I left the Bent's Fort Inn about an hour before checkout. And started my walking. I had my THC oil for e-joints and some rolling dope. The eatables have done a good job on the nerve damage in my right shoulder. I sleep through the night and don't remember every second of every day that I hit my dog. It took hitting that dog to knock the youth out of me and remind me that I AM old.
After walking for hours, of course, I am still stopping and resting more than it thinks I should, I finally got a ride in a truck. The driver was going to Wichita Kansas, I ask to get out at the first motel that I saw. Didn't know that Lamar was bigger than the other towns that I have been walking through.
My world has been putting me through all that I can handle, the walking and caring for my sleeping bag, clothes and other stuff that's nice to have, When I can not go any father, low and behold, manna from heaven is dropped on me and someone pulls over and lets this tired, sore, and hungry old man crawl in.
This is the reason that I don't stay for just one night. That second day I spend walking around and eating.
I start getting ready to leave early because I didn't walk far the day before, I just ate and slept. I walked far enough just to get food. As I walked I stopped at a couple of places and ask about a laundromat, I didn't understand the direction, so I just kept walking.
I haven't walk far, but I am tired none the less. So, when I see the buzzard's nest I walk in and inquire about a room. The cheapest one that I stayed in. 45.00 dollars plus taxes. It is still under 50 dollars. A nice young couple owns it, the room is clean, all the lights work, I didn't have to plug in anything to get it working.
As you can see the gas company is replacing piping before it goes bad. In spite of the construction, Lamar Colorado is one pretty town. Not too far from The Buzzard's Nest, there is a stone table. That little grassy spot is nice and inviting.
They have a Welcome to Colorado station there. That's where you can find the long GE Wind Energy turbine blade. I don't know how long it is, didn't think of asking. Only one fits on a flatbed truck. I'ver seen them running down the interstate before.
You will also run across the Lamar Colorado Enchanted Forest. It is a sight for sore eyes. The thing that gets to me the most when I have stayed and worked in the west is the lack of trees. I start missing them. Then I just go back east.
I like the shape of this group of trees, it seems perfect for the representation of trees for the Enchanted Forest.
It's not just little walkways, tree, and grass they have a place that you. can throw horses shoes. Five different teams can play at a time. They seem to be well maintained.
You can also find a nice looking statue named "Short Fuse on a Loose Rope". The name is engraved so you won't forget.
One of the things that I like is the decorative walkthrough. It is kind of nice to walk from one street to the next without going to the end of the block. Any where you can put plant life is a good thing, out here in the west, it just makes you feel better.
Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway
Welcome to the heart of the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail. Beginning in 1821 the trail was an international commerce route until 1848 when much of northern Mexico became part of the United States. The trail thrived until 1880 bringing a rich exchange of ideas, culture, and goods that still exists today. Santa Fe Trail's legacy endures as Victorian buildings, historic ranches, landmarks, stage stops, watering holes, and wagon wheel ruts.
There is still a sense of adventure connected to the great prairie highway of commerce. This map will help you discover the heart of the Old West at points of interest along Colorado's Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway
To learn about the places and people of the Santa Fe Trail look for sighs like this, 16.9FM in Lamar, and 1590AM or 1610AM along the rest of the Byway.
Experience Santa Fe Trail Country
Recapture the feel of America's Old West at a melodrama, rodeo or music festival. Explore our heritage at museums or by visiting our National Historic Districts and Preserve America Communities. Enjoy the Koshare Dancers at our festivals, fiestas, and heritage events held each year. Fish, swim, hunt, hike, and bike or visit a dude ranch and ride a horse or go on a hayride.
DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Markers
Look for 36 granite stones on Colorado's portion of the Santa Fe Trail. Placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), they mark the Santa Fe Trail.
