La Veta Pass, North La Veta Pass and Pass Creek Pass provide the only road-accessible montane habitat in Costilla County. Though not very high – only 9,400 feet – the habitat is decent, especially along Old La Veta Pass. Look for typical montane woodland species such as Hermit Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Dusky Flycatcher, etc. The aspen mixed into the forest here also looks of sufficient quality to host Flammulated and Northern Saw-whet Owls. If you are really lucky, you could see a black bear or a pine marten.
Blanca
In The Shadow Of The Sacred Peak
Blanca Peak was known to the Navajo as the sacred peak of the East, one of the four holy mountains that bounded and guarded their nation. As you travel this ancient path through the high desert, you will rarely be out of sight of it. In Blanca’s shadow, on the floor of the San Luis Valley, you’ll find miles and miles of high desert shrublands, home to Sage and Brewer’s Sparrows, jackrabbits, and wildflowers. Mixed in with the dry is the wet: flooded fields, playa lakes, and reedbeds, the natural habitat of stilts, avocets, ibises, and ducks. Where cottonwoods and willows line the water’s edge, you might find the endangered western populations of Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Willow Flycatcher. If you scare an animal off the road, it could be a badger or a bear. This trail will reward even a short visit, but if you’ve got more time to spend, you’ll find few better places to invest it.
Mountain Home Reservoir State Wildlife Area
Admission: A valid hunting or fishing license, or State Wildlife Area pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing any state wildlife area or state trust lands.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Smith Reservoir State Wildlife Area
Admission: A valid hunting or fishing license, or State Wildlife Area pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing any state wildlife area or state trust lands.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Sanchez Reservoir State Wildlife Area
Admission: A valid hunting or fishing license, or State Wildlife Area pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing any state wildlife area or state trust lands.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Sego Springs State Wildlife Area
Admission: A valid hunting or fishing license, or State Wildlife Area pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing any state wildlife area or state trust lands.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Admission: A valid hunting or fishing license, or State Wildlife Area pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing any state wildlife area or state trust lands.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
La Jara Reservoir State Wildlife Area
Admission: A valid hunting or fishing license, or State Wildlife Area pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing any state wildlife area or state trust lands.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife and BLM
Trujillo Meadows State Wildlife Area
Admission: May be exempt however, check the CPW website for the most recent updates. Otherwise a valid hunting or fishing license, or a State Wildlife Area Pass is required for everyone 18 or older to access any State Wildlife Area or State Trust Land leased by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Check with the US Forest Service about camping fees.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife and US Forest Service
Platoro Reservoir
Although you are not likely to see many birds on Platoro Reservoir itself, the surrounding forest can be good for high-elevation species. The best spruce-fir woodland in the area is along FR 380 north of the reservoir; Boreal Owl occurs in the area. Day or night, you might have to wait for herds of elk to cross the road in front of you from one meadow to the next. Although Platoro Reservoir itself has no facilities, there are several lodges with cabins, restaurants, and general stores nearby.
Blanca and Fort Garland
Birding in the small towns of Blanca and Fort Garland may be worth some small effort, especially if you can find some feeders. Outside these towns, roadside birding along US 160, the main route through the county, can be surprisingly productive. If you are driving the road in the evening or early morning, look for Great Horned Owl; Northern Shrike is seen surprisingly often in the winter. You’re likely to see pronghorns and mule deer along the way, and the views of Blanca Peak are extraordinary. Blanca has sewage lagoons on the west side of the road to Smith Reservoir, a quarter mile south of US 160.
Mountain Home Reservoir State Wildlife Area
A small reservoir surrounded by pinyon-juniper covered hills, this lake is typically not the most productive but sometimes hosts decent numbers of ducks, gulls, and the occasional loon. Keep an eye out for the species typical of pinyon-juniper habitat, including Pinyon Jay.
Smith Reservoir State Wildlife Area
In a valley that is excellent and well known for waterbirds, Smith Reservoir still manages to stand out. Nearly every species of waterfowl that occurs in the state has been seen here. When the water level is low enough, the shorebirds can be out of this world. Terns and gulls of varying species can also be seen – keep an eye out especially for Black Tern, which breeds in the valley and can occur in decent numbers here. Ferruginous Hawks are seen with surprising regularity along the road between the lake and Blanca. Rabbits, coyotes, deer and pronghorn make their homes in the area around the reservoir.
San Luis
This small, somewhat rustic town has the distinction of being the oldest continually inhabited place in Colorado. It was founded in 1851, when this area was still part of Mexico. Drive around the town looking for city birds and feeders. There are often some hummingbird feeders around town, with as many as four species possible in the late summer/early fall. The two small sewage ponds south of town sometimes have a few ducks. Bendire’s Thrasher showed up about a mile west of town in 1993.
Sanchez Reservoir State Wildlife Area
Sanchez Reservoir is among the largest in the San Luis Valley, as well as among the most productive. The southern end can be frustrating to scan; most of the birds are usually on the north end. Look for just about any regular duck species during migration, shorebirds when the water level is sufficiently low, gulls, and sometimes loons and grebes. The small riparian areas nearby could have some passerines, and the sage flats that dominate this part of the valley have Sage Sparrow and Sage Thrasher. Black-tailed jackrabbits and desert cottontails are common in the same habitat.
