Events

Belted Kingfisher

2024

February

Bighorn Sheep

Bighorn Festival

When: February 6 - March 12, 2025

Where: Colorado Springs

This free event celebrates the fact that our majestic state mammal is often seen within the Colorado Springs city limits! Find out more about the amazing Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep! Look for bighorns using binoculars and scopes, take a guided nature walk that focuses on bighorn sheep, hear presentations about bighorn sheep biology and the Rampart and Pikes Peak herds, take an auto tour through Queens Canyon, and experience a bighorn ‘touch table’.

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May

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Hummingbird Festival

When: May 11, 2024

Where: Colorado Springs

Free, one-day event held at the Starsmore Discovery Center, featuring children’s activities, craft projects, face painting, live entertainment, climbing wall, Ute tipi and Ute craft project, native plant sale, hummingbird viewing bus tour, food and nature product vendors, and much, much more. Fun for the whole family!

June

Young Mountain Goat on Mt. Evans

Mt. Evans Wildlife Viewing

When: June 1 - September 3, 2024

Where: Mt. Evans

Colorado Parks and Wildlife partners with City of Denver Mountain Parks and the US Forest Service to provide alpine-related education for visitors to the mountain. Stop by and visit our dedicated and knowledgable volunteers as they help you spot the animals living in the harsh land above the trees! Check out wildlife artifacts, see high-altitude wildlife, and learn how to recreate responsibly on the sensitive alpine tundra.

Orient Mine and bats

Orient Mine Bat Watching

When: June 15 - July 31, 2024

Where: Villa Grove

A Southwest region event Bat watching available all summer from June through August through the Orient Land Trust

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July

Moose standing in a pond

Art & Antlers: Grand Mesa Moose and Art Festival

When: July 27, 2024, 10am – 4pm

Where: Mesa

Join us to learn how to safely view moose on the Grand Mesa and visit with local artists! This event will be hosted at the Mesa Community Center, 48973 KE Rd, Mesa, CO. Presentations on moose viewing, the introduction of moose to Grand Mesa, and where to see moose in Colorado. Activities are for all ages and this is a FREE event! Food and art are available for purchase.

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August

Moose grazing in a pond

State Forest State Park Moose Fest

When: August 10, 2024, 10am – 4pm

Where: Walden

Organizer: Moose

Come by the Moose Visitor Center (56750 Hwy 14, Walden, CO) and join in the festivities! The moose capital of Colorado hosts a variety of moose-themed events perfect for the whole family. A state park pass is required if you enter the park, however, all activities at Moose Fest are free! Learn about moose, take a hayride, and enjoy the beautiful scenery at this fun, free, family event!

Two Sandhill Cranes flying

Yampa Valley Crane Festival

When: August 29 - September 1, 2024

Where: Steamboat Springs

The Greater Sandhill Crane is an iconic species of the Yampa Valley. In late summer and early fall, hundreds of cranes from the Rocky Mountain flock join the local birds to rest and feed before continuing their journey south. The festival includes daily crane viewings, expert speakers, live raptors, films, art exhibits, workshops, family activities and more.

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September

Wilson's Warbler

Fall Birding Festival at Barr Lake

When: September 14, 2024, 7am-12pm

Where: Brighton

Organizer: Bird Conservancy of the Rockies

Come celebrate the magic of birds and all they have to teach us! The morning will kick off with guided bird tours and visits to our birdbanding station where you can see birds up-close and personal while learning the science behind banding. As the day goes on, you can learn some bird photography tips during our Photography Workshop or enjoy being in the moment on a Mindful Birding Walk.  For the littlest birders in your group there will be crafts, activities, and story times. Educational and vendor booths will include live birds on the glove, a chance to dress up like your favorite bird, 7 Simple Actions you can take to help birds, and so much more! You don’t want to miss out on this festive community event!

The festival is located at the Barr Lake State Park Nature Center. Please enter the park at the main entrance and follow the signs to the Nature Center.

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Oklahoma Brown Tarantula

La Junta Tarantula Festival

When: September 27-28, 2024

Where: La Junta

Enjoy a parade, vendors, education pavilion, tarantula tours, live art and much more!

Each fall, large numbers of tarantulas skitter across the landscape in La Junta and southeast Colorado. While this phenomenon has traditionally been called a migration, it is actually an annual mating ritual performed by male tarantulas who roam across the 443,000-plus acres on the Comanche National Grassland looking to mate.

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A bugling elk

Elk Fest

When: September 28-29, 2024

Where: Estes Park

A two-day festival, as described on the event’s Web site: Elk Fest offers visitors a chance to view elk during the rutting season in the wild, as well as expand their knowledge of elk. Learn more about elk, their habitats, and how to observe them in the wild. Held in Bond Park, located in downtown Estes Park, Elk Fest will offer bugling competitions, educational areas, seminars, music by the Elktones, Mountain Man Rendezvous, Native American story telling and music, guided elk viewing tours, and vendors that offer art from oils and pastels, hand made elk-ivory jewelry, scrimshawed antler knives, elk antler lamps and chandeliers, elk hide pillows, silver and gold jewelry, and elk antlers. 

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October

Yellow-headed Blackbird

International Migratory Bird Day Statewide

When: October 12, 2024

Where: Colorado

Not an event for Colorado exclusively, International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) is celebrated worldwide, with events in Colorado sometimes associated with it or occurring at the same time.

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November

Bighorn Sheep

Georgetown Bighorn Sheep Fest

When: November 10, 2024

Where: Georgetown

Celebrate Colorado’s ‘state mammal’—the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. The Town of Georgetown and Colorado Parks and Wildlife offer opportunities to watch and learn about one of Colorado’s oldest bighorn sheep herds. Plus, speakers and short wildlife educational programs for the whole family! Artisans and shop owners in Georgetown will showcase their wildlife related art, gifts, crafts, and other goods.

