Our Tours
We offer day tours focusing on the wildlife of Northwestern Colorado. We have exclusive access to several private ranches with photo blinds available. We keep our tour size small so you can intimately experience the wildlife guided by a professional wildlife biologist. Choose one of our packages below or customize your own. You want to do a birding big day? We can do that. You have a lifer bird you are dying to catch up with? We can also do that. We are creative and flexible so don’t hesitate to reach out with your request. Tours leave from Hayden, Colorado.
Grouse Lek with Blind
$500 for two, $100 for each additional person, tour capped at four people
Day tour starting in a blind on either a Greater Sage-Grouse or Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse lek. We will enter the blind in the dark and leave after the birds flush for the day, minimizing disturbance to the birds and allowing a “fly on the wall” view of this amazing spectacle. After the lekking stops, the tour will switch to a travel route and look for the other two species of grouse (dusky grouse is the third) as well as sandhill cranes and other migratory birds and big game mammals. Lekking season is April and May. Expect a 5:00 am start and the potential for inclement weather. Field lunch and beverages included.
Sandhill Cranes
$500 for two, $100 for each additional person, tour capped at four people
Day tour that will focus primarily on sandhill cranes. In April and May we will look for dancing and nesting pairs and in the summer we will look for colts. We will see many species of birds on this tour including multiple raptors (potential species: red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, northern harrier, Swainson’s hawk, great horned owl, Cooper’s hawk), mountain bluebirds, up to three species of grouse and several species of big and small game mammals. This tour starts at 8:00 and runs April through September. Field lunch and beverages included.
(humming) Birds and Blooms
$500 for two, $600 for three, tour capped at three people.
Day tour focusing on hummingbirds and wildflowers and includes a guest botanist! We will follow the flower phenology so locations are subject to change. We will be looking for the iconic blooms of Colorado including, blue columbine, mariposa lilies, gentians, iris, orchids, glacier lilies, and many more. The tour starts on a travel route in foothills of Routt County and ends on a ranch where we will sit on the porch for lunch and tea or coffee and watch the hummingbird feeders. Up to four species of hummingbird are expected depending on the season (broad-tailed, black-chinned, rufous, and calliope) and we have had as many as 50 hummingbirds visiting the feeders at once! Season is June and July. Lunch and beverages included.
Urban Wildlife of Steamboat
$400 for two, $100 for each additional person, tour capped at four people.
Day tour focusing on the wildlife that lives amongst us in Steamboat Springs. Potential mammals include black bears, Shiras moose, elk, mule deer, red fox, beaver, and river otters. We will also look for American dippers, mountain bluebirds, dusky grouse, broad-tailed hummingbirds, cedar waxwing, Bullock’s oriole, belted kingfisher, waterfowl, nesting osprey, bald eagles and sandhill cranes. This tour will involve more walking than the others and is available in the morning or afternoon, depending on your preference. Season runs May through September. Picnic lunch and beverages included.
Big Game
$500 for two, $100 for each additional person, tour capped at four people
Day tour focusing on the big game of Northwest Colorado. We will look for moose, elk, deer, pronghorn and more. Birds and small mammals are also abundant on this trip and we will hope to see up to three species of grouse, sandhill cranes, and yellow-bellied marmots, and beaver dam complexes. The season runs May through September. July is a good time to see calves (like this elk above) fawns, and does. This is a driving tour covering lots of ground with stunning views of the mountains, aspen forests, and foothills and ranches of rural Routt County. Field lunch and beverages included.
Yampa River Eagles & Osprey
$600 for two people.
Day tour floating the Yampa River in a drift boat focusing on bald eagles, osprey, and sandhill cranes. Tour launches west of Hayden and ends in Craig. This float is dependent on river levels and typically runs May-July. Picnic lunch and beverages included. Other potential species include common merganser, spotted sandpiper, broad-tailed and black-chinned hummingbirds, Swainson’s and red-tailed hawks, belted kingfisher, American kestrel, western wood-pewee, western and eastern kingbird, violet-green swallow, cedar waxwing, black-headed grosbeak, yellow warbler, and more. Mammals: elk, mule deer, river otter, beaver, and mink.