Monte Vista is a good-sized town with all the amenities. Birders might want to cruise the neighborhood streets looking for feeders, which can attract finches including Evening Grosbeaks and Cassin’s Finches. The cemetery just west of town has many mature evergreens where you might find warblers in migration, crossbills in winter, and Great Horned Owls at any season. There is a new wetlands trail on the west side of Monte Vista behind Big R, another good place to spot wetland birds.
Sandhill Crane
A Land of Natural Spectacles
The northern San Luis Valley is a land of natural spectacles. Some are aerial, like the talon-locking tumble of a pair of Golden Eagles in midair courtship, or the high-flying spirals of a flock of Black Swifts above a canyon cascade at dusk. Some are auditory: the gurgling trumpet of thousands of Sandhill Cranes wheeling in spring flocks over the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, or the air-gulping, head-tossing display of an American Bittern suspended in golden reeds at sunset. And some are famously sublime, like the luminous landscape of the Great Sand Dunes, so bright and unexpected that from a distance it doesn’t look real. You’ll find plenty to marvel at if you travel this trail at any time of year.
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
Rio Grande 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: Nature trail is free; fee for guided tours and lodging
Ownership: The Nature Conservancy
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Admission: National Parks fee
Ownership: National Park Service
Admission: CPW Annual Access Permit or valid Colorado hunting or fishing license required for access. State Parks pass NO longer required, No Fee for Camping
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Russell Lakes 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
Home Lake State Wildlife Area
This is a good place to look for waterfowl. In addition to all the common duck species, this lake has hosted surprises including Eurasian Wigeon and Tundra Swan. There is a nesting pair of Osprey that use Home Lake to hunt. Look for them in the nearby cottonwood trees or at their nest, which is located just south of Home Lake on County Road 1 South. In migration, the trees around the lake can attract migrant warblers, flycatchers, vireos, grosbeaks, and the like. In winter, the lake and surrounding cottonwoods host both Golden and Bald Eagles. Note that on some maps, Home Lake is marked as ‘Sherman Lake’.
Rio Grande State Wildlife Area
As you might expect, the Rio Grande flows through this 940-acre State Wildlife Area, and the riparian trees and brush along the river support many birds in the breeding season and many more in migration. Look for Bald Eagles, especially in the colder months. Some wetlands south of the river can have herons and ducks. In the summer months you may see American Bittern’s and Sora’s. Elk and Mule deer are fairly common.
Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge
Ninety-five percent of the Rocky Mountain population of the Sandhill Crane migrate through the San Luis Valley each spring and fall, and a large percentage of those birds spend much of their time in and around the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge. This is the attraction that has brought people to Monte Vista for the annual crane festival in March for more than 25 years. Crane sightings are virtually guaranteed in spring and fall. In addition, the wildlife auto tour loop on the refuge takes you past numerous fields, ponds, and cattail marshes where you might see birds ranging from Buffleheads to bitterns and wildlife from elk to badger to muskrat. Northern Harriers cruise low over the wetlands almost year-round. A visit to this refuge is likely to be a highlight of any wildlife-watching excursion to the San Luis Valley.
Alamosa
The largest town in the San Luis Valley, Alamosa is a pleasant community with all the amenities and a good base for your visit to the area. In addition, it provides some good birding of its own. The best birding is along the riverwalk that follows the Rio Grande through town. Look over the water for Barn, Cliff, Tree, and Bank Swallows, and in areas of cattails for Pied-billed Grebe, Sora, Yellow-headed Blackbird, and Great-tailed Grackle. Another place worth visiting in town is the Alamosa Ranch Grazing Area and Open Space, on the north end of town along State Avenue. Several manmade ponds here may attract shorebirds, ducks, or other waterbirds depending on season.
South River Road (CR S-112)
This road heads south from Alamosa through wet meadows and fields that can produce large numbers of wetlands birds, especially in spring. Look for waterfowl, Wilson’s Snipe, White-faced Ibis, and American Bittern. Deer and, occasionally, pronghorn feed in some of the fields. If you stop, be careful to do so in a place where you can pull entirely off the road.
Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge
This national wildlife refuge provides an auto-tour loop that traverses some of the very best and most extensive cattail marshes in Colorado. Birds found here include Sora, Virginia Rail, American Bittern, Great-tailed Grackle, and Marsh Wren (abundant). Muskrats are common, and with luck you might spot a mink. Because of the dense cattails, this refuge does not host as many Sandhill Cranes as the Monte Vista refuge does, but you might see them here in spring and fall. CR S-116, which runs north-south along the east side of the refuge, can provide some excellent birding opportunities as well, especially for those willing to scan distant ponds with a spotting scope. Deer and elk are resident in the area. The saltbush flats to the east of the road, especially in the area across from the hunter’s access parking lot, can be full of Sage Sparrows in spring and summer, not to mention Vesper and Brewer’s Sparrows and Sage Thrasher, black-tailed jackrabbits and coyotes.
Medano-Zapata Ranch
Adjacent to the Great Sand Dunes, this Nature Conservancy preserve offers a one-mile trail through cottonwoods and wetland habitats that is open to visitors March to October. Other parts of the enormous property can be visited by joining a guided ranch tour, which may afford you the opportunity to view the ranch’s large bison herd. The nature trail leads through a very pleasant park-like woodland where you are quite likely to find breeding Black-headed Grosbeaks, Bullock’s Orioles, and Western Tanagers. Look carefully at any large clump of sticks in the trees–it could be the nest of a Great Horned Owl or a Cooper’s Hawk, or it could be a sleeping porcupine. If you get the chance to visit this place, don’t pass it up!
Zapata Falls
It is a moderate half-mile hike from the parking lot to Zapata Falls, a dramatic cascade deeply inset into a narrow canyon. The falls itself is a wonderful escape from summer heat, and it is home to a sizeable nesting colony of Black Swifts, although you need luck to see them zooming into and out of the nest sites at dawn and dusk. American Dippers are easily seen near the falls, however. The trail to the falls, like the road to the parking lot, runs through excellent pinyon-juniper woodlands where you are likely to find Western Scrub-Jays, Green-tailed Towhees, and other birds. Short-horned lizards can sometimes be found on the trail to the falls, and wildflowers in the dry soil may include the blooms of claret cup cactus.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
This is one of the can’t-miss natural destinations in Colorado. From a distance, the sand dunes look unreal, like a giant painting done on the lower slopes of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. The park and preserve stretches from the saltbush deserts of the valley floor all the way up to alpine tundra above treeline; the biodiversity is tremendous. Habitats in the park include grassland, semidesert shrubland, pinyon-juniper woodland, deciduous riparian woodland, and mixed-conifer woodland–and those are just the habitats that are easily accessible from the main roads and trails! Almost any mountain bird species can probably be found somewhere in the park. Pinyon Jays and Bushtits can be found right in the campground areas, while Mountain Bluebirds are hard to miss in summer. Up to four species of hummingbirds might drop by in late July and August. And birds aren’t the only attraction: mammals in the park range from Ord’s kangaroo rat up to pronghorn, elk, and bear. The Nature Conservancy manages a herd of bison in an area just west of the main dunes. At least six species of insect are endemic to the dunes, including the striking Great Sand Dunes Tiger Beetle. With luck, you might even find a Giant Sand Treader Camel Cricket (what a name!).
Blanca Wetlands
A watery oasis in the saltbush desert, Blanca Wetlands is a premier birding site, but closed to the public during nesting season from February 15 through July 15th. In late summer, however, you should still be able to find some of the Snowy Plovers that nest here — one of their strongholds in Colorado. Almost every other wetland bird from the area can be found here, from bitterns to harriers, and the variety of wetland habitats make this a good place to look for dragonflies and damselflies as well. Before visiting, you might want to stop at the BLM office in Monte Vista or the one in Del Norte to pick up a map, since it is very easy to get lost on the tangle of roads inside the wetlands. You may also be able to pick up a map at the kiosk at the entrance to the wetlands.
San Luis Lakes
Right next door to the Great Sand Dunes at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo range, San Luis Lakes State Wildlife Area (formerly a State Park) contains the largest open body of water in the area and can be a mecca for shorebirds, gulls, and ducks in spring and fall. If you visit on the right day, bird concentrations can be truly impressive. The lakes are located just past the campground. These smaller ponds can be great for waterbirds of all kinds, but they are closed to the public during spring and summer to protect nests. Around all the San Luis Lakes are extensive saltbush flats where you can find Brewer’s Sparrow and Sage Thrasher in the breeding season. Herds of elk may wander into the park, and dry-country animals such as black-tailed jackrabbit and badger are in the area. The rare, native plant Slender Spiderflower (Cleome multicaulis) is commonly found growing around the seasonal wetlands in the Wildlife Nesting Area north of San Luis Lake.
