Fall 2025

Juvenile American pika seen while backpacking in the Zirkel Wilderness area in early August.

Hello Friends,

For those of you that have been with me from the beginning, you may have noticed the rebranding of my business. Antigone Wildlife Tours was the name I originally came up with while contemplating what to do with myself after leaving my 9-5 job behind in April. I wanted a name that represented my passion for the birds we share our ranch with and the Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) seemed the perfect fit. Both to represent my love and respect for the bird, but also the inspiration behind the name, Antigone, the Theban princess known for her loyalty. Alas, once I realized that I needed to be recognized by the algorithm for people to find me, I came to the conclusion that I needed a name people would find organically that immediately represented my business and Colorado Grouse Tours was (re)born. I’m excited to share with you my new logo:

Fall has begun in the Yampa Valley and the birds are busy preparing for winter. Fledgling chicks are moulting into their adult plumage, this year’s batch of raptors are learning to feed themselves, and the hummingbirds are mostly gone. Birding has picked up with fall migration well under way. We are seeing lots of warblers and shorebirds moving through including nice numbers of Wilson’s warblers.

I recently revisited some of my trail camera videos of lekking sharpies from this spring and started to get excited for next spring. If you haven’t seen the sharp-tailed grouse dance, have a look at my YouTube page to get some close-up footage. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuscFUQOj6Z3Vs6KYH8Wn4w)

Speaking of next grouse season, we are excited to announce that we have added a lodging option to our grouse lek tour! We have a modern, clean, and spacious 3 bedroom home conveniently located in the town of Hayden. The house sleeps 4 and includes coffee, continental breakfast, pick-up, and late check out (after the tour ends).

One of the great horned owls that nested on the Howe Ranch this spring.