Just north of Groundhog Reservoir, this small lake can hold a few diving ducks in season and is worth checking out when you are in the area. Viewing is distant, best achieved with a spotting scope from the side of the county road.
Lizard Head
Wilderness With A Dash Of Culture
Above the road between Rico and Telluride, in the remote southwest San Juans, there rises a spectacular spire of rock that reminded its namers of a reptile’s head. Few people drive over the pass from which you can see it, and fewer still stop to partake of the view. If you do so on a summer’s day, you may find your view obstructed by Purple Martins and Black Swifts chasing down flying insects. You may watch a Williamson’s Sapsucker drilling into a trunk in an aspen grove. You may encounter a bear shuffling around the edge of the mountain meadow. And then, if you like, you may drive down the road to the world-famous resort town of Telluride, to relax at a summer jazz concert in the cool of the evening. This loop is full of wilderness, but it has a dash of culture-a combination that is highly recommended.
Groundhog 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
Fish Creek 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
Woods Lake State Wildlife Area
Admission: A valid hunting or fishing license is required for everyone 18 or older to access any State Wildlife Area or State Trust Land leased by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Free on USFS property.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Dan Noble (Miramonte Reservoir Tract) 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
Groundhog Reservoir State Wildlife Area
Backed by the striking silhouette of Lone Cone mountain, Groundhog is the largest body of water in Dolores County and a remote destination that is mostly accessible from May through September. Although the reservoir frequently seems empty of birds, a spotting scope will usually reveal good numbers of ducks and Western and Eared Grebes; sometimes shorebirds, Bald Eagles or Ospreys, and even Surf Scoters have been seen. This is also one of the best places in Colorado to find Purple Martins, which nest in the aspen groves near the water and sometimes forage over the parking lot. The wet meadow and aspen habitats surrounding the reservoir can serve up breeding birds like Lincoln’s and Fox Sparrows. Elk are common in the area, as are deer, coyotes, foxes, and the marmots for which the reservoir is named.
Black Mesa Area
The remote roads through this area are excellent places to look for Dusky Grouse and other high-elevation birds, including Pine Grosbeak, Gray Jay, and Golden-crowned Kinglet. Northern Goshawk breeds in the area. Keep an eye out for elk and snowshoe hares (white in winter, brown-and-white in summer). The roads are inaccessible from approximately late October to early May due to deep snow.
Fish Creek State Wildlife Area
Set just off the beautiful Dolores River Valley, this small and remote SWA contains perhaps the best publicly accessible mid-elevation riparian patch in the county. Look for species such as Cedar Waxwing, Lazuli Bunting, Black-headed Grosbeak, and other birds that can be hard to find in the county. The ponderosa and scrub oak on the hillsides contain Grace’s Warbler. Deer, elk, and snowshoe hare can be seen on the property.
Dunton Road (FR 535)
The whole Dunton Road can provide great birding in wet meadow and willow habitats, with birds including Evening Grosbeak, Wilson’s Warbler, Western Bluebird, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Red-naped Sapsucker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Cassin’s Finch. The Calico Trail, off the eastern part of the Dunton road before it hits CO 145, probably represents the best easily-accessible roadside spruce-fir habitat in Dolores County. Here you can find Three-toed Woodpecker and, if you are lucky, Northern Goshawk. The scenery in this whole area is amazing, with El Diente and the Wilson peaks looming high over everything. Butterfly viewing can be excellent, with Purplish Fritillaries and Green Commas swarming wildflowers in the mountain meadows.
Navajo Lake Trail
It’s a strenuous four-mile hike up this beautiful trail to Navajo Falls, the only publicly accessible nesting site in Dolores County for Black Swift. The swifts are best found here at dawn and dusk, so an overnight trip may be required in order to see them. The falls themselves are well off the trail and it is difficult and dangerous to reach them, so we strongly recommend looking for the swifts from the trail. The spruce-fir forest, aspen and willow habitats between the trailhead and the falls will produce birds like Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Fox Sparrow and Swainson’s Thrush. Yellow-bellied Marmots are numerous in the area, and mammals from porcupine to pine marten might be seen by the fortunate. Butterfly diversity can be high here, with alpine species around Navajo Lake.
