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USA - Colorado: Prairie Chickens, Grouse & More

© Sharp-tailed Grouse by Markus Lilje
USA - Colorado: Prairie Chickens, Grouse & More

USD4,300 - No Spaces Available

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Tour Leader: Local Leader

Pricing notes : Please see BirdingDirect link for spaces and updated pricing.

Tour price (Per person): USD4,300 * GBP3,264 * EUR3,878 * AUD6,748

For enquiries & bookings, please following this link:  Birding Direct - United States

This tour is operated by High Lonesome BirdTours in partnership with BirdingDirect.
These are large group tours (up to 16 guests with multiple tour leaders), and will have guests from both Highlonesome as well as BirdingDirect.

Colorado is the best place in the country for finding all the species of Prairie Chicken and Grouse. Its varied topography, ranging from prairie grasslands through high plains to subalpine forests and alpine tundra, supports as many as 500 species of birds; its geographical location astride the Continental Divide provides a mix of eastern, western, northern and southwestern species not easily found together anywhere else.

Our trip will take us from the eastern prairies of Colorado into the high Rocky Mountains, covering about 2000 miles in search of our target species. In order to see many of these species at their leks at dawn, we’ll need to be up and out very early. We expect to find Greater and Lesser Prairie Chickens; Sage, Gunnison, Sharp-tailed and Dusky Grouse and possibly White-tailed Ptarmigan. Other species of interest include Mountain Plover, Three-toed Woodpecker and Williamson’s Sapsucker, Rough-legged Hawk, Black, Brown-capped and Grey-crowned Rosy Finches, Thick-billed and Chestnut-collared Longspurs amongst many others.

 

Top Birds

Great & Lesser Prairie Chicken; Sage, Dusky, Sharp-tailed & Gunnison Grouse; White-tailed Ptarmigan; Chukar Partridge; Rough-legged Hawk; American Dipper; Lewis’s & Three-toed Woodpeckers; Williamson’s Sapsucker; Junpier Titmouse; Pinyon Jay; Black, Grey-crowned & Brown-capped Rosy Finches; Pine Grosbeak; Mountain Chickadee; Mountain Plover; Thick-billed & Chestnut-collared Longspurs.

Top Mammals

Big Horned Sheep, Pronghorn, Coyote, Black Bear; Elk; Moose; Gunnison's, White-tailed & Black-tailed Prairie Dogs.

Habitats Covered

short-grass and long-grass prairie, foothills, mountains, montaine forest

Expected Climate

in the early spring, we can encounter very wintry weather including snow. Temperatures can be as low as -7°C (20°F) in the early morning at some of the leks. Please make sure to bring layers! During the day it can get warm, 15°C (60°F).

Max Group Size

14 with 2 Tour Leaders

Tour Pace & Walking

easy, but many early mornings and long drives

Accommodation

very comfortable hotels; some fine Colorado restaurants.

Ease of Birding

mostly easy with some difficult species

Number of Species Expected

140

Other Attractions

wonderful scenery, mountain views, prairie dog colonies.

Photographic Opportunities

good to excellent

What our clients say about us

Stephan Lorenz
MC, Colorado & Texas 2022

I would just like to say how much I enjoyed both the tours - I saw lots of new birds, and our guide Stephan Lorenz was fantastic - extremely knowledgeable, and very patient, and made sure we all saw the birds. His wife Claudia was also extremely helpful in so many ways. I certainly hope I will do another tour with them in the not too distant future. The groups on both tours were friendly and easy to get on with. It was cold in Colorado, but it is a beautiful part of the world!

Adam Walleyn
SB, California 2021

Adam Walleyn was an excellent guide. Very knowledgeable, helpful and he worked very hard to find the birds and take care of the many logistical matters. I would gladly tour with him again.

Stephan Lorenz
JB - Colorado 2022

Thanks for an outstanding tour! Stephan is an excellent leader: great at finding and getting everyone on the birds, sharing information about the birds and the areas where we travelled, and handling the tour logistics. We had a few logistical difficulties, which Stephan handled beautifully. Both he and Claudia were excellent travel companions, and I would be happy to bird with them anywhere.

Stephan Lorenz
AS, Texas 2021

Stephan and Claudia are a great team: Stephan is simply amazing hearing, spotting and helping all get on the relevant bird(s). As the only non-master birder and the oldest person on the trip, I thought that they both were helpful, careful and mindful of the needs of me and each of the group. Claudia often got on the bird as quickly as Stephan spotted it. The group worked for the best interest of the group. .... During a pandemic, the group acted responsibly and carefully.

Stephan Lorenz
BD, Arizona 2021

The hotel was a very nice place to stay and it was so nice staying in one place the entire tour. Stephan was an excellent guide and a very safe driver, He went out of his way to find the birds for us and he made sure that everyone saw them. I also admired Stephan's concern for other wildlife and how he would make the effort to move them to a safer location.

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