Chico Basin Ranch
October 21, 2024
Upon my return from Florida, I signed up to attend one of the last bird banding sessions of the year, and possibly longer, at Chico Basin Ranch. If you haven’t heard of this ranch, it has an interesting legacy. The ranch has been used for cattle grazing since the mid-1800s. Eventually, after changing hands several times over 100 years, the land came under management of Duke and Janet Phillips. The Colorado State Land Board made a deal to create a lease with Phillips for a 25 year term, which just ended this year. The Phillips are the masterminds behind “Ranchlands”, which is a family owned and operated organization dedicated to preserving the land through ranching and conservation efforts. Unfortunately, the Phillips were outbid by a new ranch to take over the lease of the land. Ranchlands was a way to experience the land through a number of experience-based opportunities. From staying as a guest on the ranch, to working along the cowboys as they move cattle, to art retreats, concerts, and birding, the ranch was a true experience.
I only learned about this ranch earlier this year, but quickly found the ranch intriguing and started following along on social media. After becoming quite invested in birding this year, too, I was hoping I would get a chance to visit the ranch, not knowing that the birding opportunities would soon be quite limited. I kept hearing how amazing the bird sightings were at the ranch, so when the fall bird banding schedule came out, I jumped at the chance to go.
The ranch used to allow birders access almost any day and any time. But as the Colorado State Land Board started implementing more changes to increase their ability to increase profit, birders were suddenly limited to just 10 weeks of access, and only for 6 hours per day of access. Plus, the number of birders per day was also extremely limited, and birders had to sign up and pay an entrance fee as well. I was one of those birders who lucked out and secured a spot and I was just glad I was able to make it to the ranch, finally.
The bird banding session was first thing in the morning. I woke up around 4 am to make the drive to the ranch from Denver. I entered the gates just before sunrise, and as I was parking, the sun started to come up. I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived - how many people would be there, what kinds of birds would we see, what was the ranch going to be like. It was really quiet when I parked. Only 3 people were at the banding station, and they were all working there. I was the only “guest” that had arrived. At 7 am, the first bird was in hand, a dark-eyed junco. The banding team caught several dark-eyed juncos that morning, along with Wilson’s warblers, White-crowned sparrows, and surprisingly, Ruby-crowned kinglets! I was ecstatic to see the kinglets close up, they are one of my favorite little birds! I was slightly bummed that the birds being caught were all birds I have seen, but finally, a new bird was caught! A Nashville warbler turned up and was the surprise of the day, plus a lifer for me. The bird banders also got to tag a Brown Thrasher (another favorite). I ended up spending a bit too much time at the banding station - hoping for more lifers, and ended up cutting my time short exploring the rest of the ranch.
Since the Colorado State Land Board took over and put more constraints on bird-watcher access, I only had until 1 pm before I had to exit the ranch. The morning went fast, and when I finally made it to the 3rd “allowed” stop at the ranch, the birding got REALLY good and I ran out of time to truly observe. I am quite certain I got to see a Cassin’s Vireo (rare for the area) and I managed to get over 50 birds on my e-bird list for the day. I was the only person out looking around that day, too. Although I only got to spend a few hours at the ranch, I could tell how special it was and what a wonderful place it would be to have more time to explore. I truly hope bird watchers can continue to access the ranch for its incredible value as both a place to see birds, but also in-tact habitats for a plethora of other wildlife.
More information about the recent changes at the ranch can be found here.
Have you had a chance to visit Chico Basin Ranch? If so, please leave a comment! Check out a gallery of my experience below (click on images to enlarge):
