Colorado Birding

Thoroughly scanning the lake requires checking it from multiple viewpoints, though scanning from three or four spots on the west side will usually do the job. In the NW corner of the lake is the North Marina, which is the best place from which to scan that corner of the lake. Midway along the west side, the Swim Beach is the classic spot from which to scan that portion of the lake, and provides a decent view of most of the reservoir.

Kingfisher Pond, at the southern end of the lake, can produce not only its namesake, but also a multitude of gulls and ducks. By walking north along the eastern edge of the pond you can reach the Platte River Delta, one of the two good shorebird areas in Chatfield.

On the east side of the lake, the southernmost spot from which to scan is the New Heron Overlook, which provides a great view of the entire southern third of the lake. The next viewpoint for the lake is the Old Heron Overlook, which provides a good vantage for the middle third of the lake.

The Sand Spit, just north of the marina, is arguably the best location in the park. When the water is high on other parts of the reservoir, covering the mudflats, this may be the only location where shorebirds can be found. The trees on the spit are surprisingly productive, and tend to concentrate migrants more than anywhere else in the park. When the water is low there are often large flocks of gulls and even terns on the exposed sandbars. This can also be a good area from which to scan the lake, with almost the entire northern third of the lake in view.

The other contender for best location in the park is the nearby Plum Creek Delta. The main reason to come here in most birders' minds is the extensive mudflats that often form here in fall. Large flocks of shorebirds often gather here, and a dozen or more species can sometimes be found, with the occasional rarity. To view them well you may need to walk out onto the flats, acquainting yourself with the famous carnivorous mud of Plum Creek (a couple of Colorado birders were almost lost to this terrible menace). Usually if you don't go too far out onto the flats you will be okay.

The riparian habitat that surrounds the delta makes up one of the best migrant traps on the Front Range. The majority of the riparian corridor can be reached from the Plum Creek Nature Area parking lot. There are a multitude of trails here, one of which even crosses Plum Creek and follows the railroad tracks for a long ways.

When it comes to riparian habitat in Chatfield, the area along the South Platte River, on both sides, is unbeatable (well, maybe Plum Creek compares). This is area is usually referred to as "Upstream from Kingfisher Bridge," with the east side being in Douglas County, and the west in Jefferson County. Starting with the east side, follow the paved trail through the first patch of large trees (which usually has little else other than starlings) to where a small dirt trail continues south. It is here that the birding gets better, with migrant flocks in the spring or fall producing many a warbler species including the occasional rarity (Kentucky, Worm-eating, and Mourning have been seen, among other species).

The west side usually gets more coverage from the admiring birding public. A paved trail goes south for a little ways, and then a multitude of dirt trails continues on. This area is probably the best in the park for the local American Redstarts and Least Flycatchers, with at least one pair of each hanging out along the paved trail, and further down. If you continue south you will eventually come to a large cattail marsh, which has Marsh Wren and rails in season.

Probably the most neglected area in the park is below the dam, which has extensive riparian habitat as well as some ponds.

While you are at Chatfield, be sure to check out the Waterton Parking Lot area. The area around that parking lot provides little access to areas in Chatfield (though that is where you park to hike up Waterton Canyon), but the nearby Discovery Pavilion parking lot is the trailhead for trails heading downstream along the Platte River. It is here that the trail starting at the Kingfisher Bridge comes out. This area is often underestimated, but as the first state record of Prairie Warbler, or the second state record of Scott's Oriole, or the first park record of Fox Sparrow can attest, it can be quite productive. There is often a nesting American Dipper under the Waterton Bridge, though they also move upstream later in the summer.

Finally, just by driving the roads in and around Chatfield, you can often find Ferruginous, Swainson's, and Red-tailed Hawks, Golden Eagle, and Prairie Falcon in the summer, and in the winter all of these minus Swainson's but plus Rough-legged and Harlan's Hawks.

Habitat: Pond/Lake/Reservoir, Lowland Riparian, Stream, Grassland/Prairie, Hedgerow/Shelterbelt, Marsh
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Directions: From C-470 in southwest Denver, take Wadsworth Boulevard (CO 121) south to the main (Deer Creek) entrance, which is on the left (east) about a mile south of C-470. To get to the east (Plum Creek) entrance, from C-470 take Santa Fe Boulevard (US 85) south about four miles and turn right (east) on Titan Road/Parkway. Go about two miles and turn right (north) on Roxborough Park Road (CR 3) to the entrance.
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