Location, Location, Location
Thousands of caravans used the Santa Fe Trail between 1821 and 1880. The trail clung close to the Arkansas River for hundreds of miles across the open plains. The Arkansas Valley offered gentle terrain for travelers and their stock, as well as water, wood, grass, and game - especially bison
Just North of here, across the Arkansas River, ran the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail. From 1821 to 1846, the south side of the river was Mexico, the north side was the United States. A sharp eye can spot visible Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts. John Martin Reservoir, Comanche National Grassland, and the community of Hoehne all have wagon ruts and swales.
Plains buffalo were plentiful and fur trade flourished along the Arkansas River. Indians attacked wagon trains and stagecoaches moving through their hunting ground. Visit Comanche National Grassland to see stage stops and watering holes. While in Lamar visit Big Timbers Museum to see the wagon and coach collection and the artifacts of the Santa Fe Trail era.
Yonder Lies Bent's Fort
This early Arkansas Valley trading post served Plains tribes, armies, trappers and traders, Mexican and American alike, from 1833 until 1849. Visit the reconstructed fort within Bent's Old Fort National Historic site administered by the National Park Service for year round living history experiences of the Santa Fe Trail era.
Fort Lyon
Stockades like Fort Lyon were resupply points for the army. Visit Fort Lyon, where Kit Carson died. See Kit Carson chapel, built from the stones of the original fort.
Boggsville Historic Site
Visit Boggsville National Historic Site, the last home of Kit Carson. It is located on the Purgatoire River, two miles south of Las Animas on Colorado Highway 101.
Sand Creek Massacre
On November 29, 1864, Col. John Chivington led Colorado Volunteer Cavalry in a dawn attack on a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho. They were told they would be under the protection of Fort Lyon. About two hundred Native American men, women and children were killed in a massacre that shocked the nation, bringing a new wave of Indian-White conflict to Colorado's high plains along the Santa Fe Trail
The Coming of the Iron Horse
With the coming of the railroad, several towns sprang up along the Santa Fe Trail. Lamar was established on May 24 1886.
Historic water-pumping windmills used by pioneers are today being replaced with power producing wind farms. The Colorado Green Project resides on about 11,000 acres used as a working cattle ranch. Travel south form Lamar on Highway 287 to see a working wind farm.
Waterways
Along the Santa Fe Trail look for the “green ribbons” of life along the Arkansas and Purgatoire Rivers. Willow, Cottonwood, shrubs, and grasses bordering river and streams provide a valuable combination of food, water and shelter for wildlife. Check the shy for birds of prey riding the air currents. Look for soaring golden eagles and hawks along the river flood plain.
Every year from mid-April to late August visitors share the sand and gravel shores along the Santa Fe Trail with the threatened piping plover and endangered least tern.
Sandhill cranes can be seen in October and March during spring and fall migration.
Watch thousands of migrating birds at the Snow Goose Festival each year in Lamar
Grasslands
Many birds have adapted to the sparsity of trees on the grasslands by building their nests on the ground. They use natural surroundings to hide from enemies. Mountain plovers prefer to nest on flat, nearly barren ground.
Colorado's state bird, the lark bunting, prefers sagebrush. In the fall, look for flocks along the roadside eating seeds.
Lesser prairie chicken display their courtship rituals on leks (breeding grounds) each spring. Leks are usually located on hills with sparse vegetation and good visibility. During courtship, males perform a dance, emitting a gobbling sound and a laughing cackle. On a calm day the birds can be heard up to a mile away.
Canyons and Plains
Cholla shrub lands provide habitat for scaled quail and the curve-billed thrasher. Curve-billed thrashers build conspicuous nests which are hard to reach because they are placed in the center of dense, thorny desert vegetation. Bald Eagles can be seen during the winter months all along the Santa Fe Trail.
Scaled quail are monogamous and prefer nesting in open ground where they can use their running abilities. When flushed, they often fly a short distance, glide to the ground and run for cover.
