Colorado's Special Birds

Colorado is one of America's top birding destinations, and for good reason: its west-central location and varied terrain have recorded nearly 500 species of birds, quite a number for a landlocked state that's not on the border. The Centennial State is home to 7 of the 9 grouse species in the lower 48 (though seeing them all requires visiting all 4 corners of the state), eastern migrants and breeders along the riparian corridors of the high plains, desert species in the rocky buttes of the west and south, and, of course, mountain species in the state's defining Rocky Mountain corridor. Select birding destinations include, among many others: Bonny Lake State Park for riparian species; Pawnee National Grassland for prairie birds; Rocky Mountain National Park for high-country birds; Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge for waterbirds; and Comanche National Grassland for specialties of southwestern desert.