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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 * GBP3,374 * EUR3,818 * AUD6,792

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
JS, Texas 2021

We enjoyed the tour. Stephan was great in every way and Claudia also terrific. The locations were interesting. The Lost Maples area was really lovely. The bat cave experience was amazing!

Forrest Rowland
MS - Montana 2021

I have nothing but praise for our guide, Forrest Rowland. His knowledge of birding was excellent, and he was very friendly and personable. He went out of his way to provide us with a memorable experience despite the bitter-cold temps and the fact that a good part of Yellowstone was closed or unreachable during our trip. He chose some great area restaurants and the food was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

Forrest Rowland
AH, Montana

Our guide was superb. The experience was really beyond my expectations. This was “awesome” in the traditional sense of awesome not the common vernacular.

Stephan Lorenz
SC, USA - The Lower 48 2023

Stephan Lorenz is an excellent guide, very knowledgeable, attentive to his clients. Always making sure that everybody has the opportunity to see the birds and other mammals. He made an excellent trip report which is very much appreciated.

Stephan Lorenz
MS, Texas 2021

Loved Stephan and Claudia! They were a great team and made the experience very pleasant and enjoyable. The sit down lunch on the last day was great! Pre-ordering lunch might help expedite the meal if needed for time. The Bat flight was worth the wait! Thank you! We look forward to birding with Rockjumper again.

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