By Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Special to The SUN
Navajo State Park is known as a “birding hot spot” in southwest Colorado, and on Sunday, May 26, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the Weminuche Audubon Society will present a morning of bird watching at the park starting at 7 a.m.
The free event will be held at the park’s Watchable Wildlife Area on the north side of the park, just off Colo. 151. The parking lot is located 2.2 miles from the town of Arboles on the south and .7 miles from Archuleta County Road 500 on the north. Look for the watchable wildlife signs.
Expert birders from the Audubon Society will lead guided walks at 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Each walk will last about an hour. The guides will walk along the trail near the Piedra River where hundreds of bird species have been spotted. The area holds cottonwood galleries, willows, sage brush and ideal riparian habitat that attracts birds. The best time to see birds is early in the day.
Bring binoculars if you have them, but binoculars and spotting scopes will also be available to use.
“Bird watching is one of the most popular recreations wildlife activities and you don’t need any special training,” said Joe Lewandowski, CPW’s public information officer. “Navajo State Park is a great place for experts and for beginners and kids to be introduced to birding.”
A park pass is required; the daily entrance fee is $8 per car and an annual pass is $80, which is good for all 41 state parks.
Navajo State Park is a major recreational facility in southwest Colorado, drawing more than 300,000 visitors every year. The 2,100-acre park offers boating, fishing, hiking and biking trails, wildlife viewing, and more. Navajo Reservoir is one of the largest in the West at 15,000 acres.
For more information, call 883-2208 or go online at cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/Parks/Navajo.
