Your Guide to Birding

in Summit County

County Map Summit County
Author(s):  Sue Bonfield, Hugh Kingery
County Seat: Breckenridge
Size: 607 square miles
Low Elevation: 7,530 ft. - Blue River on the Grand border
High Elevation: 14,270 ft. - Grays Peak
Best Birds: Magnificent Frigatebird (1985), LeConte's Sparrow (1886)
Checklist: Summit County Checklist
Introduction: Famous as a ski destination, Summit is the closest West Slope county to Denver. Like other small mountain counties, it can be hard to amass a long list here, but quality is often high. Summit's two large reservoirs are usually pretty dull, but once in a while they can come through with good waterbirds. In the winter Barrow's Goldeneye is reliable, and Rosy-Finches can sometimes be found at feeders in the ski towns, but otherwise this county is best as a warm-weather birding destination.

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Birding Sites

Alfred M. Bailey Bird Nesting Area
Habitat: Aspen Grove, Spruce-Fir Forest, Lodgepole Pine, Streamside Willow
More Information
Dillon Reservoir
Habitat: Reservoir
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Green Mountain Reservoir
Habitat: Reservoir, Streamside Willow
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Loveland Pass (Summit side)
Habitat: Tundra, Krummholz
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Quaking Creek Ranch
Habitat: Stream, Streamside Willow
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Silverthorne
Habitat: Pond
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Use the form on the home page to contact the editor with corrections or to volunteer to add a site.

eBird Seasonal Bar Chart

Latest Unusual Birds (eBird) in Summit County

 


CBRC Accepted Records from Summit County

SpeciesAccession No.Date(s)
Purple Sandpiper2016-077 12/16/2016
Red-necked Phalarope2012-078 5/19/2012
Yellow-billed Loon2018-018 09/30/2018
Magnificent FrigatebirdN-85-35 9/14-16/1985
Spotted Owl28-76-909/5/1976
White-eyed Vireo51-93-437/12/1993
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay2001-091 
Juniper Titmouse2002-01712/1/2001
Common Redpoll2013-044 01/27/2013
Redpoll sp.2013-081 1/27/2013
Cassia Crossbill2022-056 17 Jul 2022
LeConte's Sparrow1886-00110/24/1886
Palm Warbler2006-148 10/29/2006
Painted Bunting2000-1614/28/2000