An observant wildlife watcher can find animals just by knowing how, where and when to look:
Keep your distance – use binoculars
Watch for birds on fences, power poles, and trees
Riparian areas and prairie dog colonies attract wildlife
Dawn and dusk are excellent times for wildlife viewing
Watch for movement
Pronghorns on the Plains
For over three million years the pronghorns are the sole surviving member of their North American prehistoric family. They have shared the grasslands with long extinct and present day fierce predators. With a running speed of up to 60 mph and excellent vision, they can detect predators at great distances.
Home on the Prairie
The prairie may seem vast and empty but it is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Nutritious prairie grasses support many species. More than 60 different animals live in and around prairie dog colonies
Canyon lands Wildlife
Canyon land provides a home to mule deer and elk which can be seen feeding in early morning of evening on the open grasslands. They will seek the shade of trees, scrub oak and juniper draws during the heat of midday.
Picket Wire Canyonlands on the Comanche National Grassland is one of the few areas in the eastern plains of Colorado where the elk population is increasing.
Predators of the Canyonlands
Look for mountain lions and other predators in foothills, canyons, or mesa country. They are more at home in brushy areas and woodlands than in forests or open prairies. A lions staple diet is one deer a week.
Consider yourself very lucky if you see a bobcat. Look for them on the barren rocky slopes, especially at night. Coyotes are more often heard than seen. They usually howl once night falls and may be seen early in the morning.
Cliff Dwellers
Colorado's mammalian symbol is the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Our cliffs are home of the largest population of the species anywhere. Ewes have spike-like horns and mature rams have massive coiled horns used for the rut n the fall. Bighorn sheep are grazers and feed in meadows, open wood-land, and alpine tundra. They often rest on nearly inaccessible cliffs.
Stay Safe!
Beware of Bears
Much of the Santa Fe Trail is home to bears.
Be Alert!
If you see a bear
Back slowly away
do not turn and run
Experience a wildlife adventure of your own on the Colorado Birding Trail! Explore Colorado's incredible diversity of wildlife and the habitats they depend on in unbelievably spectacular setting. From the dry grasslands of the short grass prairie to the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado has nearly 1000 species of wildlife in an endless variety of fantastic habitats.
Colorado's wildlife -
It's something to see!
www. coloradobirdingtrail.com
Snow Goose Trail
Waterbirds, plovers, sandpipers, cranes, egrets, grebes, gulls, and terns flock to these playa lakes in huge numbers during migration. In winter tens of thousands of snow and Ross's geese and other waterfowl stay to star as the main attraction in Lamar's annual Snow Goose Festival each February. At any season of the year, the Snow Goose trail is sure to provide an awesome wildlife viewing experience.
Where to Go
Queens State Wildlife Area - (Snow Goose Trail #14)
Between Lamar and Eads lie tree-lined reservoirs built upon ancient playa lakes. Heaven for wildlife watchers, they offer views of waterfowl, shorebirds, white pelicans and the rare piping plover and least tern.
Two Buttes Trail
Weary birds passing through in spring and fall choose city parks and cemeteries: stream corridors of private ranches; and the rocky canyon at Two Buttes State Wildlife Area for much needed rest stop. With lesser prairie-chickens dancing on leks, burrowing owls, pronghorns, and the wide-open short-grass prairie scenery, you've got a top-fight destination for naturalists of all kinds.
Where to Go
Willow Creek Park and Lamar Woods – (Two Buttes Trail #1) The town of Lamar is one of Colorado's best birding destination – the highlight of birding in Lamar is willow creek with nesting Mississippi kites in the summer and a bevy of songbirds all year.
Two Buttes State Wildlife Area (Two Buttes Trail #10)
Watch for the twin peaks of Two Buttes – a crown jewel of Colorado birding – south ot Lamar. Don't miss the riparian area below the dam where marsh birds, waterfowl, riparian songbirds, toads, painted and box turtles, collared lizards and snakes can all be found.