Costilla CR G
In an area filled with sagebrush, this road has some of the best. Sage Sparrow is downright common, as is Sage Thrasher. A few Mountain Plovers breed in the area, though they can be rather hard to find. This road crosses the Rio Grande River on the historic Lobato Bridge, built in 1892 and, thankfully, restored in 2006. Keep an eye out for short-horned lizard and western rattlesnake along the roads in the area.
Pike’s Stockade Historic Monument
Zebulon Pike is generally known for donating his name to Pike’s Peak. Some also remember his epic journey to the then-poorly-known western U.S. Less well-known is that he spent a good deal of time in a Spanish jail for trespassing. This is where he trespassed, unfurling the American flag over territory then owned by Spain. Now owned by the state historical society, it is open during summer to tourists. The entrance road behind the gate happens to pass through a remarkable willow swamp that has a good population of Southwest Willow Flycatchers, and the riparian forest that abuts the state property is absolutely the best in the valley. Everything off the state property is off-limits, but this is a must-stop visit for birders in summer. Also note that mosquitoes here are an order of magnitude worse than ANYWHERE else in Colorado – bring repellent.
Sego Springs State Wildlife Area
This SWA provides a break from the monotonous, flat dry San Luis Valley floor. It is an as oasis of riparian woodland and ponds, mixed with some excellent sage habitat and small cattail marshes. Though closed during the summer waterfowl nesting season, this is still an excellent place to visit during fall migration; keep an eye out for passerine migrants in the cottonwoods, Marsh Wren and rails in the marsh, various duck species in the ponds, and Sage Sparrows in the sage along the entrance road. During the winter, sparrows and Northern Shrike are possible. Deer, rabbits and ground squirrels can be abundant, and muskrats and beaver swim in the ponds.
Small pond along CR 24
When it has water, this small intermittent pond can be among the best in the San Luis Valley, with good concentrations of dabblers, divers and shorebirds, as well as the occasional American Bittern. The land here is private, so bird from the road.
Pond along CR Z near Costilla County line
Though hard to see from the road, this pond should be checked for waders, ducks and dabblers. White-faced Ibis have been seen here. In normal springs and wet summers the fields all along this road can flood, creating great habitat for ducks, waders, phalaropes and the like. The sage habitat nearby should be checked for Sage Sparrow and Sage Thrasher; pronghorn abound in the area. The land around here is private, so please stay on the roads.
Hot Creek State Wildlife Area
This remote state wildlife area has an enormous spring system with extensive marshy areas that are good for rails, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Savannah Sparrow and other species typical of this habitat. Pinyon Jays can usually be found in the surrounding pinyon-juniper forest. The road in requires high clearance, mostly due to a stream crossing with 2-3 feet of water. The wet meadows surrounding the springs are excellent for many rare and beautiful butterfly species, including Nokomis Fritillary, Sandhill Skipper, Ruddy Copper, and more.
La Jara Reservoir State Wildlife Area
Depending on the water level at this remote reservoir, you could see a large variety of waterbirds, or nearly nothing. When there is water, check for a good mix of dabblers and divers, and possibly shorebirds during migration. If the reservoir is dry, the consolation prize is the habitat along the entrance road, where you could find Pinyon Jay, Gray Flycatcher, Bushtit, and Black-throated Gray Warbler in the pinyon-juniper habitat and Pygmy Nuthatch, Red Crossbill, sapsuckers, and others in the mixed ponderosa/aspen forest.
San Luis Hills
Rising out of the floor of the valley in the middle of otherwise flat sagebrush and grassland, the San Luis Hills provide not only a chance to look for some rare species for the San Luis Valley, but also a good chance to go hiking in an area not generally known for that pastime. The main draw here is Black-throated Sparrow, which can usually be found near the parking area as well as along the trail. Also keep an eye out for Bewick’s Wren, Sage Sparrow, Virginia’s Warbler, and pinyon-juniper species such as Pinyon Jay. This remote area supports populations of coyote, pronghorn, and black-tailed jackrabbit.
Antonito area
This town in the southernmost San Luis Valley provides a good place to base yourself when birding the southern valley. The roads nearby (especially to the east) can be good for raptors and shrikes. Tiny Conejos to the north hosts not only the county seat but also Colorado’s oldest church, completed in 1866 and a sight worth seeing. When you’re ready to look at birds, explore the great willow and riparian habitat along the road between Conejos and Guadalupe (private property; remain on the road). The road heading southwest out of Conejos runs past some marshes and wet fields with breeding blackbirds, and rails. In the winter Bald Eagles can be sen along the riparian cottonwood galleries.
Conejos Canyon
All along this road look for typical ponderosa birds as well as dipper and riparian species. The Mogote Recreation Area at the entrance to the canyon is a particularly good place to access various habitats: ponderosa pines around the campground, pinyon-juniper woodland on the south-facing slope across the highway, and mid-elevation riparian woods along the stream. Many mammals utilize the area as well, and you could see Pine squirrels, elk, mule deer, coyote, and, if you are really lucky, bobcat.
Trujillo Meadows State Wildlife Area
A stone’s throw from New Mexico, this terrific area is not to be missed. The large wet meadow adjacent to CO 17 near Cumbres Pass can be good for willow specialists such as Fox and Lincoln’s Sparrows and Wilson’s Warblers. Pine Grosbeaks permeate the surrounding trees. The spruce-fir forest along the road to the lake is good for this and other high mountain specialties. The lake itself has had diving ducks including: Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck and Common Merganser. There is a high density of elk, including some truly enormous specimens, in this area. Butterfly species that can be found nearby include Mountain Checkered-Skipper and Scudder’s Sulphur.