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December

Little girl with binoculars

Various Christmas Bird Counts

When: Dec 14 - January 15

Where: Colorado

Mid December to Mid January in a variety of locations

2025

February

Snow Goose

High Plains Snow Goose Festival

When: February 6-9, 2025

Where: Lamar

The lesser snow geese you will see at the High Plains Snow Goose Festival are part of the Western Central Flyway population that are on their way back to the Canadian Arctic where they nest. This flock winters in southeastern Colorado, New Mexico, the Texas panhandle and northern Mexico. The festival offers tours, educational programs, presentations, arts and crafts, and a banquet!

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March

Sandhill Cranes dancing in a field

Monte Vista Crane Festival

When: March 7-9, 2025

Where: Monte Vista

The festival hosts wildlife experts, local naturalists, and biologists who present free educational workshops at the Monte Vista Middle School, while flocks of dancing sandhills assemble in the neighboring farm fields, just east of town. Bus tours to the nearby refuge and adjacent farmlands provide visitors with the opportunity to view this spectacle up close and personal, with a knowledgeable local guide. Special tours feature raptor identification, sunset trips to view cranes, a visit to a local potato warehouse (with free potatoes) and visits to closed areas of the refuge for Crane Fest participants.

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Red-tailed Hawk

Dinosaur Ridge Hawkwatch

When: March 15 - May 15, 2025

Where: Morrison

Volunteers and researchers from Bird Conservancy of the Rockies help visitors search the sky above the Dakota Ridge Hogback (Dinosaur Ridge) for hawks, eagles, and vultures while sharing why birds have chosen this migratory path. Tour involves a short, but steep, hike up the ridge to a viewing vantage point.

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Two Sandhill Cranes flying

Annual Eckert Crane Days

When: March 23-24, 2025

Where: Eckert

Greater sandhill cranes in small and large flocks glide into Heart’s Basin of the Surface Creek Valley, and land at Fruitgrowers Reservoir east of Eckert. Most of the 20,000+ migrating birds come to the reservoir for an overnight stay to rest, feed, and regroup, relying on the reservoir’s water and wetlands for protection, and adjacent agricultural lands for food. The following morning they lift off in an organized mayhem of flight and sound that cannot be forgotten. Get schedules, maps, information about other wildlife seen at this time of year, lodging suggestions, and more information at the event website.

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Lesser Prairie-Chicken

Prairie Chicken Watching tours with Colorado Parks and Wildlife

When: March 30 - April 20, 2025

Where: Wray

Prairie chickens are very early risers, so be prepared to meet with you tour group well before dawn! Greater prairie chickens perform courtship rituals in open grasslands. Males gather in large groups called “leks”, attracting females looking for a potential mate. Performing stunning mating displays to impress females, males produce a wide range of vocalizations and engage in a complex “dance”, raising their feathers, bowing their heads, and rapidly stepping with their feet. The Wray Chamber of Commerce and the East Yuma County Historical Society organize tours where visitors can learn about and witness these astounding natural spectacles. Early morning bus trip takes participants to specially designed viewing blind for optimal experience. Reservations are required. Cost varies from $120 to $135 per person; includes motel room. 

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April

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Sharp-tailed Grouse Viewing 

When: April 15 - May 15, 2025

Where: Hayden

Colorado Parks and Wildlife offers limited guided tours to view sharp-tailed grouse near Hayden. Tours are provided by the local district wildlife manager; participants must arrange for meals and accommodations on their own. Hayden is located in the Yampa Valley between Steamboat Springs and Craig. To request a tour, call 970.276-3338 and leave a message.

Greater Sage-Grouse

Greater Sage-Grouse Viewing

When: April 20 - May 12, 2025

Where: Walden

Guided viewing trips offered; tours are limited to 20 people per day, so it’s best to register early. Each tour begins at 6:30 p.m. the evening before the viewing trip, with a meal and a short educational program provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Participants meet before dawn the next morning for the trip to the sage grouse lek. Tour fees are paid to the Walden Chamber of Commerce and cover the cost of meals, accommodations, and access to state land board property. Lodging will be arranged when you call to register. 

Mountain Plover

Karval Mountain Plover Festival

When: April 27 - 28, 2025

Where: Karval

The shortgrass prairies near Kaval, CO are prime foraging sites for mountain plovers. These small birds use Colorado grasslands during the breeding season, where sparse vegetation gives them plenty of room to build nests on the ground. When foraging, mountain plovers scurry over the flat ground in short bursts, searching for insects at each stop. Festival registration includes habitat tours, food, and entertainment.

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May

American Robin

Canon City Blossom Festival

When: May 1 - 4, 2025

Where: Canon City

Join the southern Colorado small town for an old fashioned spring time event. Parades, Jazz & Marching Band competitions, arts & crafts fair, local business events & booths are there for your entertainment. The USFS, BLM & Colorado Parks and Wildlife are there as well to provide information about outstanding wildlife viewing and outdoor recreation opportunities available in the Royal Gorge region. 

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Barn Swallow

Ute Mountain Mesa Verde Birding Festival

When: May 14 - 18, 2025

Where: Cortez

Take tours of local sites, including Mesa Verde, Denny Lake, McElmo Canyon, Ute Mountain tribal Park, and many more; hear presentations about protecting birds, backyard feeders; attend a bird-oriented art show; learn bird songs! Opening reception, guest speakers, and some meals provided.

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