Plover Trail
Travel the Plover Trail following the Arkansas River and neighboring lakes, ponds and prairie looking for mountain plovers, endangered piping and snowy plovers, the semi-palmated, black-bellied and American golden-plovers, and the ubiquitous killdeer (also a plover). Take the time to celebrate this diversity of plovers, mammals, reptiles, weather patterns, natural landscapes, history and human cultures along the muddy Arkansas River.
Where to Go
Bent's Old Fort/Oxbow State Wildlife Area – (Plover Trail #4)
At Bent's Fort along the Plover Trail outstanding living history combined with natural wetlands and cottonwood river bottom allows visitors to experience the natural and cultural history of the old west in a unique 1840s setting.
John Martin Reservoir State Park and Wildlife Area – (Plover Trail #14) The largest reservoir in southeastern Colorado provides a shaded campground, visitor center with displays, wildlife viewing blind, the historic Santa Fe Trail, Fossilized dinosaur tracks and miles of trails and shoreline. View bald eagles, snow geese and other waterfowl all winter. In summer search for rare piping plovers and least terns.
Private Ranches and Farms – (Red marks all trails)
Private refuges offer wildlife viewing in a variety of habitats off the beaten path. With lodging and meals, geological rarities and Native American rock art, visitors can return o the lore and legend of the wild west. Look for prairie dogs ,burrowing owls, mountain plover, raptors, and pronghorn. Call first for reservations and direction.
(see website or guide)
Other Nearby Colorado Birding Trails:
Pronghorns Trail – Follow the Arkansas River through cottonwoods and towns, this is an outstanding wildlife viewing destination on the eastern plains.
Greater Prairie Chicken Trail – Explore the sand sage prairies of eastern Colorado, a landscape the prairie-chicken share with meadowlarks, Cassin's sparrows and coyotes.
Kingbird Trail – These pine covered hills and rolling grasslands are home to coyotes, badgers, swift foxes, pronghorns, golden eagles, mountain plovers and kingbirds, about an hour from Denver
After walking for hours, of course, I am still stopping and resting more than it thinks I should, I finally got a ride in a truck. The driver was going to Wichita Kansas, I ask to get out at the first motel that I saw. Didn't know that Lamar was bigger than the other towns that I have been walking through.
My world has been putting me through all that I can handle, the walking and caring for my sleeping bag, clothes and other stuff that's nice to have, When I can not go any father, low and behold, manna from heaven is dropped on me and someone pulls over and lets this tired, sore, and hungry old man crawl in.
This is the reason that I don't stay for just one night. That second day I spend walking around and eating.
I start getting ready to leave early because I didn't walk far the day before, I just ate and slept. I walked far enough just to get food. As I walked I stopped at a couple of places and ask about a laundromat, I didn't understand the direction, so I just kept walking.
I haven't walk far, but I am tired none the less. So, when I see the buzzard's nest I walk in and inquire about a room. The cheapest one that I stayed in. 45.00 dollars plus taxes. It is still under 50 dollars. A nice young couple owns it, the room is clean, all the lights work, I didn't have to plug in anything to get it working.
As you can see the gas company is replacing piping before it goes bad. In spite of the construction, Lamar Colorado is one pretty town. Not too far from The Buzzard's Nest, there is a stone table. That little grassy spot is nice and inviting.
They have a Welcome to Colorado station there. That's where you can find the long GE Wind Energy turbine blade. I don't know how long it is, didn't think of asking. Only one fits on a flatbed truck. I'ver seen them running down the interstate before.
You will also run across the Lamar Colorado Enchanted Forest. It is a sight for sore eyes. The thing that gets to me the most when I have stayed and worked in the west is the lack of trees. I start missing them. Then I just go back east.
I like the shape of this group of trees, it seems perfect for the representation of trees for the Enchanted Forest.
It's not just little walkways, tree, and grass they have a place that you. can throw horses shoes. Five different teams can play at a time. They seem to be well maintained.
You can also find a nice looking statue named "Short Fuse on a Loose Rope". The name is engraved so you won't forget.
