Day 1:  We will meet on April 10th in the evening in the lobby of the Comfort Inn –Airport in Aurora, Colorado (a suburb of Denver).  We will get to know each other, discuss “specifics” about the trip, become familiar with the trip map, hand out lists and then go out to dinner.

Day 2 (April 11):  We will meet in the lobby of the Comfort Inn at 6:00am and depart at 6:30am. Breakfast at the Comfort Inn is continental style and starts at 6:00am.  We will then embark on our trip to Allenspark, Colorado. We make a stop at Lyons before heading into the mountains to observe some American Dippers.  Once at Allenspark, we will stop at Fawn Brook Inn feeders and look for Brown-capped, Gray-crowned and Black Rosy Finches.  There will be other resident birds there like Cassin’s Finch, Mountain Chickadee and Pygmy Nuthatch.   Other Possibilities are Clark’s Nutcracker, Evening Grosbeak and Bohemian Waxwing.   We will drive down CR 72 & CR 119 to Georgetown for lunch.  Along the way, we should be able to locate some Townsend Solitaires and Mountain Bluebirds.  After Lunch we will head over to Loveland Pass Summit to look for White-tailed Ptarmigans.   We then head up to Steamboat Springs along CR 9 and CR 40. Along the way we will look for Barrow’s Goldeneye, Prairie Falcon and an assortment of waterfowl.  Night in Steamboat Springs.

Day 3 (April 12): We will wake up very early and head west to Hayden, Colorado.  We will visit two leks to view the spring mating displays of the Greater Sage Grouse and Sharp-tailed Grouse. Along the way, there is a possibility of viewing a Dusky Grouse.  After our early morning birding, we will head down to Rifle, Colorado for lunch. We will stop at some open water areas to look for Cinnamon Teal and Barrow’s Goldeneye en route.  Either before or after lunch, we will stop at Forest Service Area to look for Pinyon Jay, Bushtit and Juniper Titmouse.  Our next stop will be in Cameo to look for the elusive Chukar.   We then head west to Fruita, Colorado just outside of the Colorado National Monument.  Night in Fruita.

Day 4 (April 13): We will take the drive into the Colorado National Monument to look for Gambel’s Quail, Pinyon Jay, Juniper Titmouse and Bushtits.  The scenery is unbelievable and the drive will be a lot of fun.  We then will head east on Hwy. 50 to Montrose, Colorado, where we will make a run for Dusky Grouse at the Black Canyon National Park.   We will keep heading east to Gunnison, Colorado.   Night in Gunnison.

Day 5 (April 14): We will once again get up very early to view the Gunnison Sage Grouse doing their mating display through the blind operated by the Sisk-a Dee conservation group. After all the birds have left the lek, we will head back to our motel to eat breakfast.  Then, we will head east with a stop at Monarch Pass to look for Red Crossbills and Clark’s Nutcracker.  There will be several times when we will be able to stop to stretch our legs and possibly view some Bighorn Sheep or more American Dippers.  Once we arrive in Canon City, we will take a hike along Tunnel Drive to look for Rufous-crowned Sparrows and perhaps a Black Phoebe.  Following lunch we will take a stroll along the Arkansas Riverwalk to catch an assortment of migrants and western resident birds.   After this hike, we will drive over to Pueblo, Colorado to check out Pueblo Reservoir, Valco Ponds and Swallows Road & Pueblo Wildlife Area.  Birds of interest: Scaled Quail, Greater Roadrunner, Burrowing Owls, Curve-billed Thrasher and Canyon Towhees. Night in Pueblo.

Day 6 (April 15) We will get up early and head southeast through the Comanche & Cimarron short grass Grasslands as we head towards Elkhart Kansas.  We should be able to find the Prairie Falcon and Ferruginous Hawk perched on telephone poles along the way.  If we have time, we can make stop at Cottonwood Canyon & Carizzo Picnic Area to look for Lewis’s Woodpecker and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers.   Night in Elkhart Kansas.

Day 7 (April 16) Nothing like getting up before sunrise and sitting out on the prairie listening to Lesser Prairie Chickens!   We have reservation to sit in the blind and watch these chickens perform their spring dance.  After we’ve gotten our fill of watching the chickens, we will bird our way back to Elkhart watching out for for Larks, Cassin’s and Brewer’s sparrows.   We then begin our long trek to Wray, Colorado after breakfast. We will make a plenty of stops to look for birds and to stretch our legs.  We will visit a cattle ranch to view one of many leks that are located on the ranch property before supper.  We should be able to view several Greater Prairie Chickens doing their evening display!  Night in Wray

Day 8 (April 17) Getting up again before sunrise, will allow us to visit another Greater Prairie Chicken lek before breakfast!  After we head back and eat, we will make a journey to Pawnee Grasslands to look for McCown’s Longspur, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Mountain Plover, Prairie Falcon, Golden Eagle and Burrowing Owl.   Night in Aurora.

Day 9 (April 18) After breakfast, we will head to either Barr Lake or Cherry Creek Park to enjoy a nice morning walk in search of early spring migrants. After the walk, we will visit some prairie dog towns to look for more Burrowing Owls.  The Tour concludes on this night. The Tour Leader will drive people back to the airport if they have early departures however; Comfort Inn-Airport in Aurora also has shuttle service to the airport for those who plan to stay overnight.

8 Participant Maximum
Tour Price: $1600
Single Occupancy Adds: $280