COME TO LIFE | Birding & Wildlife Birding Across Colorado Colorado is home to 450 different avian species across three regions. WHERE TO SPOT MORE CO WILDLIFE Few places in North America offer such a bounty of animal spotting. State Animal: Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep Browns Canyon National Monument (Buena Vista) • Guanella Pass scenic and historic byway (Georgetown) • Beaver Creek State Wildlife Area (Penrose) • Natural Arch (Del Norte) State Bird: Lark buntings thrive in shade trees near Kit Carson • Terry Ranch (La Junta) • Pawnee National Grassland (Grover) PAWNEE NATIONAL GRASSLAND Watch the early morning light shift through the trees as a feathered friend leaves its perch. Hear songbirds chatter as grasshoppers pop across the path. Grab your binoculars to glimpse birds of prey high above. Visit coloradobirdingtrail.com for specific routes. State Reptile: Painted turtles Jackson Lake State Park (Orchard) • St. Vrain State Park (Firestone) • Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge (Arvada) KEEP WILDLIFE WILD It’s important to keep a safe distance from the animals. Remembering never to feed, pet, chase or harass them will ensure you and the fauna stay safe and healthy. ROCKY MOUNTAINS With 27 birding trails, this territory covers a vast swath of the Centennial State. Attempt to snap a photo of the Boreal owl atop the world’s largest mesa or glimpse a wintering eagle on the floor of the Upper Arkansas Valley. chickens near Wray and Yuma, delicate upland sandpipers in Holyoke and tall waterfowl along the chain of lakes near Fort Morgan and Sterling. National Mammal: American bison Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (Denver) • Genesee Park (Golden) • Soapstone Prairie Natural Area (March–Nov., Fort Collins) WESTERN COLORADO Red-rock landscapes tower over desert canyons with chirping birds adding the ideal soundtrack on six epic trails — you’ll see everything from sage sparrows to pinyon jays and gray vireos. EASTERN PLAINS Many famous fowl live east of the Front Range mountains. Choose from 20 trails to see strutting, whooping prairie 36 1-800-COLORADO CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ADOBE STOCK; COLORADO PARKS & WILDLIFE/MIKE DELLIVENERI; COLORADO PARKS & WILDLIFE/WAYNE LEWIS.
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2022: Page 36