Planting Around Lamar
One of the things that I like is the decorative walkthrough. It is kind of nice to walk from one street to the next without going to the end of the block. Any where you can put plant life is a good thing, out here in the west, it just makes you feel better.
Historical Facts and Things to do
Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway
Come Closer to America's Heat and Soul
Welcome to the heart of the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail. Beginning in 1821 the trail was an international commerce route until 1848 when much of northern Mexico became part of the United States. The trail thrived until 1880 bringing a rich exchange of ideas, culture, and goods that still exists today. Santa Fe Trail's legacy endures as Victorian buildings, historic ranches, landmarks, stage stops, watering holes, and wagon wheel ruts.
There is still a sense of adventure connected to the great prairie highway of commerce. This map will help you discover the heart of the Old West at points of interest along Colorado's Santa Fe Trail Scenic and Historic Byway
To learn about the places and people of the Santa Fe Trail look for sighs like this, 16.9FM in Lamar, and 1590AM or 1610AM along the rest of the Byway.
Experience Santa Fe Trail Country
Recapture the feel of America's Old West at a melodrama, rodeo or music festival. Explore our heritage at museums or by visiting our National Historic Districts and Preserve America Communities. Enjoy the Koshare Dancers at our festivals, fiestas, and heritage events held each year. Fish, swim, hunt, hike, and bike or visit a dude ranch and ride a horse or go on a hayride.
DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Markers
Look for 36 granite stones on Colorado's portion of the Santa Fe Trail. Placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), they mark the Santa Fe Trail.
Experience the Past on the Santa Fe Trail
Location, Location, Location
Thousands of caravans used the Santa Fe Trail between 1821 and 1880. The trail clung close to the Arkansas River for hundreds of miles across the open plains. The Arkansas Valley offered gentle terrain for travelers and their stock, as well as water, wood, grass, and game - especially bison
Just North of here, across the Arkansas River, ran the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail. From 1821 to 1846, the south side of the river was Mexico, the north side was the United States. A sharp eye can spot visible Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts. John Martin Reservoir, Comanche National Grassland, and the community of Hoehne all have wagon ruts and swales.
Plains buffalo were plentiful and fur trade flourished along the Arkansas River. Indians attacked wagon trains and stagecoaches moving through their hunting ground. Visit Comanche National Grassland to see stage stops and watering holes. While in Lamar visit Big Timbers Museum to see the wagon and coach collection and the artifacts of the Santa Fe Trail era.
Yonder Lies Bent's Fort
This early Arkansas Valley trading post served Plains tribes, armies, trappers and traders, Mexican and American alike, from 1833 until 1849. Visit the reconstructed fort within Bent's Old Fort National Historic site administered by the National Park Service for year round living history experiences of the Santa Fe Trail era.
Fort Lyon
Stockades like Fort Lyon were resupply points for the army. Visit Fort Lyon, where Kit Carson died. See Kit Carson chapel, built from the stones of the original fort.
Boggsville Historic Site
Visit Boggsville National Historic Site, the last home of Kit Carson. It is located on the Purgatoire River, two miles south of Las Animas on Colorado Highway 101.
Sand Creek Massacre
On November 29, 1864, Col. John Chivington led Colorado Volunteer Cavalry in a dawn attack on a village of Cheyenne and Arapaho. They were told they would be under the protection of Fort Lyon. About two hundred Native American men, women and children were killed in a massacre that shocked the nation, bringing a new wave of Indian-White conflict to Colorado's high plains along the Santa Fe Trail
The Coming of the Iron Horse
With the coming of the railroad, several towns sprang up along the Santa Fe Trail. Lamar was established on May 24 1886.
Historic water-pumping windmills used by pioneers are today being replaced with power producing wind farms. The Colorado Green Project resides on about 11,000 acres used as a working cattle ranch. Travel south form Lamar on Highway 287 to see a working wind farm.
