Colorado Birding

Clear Creek County
Author(s):  Nathan Pieplow, Andrew Spencer
County Seat: Georgetown
Size: 396 square miles
Low Elevation: 6,900 ft. - Clear Creek on the Jefferson border
High Elevation: 14,270 ft. - Grays Peak
Best Birds: White-throated Sparrow (2002-2003)
Checklist: Clear Creek County Checklist
Introduction: Sadly, Clear Creek County ain't what it used to be. This small mountain county just west of the Denver Metro area contains what used to be the best-known and most often visited spots in Colorado for ptarmigan and rosy-finches, not to mention the highest paved road in North America--but the Loveland Basin Ski Area has taken down the feeders that used to attract rosy-finces like supermagnets, and the county decided it could no longer afford the expense of paving the Guanella Pass road in winter, making the white winter ptarmigan a much harder bird to see. Despite these new difficulties, the mountain specialties can still be found in the county, although not as easily as before; and summer remains a great time to play and bird here in the high elevations...so take heart, and see what you might be able to find!

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