Colorado Birding

Ouray County
Author(s):  Tony Leukering
County Seat: Ouray
Size: 542 square miles
Low Elevation: 6,318 ft. - Uncompahgre River on the Montrose border
High Elevation: 14,150 ft. - Mount Sneffels
Best Birds: Red Fox Sparrow (2001)
Checklist: Ouray County Checklist
Introduction: Ouray County. This western county is about halfway between Grand Junction and Durango and has been little birded until recently. In the past, Box Canyon, in the town of Ouray, was about the only stop that visiting birders made in the county (that, to see the nesting Black Swifts, in season) on their way north or south. Recent efforts, mostly in autumn, have shown that the county is a potential gold mine of interesting migrants, particularly of typically eastern species. The relatively recent construction of Ridgway Reservoir provided a large body of water that has produced a few locally rare species and will probably continue to surprise. The steep topography of the San Juan mountains in the southern third of the county, of which the town of Ouray is the gateway, prevent all but the most mountain goat of us from visiting large areas of the county. However for those interested in hiking, US 550 provides access to some incredible scenery of Spruce-Fir and Alpine Tundra. The northern two thirds of the county is of relatively low elevation covered in Pinyon-Juniper woodland, interspersed with pastures, homesteads, and riparian stringers. Areas in the Uncompahgre River valley are incredibly rich in fruiting shrubs and trees (native and exotic), thus support large numbers of frugivorous birds in the fall. Though it has not yet been found in the county, these areas would be an excellent place to search for Varied Thrush in late fall.

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