It’s spring, no mistake, not with 20,000 to 25,000 greater sand hill cranes outnumbering the crowds of birdwatchers visiting the San Luis Valley today for the 27th annual Monte Vista Crane Festival.
The crane festival jump-starts a flurry of birding events in Colorado. (Details below.) If you go, mind the etiquette:
Keep quiet and still. Use birdwatching blinds when possible. For roadside watching, stay in your car. Get up early. The birds are most active at dawn. Plan to arrive well before sunrise, while it’s still dark, to avoid disturbing the birds. — Claire Martin, The Denver Post
Monte Vista Crane Festival
Today (Monte Vista); 719-852-3552;
Probably the best-known birdwatching event in Colorado is the spring migration of the greater sandhill cranes through the San Luis Valley. Up to 25,000 cranes pause at the local wildlife refuge and fields between Monte Vista and Alamosa, lingering for a couple of weeks before resuming their journey north.
The festival wraps up today, but the bulk of the flock may linger a few more days before flying out. During the festival, tiny Monte Vista’s population almost doubles with visitors eager to see the spectacle of so many birds.
This year, birders will get an extra treat: About 2,000 snow geese, not unusual on Colorado’s Eastern Plains but rarely seen in the San Luis Valley, also are on hand.
Eckert Crane Days
Saturday and March 27 (Eckert)
719-835-3884;
Many of the greater sandhill cranes that leave Monte Vista spend a day or two at the Fruitgrower’s Reservoir just east of the Western Slope town of Eckert, just under Grand Mesa’s southern rim. These two Saturdays are chosen because the cranes are most likely to be in the area during the last two weeks of March.
Greater prairie chicken viewing
March 26 to April 25 (Wray)
970-332-3484;
The hugely popular weekends-only organized viewing tours ($75 to $90 per person) are by reservation only.
Want to go on your own? Then light out for the sand hills of northern and central Yuma County, extreme eastern Washington County and extreme southern Phillips County. Get up before dawn to witness the birds’ dawn courting ritual, which takes place in March and April.
The Colorado Birding Trail
970-375-6704,
Birders are looking forward to the new southwest portion of the trail, expected to open this year. The trail is a collaboration of the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Colorado Audubon Society and several birding and conservation groups. The trail highlights 219 of Colorado’s most promising bird-viewing sites.
Mountain Plover Festival
April 30 to May 2 (Karval)
719-446-5403;
This small Eastern Plains town, 45 miles southeast of Limon, welcomes visiting birdwatchers eager to learn more about the mountain plover. For starters, the “mountain” part of its name is a misnomer: These birds prefer shortgrass prairie to the hills.
Registration for the festival ($30 on April 30, $120 on May 1, $70 on May 2) includes all meals, transportation to tour sites and tour guides, but not lodging. The closest motels are in Limon.
Ute Mountain/Mesa Verde Birding Festival
May 13 to 16 (Cortez)
970-565-1151; utemountainmesaverde
This fundraiser benefits the Cortez Cultural Center, so have your wallet handy. Individual birding tours start at $15 and go up to $65 for a Ute Mountain Tribal Park horseback tour of birdwatching sites. Festival events begin at 6 a.m., and continue until 8 or 9 p.m.
Denver Audubon Society e-mail alerts
Members of this e-mail list are among the first to learn of rare bird sightings, like the snowy owl spotted near Peyton earlier this year, far afield of its usual migration path.