Crestone area
Crestone is a small, isolated town in a gorgeous natural setting. Described as a ‘spiritual and New Age center,’ the town is covered in large cottonwoods (many of which died in the turn-of-the-century drought) and surrounded by pinyon-juniper woodlands on the east and wetlands on the west. The result is a town full of birds, from woodpeckers (including Lewis’s) to Pinyon Jays and Broad-tailed and Black-chinned Hummingbirds. The wetlands along the entrance road to town provide breeding places for Black-crowned Night-Heron, Wilson’s Phalarope, Wilson’s Snipe, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Cinnamon Teal, etcetera. The National Forest campground just northeast of town sits in a rocky canyon full of pinyon-juniper, mixed conifers, and mid-elevation riparian growth. Many montane and shrubland birds can be found here, including MacGillivray’s Warbler, Green-tailed Towhee, Brown Creeper, Hermit Thrush, Cordilleran and Dusky Flycatchers, Western Tanager and White-throated Swift. Mammals in the area range from elk to the elusive Ringtail, but the main attraction for wildlife watchers will probably be the birds.
Elephant Rocks
This fascinating area is full of amazing scenery as well as great Pinyon-Juniper and shrubland birds. It is good for Rock Wren, Green-tailed Towhee, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Bushtit and Pinyon Jay, and Cassin’s Kingbird (a rare bird in the San Luis Valley) has been seen here too. Poorwills call from the rocks at night. Several species of lizard scamper over the boulders, and with luck you might see a snake. You won’t miss the chipmunks and the rock squirrels.
La Garita area
The road heading west from the town of La Garita into the mountains of the same name first passes through a beautiful canyon with colonies of swallows and White-throated Swifts. The land in this area is a mix of public and private property, so pay attention to signs so as not to trespass. About twelve miles from La Garita you will come to a fork in the road. To the left is M33, South Camero Road, where you’ll find are Poso Campground, Moon Pass and an eventual dead end for passenger vehicles. To the right is 41G, Camero Road, where there is Storm King Campground and Carnero Pass, and an eventual outlet to CO 114 west of Saguache. Camero Creek runs along the left side of M33, South Camero Road, and supports some thin willow cover and lots of beaver activity. Poso Campground is in some nice mixed-conifer forest on a north-facing slope. Higher up, near Moon Pass, you get into some good mixed-age aspen groves and dense spruce forest where you might run into Gray Jay and other high-elevation birds. White-winged Crossbill has been seen near Moon Pass in summer, so keep an eye out. This road is a good place to look for elk, mule deer, marmots, porcupines, and other montane creatures.
Russell Lakes State Wildlife Area
Birders should never drive past this State Wildlife Area without stopping. The Johnson Lake nature trail along Highway 285 includes a boardwalk through a thriving marsh, with good views of ponds and wet meadows. In the colder months, if the water is not frozen, the ponds can be full of ducks of many species. In the breeding season, the area is full of birds, including Cinnamon Teal, Western and Clark’s Grebes, American Bittern, Sora, Virginia Rail, White-faced Ibis, Marsh Wren, Common Yellowthroat and Savannah Sparrow. The small grove of trees at the parking area has produced migrant warblers and breeding Bullock’s Oriole; Great Horned Owls often nest in the trees. The saltbush around the ponds has plenty of Brewer’s Sparrows and Sage Thrashers. Jackrabbits can be abundant in the dry brush, and mule deer are frequently seen. The ponds also host muskrats, various amphibians, and many species of butterfly, dragonfly, and damselfly.
Saguache
This is a very small but pleasant town in the northwest part of the San Luis Valley. The trees in town can host migrant birds. Cruising the neighborhoods in search of feeders could result in sightings of Evening Grosbeaks, Cassin’s Finches, or goldfinches, especially in winter. The wet meadows along the highway south of town should be scanned for Wilson’s Snipe, ducks, and Great-tailed Grackle.
Orient Mine
The Orient Mine near Valley View Hot Springs is home to a summer colony of an estimated 250,000 Mexican free-tailed bats, which stage an impressive out-flight from the mine entrance every evening. You are likely to hear poorwills and Canyon Wrens calling during the bats’ daily exodus. There is no charge for viewing the bats, but there is a charge to use the hot springs. A moderate 1.5-mile hike to the bat cave takes about an hour. The property contains numerous other remnants of the area’s mining history and has a fascinating geology as well. For more information, see www.olt.org. Note** The Orient Land Trust (OLT) manages the land and Valley View Hot Springs. This is a clothing optional naturism organization, and you will very likely see naked people.