Birding in Spanish Peaks Country
Birding is enjoyable and easy. It happens naturally in people curious about life in nature. Seeing the brilliant yellow warbler or orange oriole in nature’s green summer garb is exciting and a joyous event! Children especially will remember this experience.
Most birders carry a guidebook or smart phone “app” and binoculars to help clearly see the species type. Usually one can see eight or ten species in a morning’s (best time) walk or drive. April through June is best birding season. Over the years, more than one hundred species have been identified in Huerfano County. As an experienced birder (50 years,) I enjoy reading in my field guidebook the date and location of each bird sighting. It’s a journal of past events and places visited. I recommend keeping one.
A few tips follow and then a table of birds most often seen in our county. La Veta’s “Town Lakes” attract bald eagles (fall and winter) and herons, ducks, Canada geese, cranes, shorebirds, and occasionally king fisher and osprey. Seed feeders at houses attract small birds like chickadees, juncoes, nuthatches, jays, and grosbeaks. Suet attracts woodpeckers. Hayfields are preferred by crows, ravens, magpies, meadowlarks, bluebirds, kestrels and hawks. Dusk brings out owls. Juniper wooded mesa habitat is favored by black headed grosbeaks, spotted towhees, wrens, sparrows, northern flicker, flycatchers and jays. Streams and rivers are preferred by audubon (yellow rumped) and yellow warblers, orioles, and tree sparrow. We’ve named a few of many possible sightings to encourage novice birders and guides for parents and children. Happy Birding!
Table of Birds Common to Spanish Peaks Country
Y: Year around resident
S: Spring/Summer Migrant
Even if you think you see a Mexican Spotted Owl or a Whooping Crane, stay on designated trails, and don’t leave behind your lunch wrappers. Read about how you can Leave no Trace and Care for Colorado.