Rico
This quaint mountain hamlet is tiny, but can seem bustling and trendy in the summer. You can cruise the neighborhood streets looking for seed feeders which might attract finches including rosy-finches in the winter; and in the summer, hummingbird feeders, which might attract Broad-tailed, Rufous and Calliope hummingbirds, the latter two in July and August. Swainson’s Thrush and Fox Sparrow breed in the willows right along the river in town. This is not a bad place to base yourself if you want to explore the out-of-the-way areas of eastern Dolores County.
Bolam Pass Road
Although the lower portions of this road can accommodate cars, the upper portions should only be traveled by four-wheel-drive vehicles with high clearance. The lower part of the road runs through mixed-conifer forests; butterfly enthusiasts can look in the meadows for Northern Blues. The upper part of the road accesses some excellent spruce-fir habitat where Boreal Owls have been heard at night.
Lizard Head Pass
The site of an abandoned depot on the historic Rio Grande Southern railroad, Lizard Head Pass is today a scenic overlook on CO 145 from which you can marvel at the odd shape of Lizard Head Peak. A better view is from CO 145 south of the pass. Trails starting from here traverse high-alpine meadows and spruce-fir forests with birds like crossbills, Dusky Grouse, and Pine Grosbeak. Wildflower displays here can be wonderful in late summer, with highlights including Parry’s gentian and the aptly-named ‘elephant-head’ lousewort.
San Miguel River South Fork Preserve
One of three Nature Conservancy preserves along the San Miguel River, this pretty little patch of 67 acres is an excellent example of mid-elevation riparian habitat, featuring narrowleaf cottonwood, blue spruce and black twinberry. The 180-foot boardwalk with interpretive signage and the half-mile gravel trail make this one of the most handicapped-accessible birding sites in the area. Durring summer all along this road lsiten for breeding Swainson’s Thrush and Fox Sparrow, among many other birds.
Telluride
Telluride is a picturesque historic mining and ski town, home to well-known film and bluegrass festivals, and it is also a great town for wildlife watching. There is an extensive trail system along the river which leads through cottonwoods, willows, and wet meadows, where you can see bluebirds, Fox and Lincoln’s Sparrows, and sapsuckers. A highlight of the area is the several waterfalls that plunge into the valley just east of town. Bridal Veil Falls, the tallest waterfall in Colorado, has a colony of Black Swifts, which can sometimes be seen high overhead in the evening. High flocks of White-throated Swifts carouse over town as well, which can make picking out the larger Black Swifts a bit of a challenge.
Woods Lake State Wildlife Area
This is a small, beautiful and secluded lake set among mixed-conifer forest and aspen groves. Keep an eye out for typical species of the high-elevation aspen and spruce-fir forest. You might see elk and black bear. The mountain scenery here is spectacular, with beautiful views of Mount Wilson. Rugged trails lead into the Lizard Head Wilderness Area and, eventually, alpine tundra.
San Miguel River Canyon Preserve
This Nature Conservancy Preserve includes two miles of the San Miguel River as it passes through magnificent Naturita Canyon, supporting a community of Colorado blue spruce, narrowleaf cottonwood, and thinleaf alder. There are no trails, but you can walk into the area from the north. Look for American Dipper and Peregrine Falcon. This is one of the few places in Colorado where you have a chance to see a river otter.
Forest Road 642
Extensive ponderosa pine forest here makes this a good spot to look for Grace’s Warbler, Cassin’s Finch, Red Crossbill, Williamson’s Sapsucker, and the rest of the ponderosa forest specialists. It’s also a good place to look for mammals like deer, elk, and coyote.
Dan Noble (Miramonte Reservoir Tract) State Wildlife Area
When not frozen, this high-elevation reservoir can provide some excellent birding. Everything from waterfowl to loons, gulls, shorebirds and waders could be found here. The sage flats around the reservoir contain many sparrows and also harbor the secretive and endangered Gunnison Sage-Grouse, but leks are not open to the public. Mule deer can be abundant in this area.