The Santa Fe Trail - A Special Place for Wildlife
Waterways
Along the Santa Fe Trail look for the “green ribbons” of life along the Arkansas and Purgatoire Rivers. Willow, Cottonwood, shrubs, and grasses bordering river and streams provide a valuable combination of food, water and shelter for wildlife. Check the shy for birds of prey riding the air currents. Look for soaring golden eagles and hawks along the river flood plain.
Every year from mid-April to late August visitors share the sand and gravel shores along the Santa Fe Trail with the threatened piping plover and endangered least tern.
Sandhill cranes can be seen in October and March during spring and fall migration.
Watch thousands of migrating birds at the Snow Goose Festival each year in Lamar
Grasslands
Many birds have adapted to the sparsity of trees on the grasslands by building their nests on the ground. They use natural surroundings to hide from enemies. Mountain plovers prefer to nest on flat, nearly barren ground.
Colorado's state bird, the lark bunting, prefers sagebrush. In the fall, look for flocks along the roadside eating seeds.
Lesser prairie chicken display their courtship rituals on leks (breeding grounds) each spring. Leks are usually located on hills with sparse vegetation and good visibility. During courtship, males perform a dance, emitting a gobbling sound and a laughing cackle. On a calm day the birds can be heard up to a mile away.
Canyons and Plains
Cholla shrub lands provide habitat for scaled quail and the curve-billed thrasher. Curve-billed thrashers build conspicuous nests which are hard to reach because they are placed in the center of dense, thorny desert vegetation. Bald Eagles can be seen during the winter months all along the Santa Fe Trail.
Scaled quail are monogamous and prefer nesting in open ground where they can use their running abilities. When flushed, they often fly a short distance, glide to the ground and run for cover.
An observant wildlife watcher can find animals just by knowing how, where and when to look:
Keep your distance – use binoculars
Watch for birds on fences, power poles, and trees
Riparian areas and prairie dog colonies attract wildlife
Dawn and dusk are excellent times for wildlife viewing
Watch for movement
Watchable Wildlife on the Santa Fe Trail
Pronghorns on the Plains
For over three million years the pronghorns are the sole surviving member of their North American prehistoric family. They have shared the grasslands with long extinct and present day fierce predators. With a running speed of up to 60 mph and excellent vision, they can detect predators at great distances.
Home on the Prairie
The prairie may seem vast and empty but it is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Nutritious prairie grasses support many species. More than 60 different animals live in and around prairie dog colonies
Canyon lands Wildlife
Canyon land provides a home to mule deer and elk which can be seen feeding in early morning of evening on the open grasslands. They will seek the shade of trees, scrub oak and juniper draws during the heat of midday.
Picket Wire Canyonlands on the Comanche National Grassland is one of the few areas in the eastern plains of Colorado where the elk population is increasing.
Predators of the Canyonlands
Look for mountain lions and other predators in foothills, canyons, or mesa country. They are more at home in brushy areas and woodlands than in forests or open prairies. A lions staple diet is one deer a week.
Consider yourself very lucky if you see a bobcat. Look for them on the barren rocky slopes, especially at night. Coyotes are more often heard than seen. They usually howl once night falls and may be seen early in the morning.
Cliff Dwellers
Colorado's mammalian symbol is the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. Our cliffs are home of the largest population of the species anywhere. Ewes have spike-like horns and mature rams have massive coiled horns used for the rut n the fall. Bighorn sheep are grazers and feed in meadows, open wood-land, and alpine tundra. They often rest on nearly inaccessible cliffs.
Stay Safe!
Beware of Bears
Much of the Santa Fe Trail is home to bears.
Be Alert!
If you see a bear
Back slowly away
do not turn and run
Colorado Birding Trail
Experience a wildlife adventure of your own on the Colorado Birding Trail! Explore Colorado's incredible diversity of wildlife and the habitats they depend on in unbelievably spectacular setting. From the dry grasslands of the short grass prairie to the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado has nearly 1000 species of wildlife in an endless variety of fantastic habitats.
