Castlewood

This beautiful state park is one of the best places to bird near Denver. It would be easy to spend most of a day birding here, and the best time to visit tends to be in late spring through summer. An extensive trail system runs through the canyon and allows access to a variety of habitats including scrub oak woodlands, montane forest, and grasslands. Canyon Wrens sing and White-throated Swifts fly above as as you walk in the canyon. Trails continue through scrub oak woodlands, where you can spot Ovenbird and Common Poorwill. The montane forest is rich with Stellar’s Jay and Cordillerean Flycatcher and in the grasslands, look for Western Meadowlark and Vesper Sparrow.

Many birds nest and raise their young in the park; a unique dry-land heronry even once occurred in the park, where Great Blue Heron nested. Several raptors may be observed as well, including  Swainson’s Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, and several falcon species, such as American Kestrel. Also keep your eye out for Lazuli Bunting, Virginia’s Warbler, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Plumbeous Vireo, and Bushtit.

Castlewood is home to one of Colorado’s larger Turkey Vulture populations; they are a common sight riding thermal updrafts created as the rocks warm each morning. The park celebrates their return from migration with Welcome Back Turkey Vulture Day each spring. A State Parks pass is required for entry.

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With a similar environment to Castlewood Canyon, this open space is a pleasant place to experience scrub oak and rimrock habitats south of the Denver metro area. These habitats are home to migratory birds, raptors, and Wild Turkey, among many others. Three trails lead you to explore the area; look for birds like Rock and Canyon Wrens, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Virginia’s Warbler, Ovenbirds and Bushtit. Be sure to check out the forested canyon on the south edge of the open space, where you can find Mitchell Gulch (a tributary of Cherry Creek) and head out on the Mitchell Creek Canyon Trail for more discoveries.

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With a trail along Cherry Creek, Salisbury is a nice spot to look for birds. This park has patches of woodland and a nice small pond and is best during migration, when any number of species could show up. The pond itself often has quite a few ducks on it during the fall and early spring, and the open habitats sometimes have sparrow flocks and the odd Northern Shrike. Be sure to check out the Parker Arboretum, where the town of Parker grows a variety of trees that may one day take root in one of the parks.

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Daniels Park is rich in history as well as habitat for wildlife! The park is part of a larger open space, including 11,000 acres that protect landscapes from Sedalia to Highlands Ranch. Covered in scrub oak, this Denver Mountain Park is a good place to look for Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Bushtit, Virginia’s Warbler, and Rock Wren. Birding is best during the summer, though migration may bring a few other species like MacGillivray’s Warbler, Plumbeous Vireo, and White-crowned Sparrow. A herd of bison roam much of the upper elevations, so there is limited access to most of  the park to protect these majestic animals.

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Jarre Canyon Road (CO 67) passes through patches of scrub oak and horse pastures before climbing into the foothills ponderosa pine habitat. A few pull-offs, mostly on the right (north), provide possible places to explore for ponderosa birds year-round, such as Hairy Woodpecker, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy and Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Red Crossbill; in summer, look for Western Wood-Pewee, Plumbeous Vireo, House Wren, Western Bluebird, and Western Tanager. At Sprucewood (right), the West Pine Creek Road plunges directly down to the South Platte. Otherwise, continue on CO 67 to the river, where a few stream-tied species occur. In addition to birding, there are plenty of other recreational activities here ( such as fly fishing, tubing, swimming, and picnicking), making this a good place to spend the day with family and friends.

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The 1.4 mile trail up Devil’s Head (9,748 feet), which leaves from CO 67, is restricted to foot traffic, and passes through ponderosa, Douglas-fir and aspen zones, with a chance for birds more typical of the higher mountains. Spectacular views over the plains temper the climb to the lookout. Look year-round for Steller’s Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Common Raven, both chickadees, and all three nuthatches; in summer look for Olive-sided Flycatcher, Plumbeous and Warbling vireos, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Audubon’s Warbler, Western Tanager, and more.

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This remote dirt road (which can be rough at times, especially after the spring snowmelt), provides good access to montane forest habitats.  The pine forests should have the typical specialty species including Williamson’s Sapsucker, while higher up American Three-toed Woodpecker can be found, with luck. The Tramway Trail, 4.5 miles east of Pine Valley Road, accesses some burned habitat, which offers more chances for spotting woodpeckers.

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This large park contains many of the typical mountain habitats, especially mixed-conifer woodland and riverside willow habitat. A good trail along an old narrow-gauge railroad bed follows the river for two miles through the property, and can be a good place to look for willow specialists like MacGillivray’s Warbler and Lincoln’s Sparrow. American Dipper can be common along the river and has nested just east of the parking lot. Also be sure to look for Canyon and Rock Wrens on the cliff edges south and east of the parking lot.

The large burn to the northwest of Pine Lake sometimes has American Three-toed Woodpecker, and ponderosa habitat in the area could contain Williamson’s Sapsucker, Pygmy Nuthatch, Western Bluebird, and others. More open meadows often contain Mountain Bluebird and White-crowned Sparrow, and Golden Eagles could soar overhead at any time.

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Lying at the edge of the huge Hayman Fire burn area (2002), Westcreek offers access to extensive tracts of burned woodland. Well into the regeneration process, this is still a good area to look for American Three-toed Woodpecker and other woodpecker species. Be aware the lake in the area is private property.

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