Gambel’s Quail, Dusky Grouse and White-tailed Ptarmigan, as well as American Three-toed Woodpecker, Williamson’s and Red-naped Sapsuckers, Evening and Pine Grosbeaks, and a flock of over 1,500 Rosy-Finches at a friend’s house that included all three species.

We were probably the only group this year that managed all the above species, as a very snowy winter meant that some sites were inaccessible or difficult to bird, but with access to friends’ and other private properties we were able to see all the above as hoped for. We did not even have to use the last morning to return to some corner of Colorado to ensure that we saw all the target species – we had already succeeded !!

With over 170 species of birds and 20 species of mammals we were never short of something great to watch.

Unfortunately Lesser Prairie Chicken numbers were down some 50% on the lek this year. It has been listed as Endangered by the US government and permission to visit their leks was only granted at the last minute this year and remains tenuous. The long term drought in their core habitat is a significant factor in their decline, and if it continues then their outlook is bleak and permission to visit their leks may be withdrawn completely in the future. It is recommended that you come soon if this trip, and this species in particular, is on your bucket list.

Dick Filby