Colorado's wildlife -
It's something to see!
www. coloradobirdingtrail.com
Snow Goose Trail
Waterbirds, plovers, sandpipers, cranes, egrets, grebes, gulls, and terns flock to these playa lakes in huge numbers during migration. In winter tens of thousands of snow and Ross's geese and other waterfowl stay to star as the main attraction in Lamar's annual Snow Goose Festival each February. At any season of the year, the Snow Goose trail is sure to provide an awesome wildlife viewing experience.
Where to Go
Queens State Wildlife Area - (Snow Goose Trail #14)
Between Lamar and Eads lie tree-lined reservoirs built upon ancient playa lakes. Heaven for wildlife watchers, they offer views of waterfowl, shorebirds, white pelicans and the rare piping plover and least tern.
Two Buttes Trail
Weary birds passing through in spring and fall choose city parks and cemeteries: stream corridors of private ranches; and the rocky canyon at Two Buttes State Wildlife Area for much needed rest stop. With lesser prairie-chickens dancing on leks, burrowing owls, pronghorns, and the wide-open short-grass prairie scenery, you've got a top-fight destination for naturalists of all kinds.
Where to Go
Willow Creek Park and Lamar Woods – (Two Buttes Trail #1) The town of Lamar is one of Colorado's best birding destination – the highlight of birding in Lamar is willow creek with nesting Mississippi kites in the summer and a bevy of songbirds all year.
Two Buttes State Wildlife Area (Two Buttes Trail #10)
Watch for the twin peaks of Two Buttes – a crown jewel of Colorado birding – south ot Lamar. Don't miss the riparian area below the dam where marsh birds, waterfowl, riparian songbirds, toads, painted and box turtles, collared lizards and snakes can all be found.
Plover Trail
Travel the Plover Trail following the Arkansas River and neighboring lakes, ponds and prairie looking for mountain plovers, endangered piping and snowy plovers, the semi-palmated, black-bellied and American golden-plovers, and the ubiquitous killdeer (also a plover). Take the time to celebrate this diversity of plovers, mammals, reptiles, weather patterns, natural landscapes, history and human cultures along the muddy Arkansas River.
Where to Go
Bent's Old Fort/Oxbow State Wildlife Area – (Plover Trail #4)
At Bent's Fort along the Plover Trail outstanding living history combined with natural wetlands and cottonwood river bottom allows visitors to experience the natural and cultural history of the old west in a unique 1840s setting.
John Martin Reservoir State Park and Wildlife Area – (Plover Trail #14) The largest reservoir in southeastern Colorado provides a shaded campground, visitor center with displays, wildlife viewing blind, the historic Santa Fe Trail, Fossilized dinosaur tracks and miles of trails and shoreline. View bald eagles, snow geese and other waterfowl all winter. In summer search for rare piping plovers and least terns.
Private Ranches and Farms – (Red marks all trails)
Private refuges offer wildlife viewing in a variety of habitats off the beaten path. With lodging and meals, geological rarities and Native American rock art, visitors can return o the lore and legend of the wild west. Look for prairie dogs ,burrowing owls, mountain plover, raptors, and pronghorn. Call first for reservations and direction.
(see website or guide)
Other Nearby Colorado Birding Trails:
Pronghorns Trail – Follow the Arkansas River through cottonwoods and towns, this is an outstanding wildlife viewing destination on the eastern plains.
Greater Prairie Chicken Trail – Explore the sand sage prairies of eastern Colorado, a landscape the prairie-chicken share with meadowlarks, Cassin's sparrows and coyotes.
Kingbird Trail – These pine covered hills and rolling grasslands are home to coyotes, badgers, swift foxes, pronghorns, golden eagles, mountain plovers and kingbirds, about an hour from Denver
Lamar Colorado (CO) Story on Video
Uploaded on Jan 13, 2013
Lamar Colorado (CO) Story on Video
Thanks for stopping by and reading my post "Images Walking Around Lamar Colorado" These are my images and are free to use any way you want. Here is where you can read the license
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reuben
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