Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge and Poudre Canyon

Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge

Sometimes you find an unexpected place that was right in front of you all along. That was the case with the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which is in North Park just east and south of Walden, Colorado.

My last post was about Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), with heavy emphasis on Moose, which tend to be on the West Side of the Park (the other side of the Continental Divide).

Winter can be challenging in the mountains

As I mentioned in the post, we generally go to RMNP through Big Thompson Canyon into one of the east entrances (we prefer Fall River) and then drive over Trail Ridge Road to the West Side of the Park. 

If I am going from home, I might drive up through Lyons, but still enter via the east. 

However, if Trail Ridge Road is closed and we want to go to the West Side, we must take alternate routes. Coming from my house, that means Berthoud Pass. Coming from Caty's, it means Poudre Canyon.

A cliff in the Canyon

Once you clear Poudre Canyon, which is a beautiful route (as they all are), there are two options: take the unpaved road at Gould ...

The dirt road from Gould to Rand has some beautiful vistas

... or go all the way to Walden and work your way south to Granby, then over to Grand Lake. And, it was a trip on this latter route that introduced us to ANWR. I ended up visiting three times last summer.

Located in the valley of the Illinois River, a tributary of the North Platte River, the Refuge was established in 1967 to offset losses of prairie wetland nesting habitats in order to furnish waterfowl with a suitable place to nest and rear their young. It is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

One of the seasonal lakes in ANWR

Sitting on high plains at 8,800 feet above sea level, the dry climate requires water to be diverted from the Illinois River through a complex system of ditches to irrigate wetland meadows and fill waterfowl brood ponds. Periodic burning, irrigation and cattle grazing are used on the Refuge meadows to maintain enough vegetation for nesting, food (plants and insects) and protection from predators. 

Water plants provide food and cover

The first waterfowl generally arrive at the refuge when the ice melts in April. Peak migration occurs in late May when 5,000 or more ducks may be present. Canada Geese nest during April and ducks nest June. The refuge produces about 9,000 ducklings and 150 to 200 goslings each year. 

American Coots

Fall migration reaches its height in late September or early October when up to 8,000 waterfowl may be on the refuge. We visited in June and July and, although the number of birds did not seem overwhelming, we did see a lot. 

Among the 198 bird species recorded in ANWR, are Mallards, Pintails, Gadwalls, American Wigeons, Lesser Scaups, Redheads, Soras, Virginia Rails, Wilson's Phalaropes, American Avocets, Willets, Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, Dowitchers, Great Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons, American Bitterns, Eared and Pied-Billed Grebes, Sage Grouse, Golden Eagles, several species of Hawks and Prairie Falcons. 

The Yellow-headed Blackbird is an iconic Colorado bird

Mammals include Richardson's Ground Squirrels, White-tailed Prairie Dogs, White-tailed Jackrabbits, Badgers, Muskrats, Beavers, Coyotes, Pronghorn, Raccoons, Red Foxes, Mink, Long-tailed Weasels, Porcupines, Mule Deer, Rocky Mountain Elk and Shiras Moose.

Two new critters for me

Interestingly, there are no venomous snakes in the refuge.

Did we see all those? Hardly. But, we did have some good sightings, including Richardson's Ground Squirrels ... 

A cute little Ground Squirrel

... and White-tailed Prairie Dogs ...

I didn't even know there were White-tailed Prairie Dogs!

... two new animals for me.

We started at an overlook on the east side of ANWR to watch some soaring Swainson's Hawks on a very windy day (so gusty that I could hardly hold the camera steady enough to take photos). 

Hunting Swainson's Hawk

Then, we drove the six-mile wildlife loop where we saw adorable American Coot chicks, both recently hatched ones with their red and black feathers ...

Newly hatched Coots

... and slightly older ones ...

This Coot is already transforming

 Eared Grebes (Lifer!) ...

Eared Grebe

Yellow-headed Blackbirds, both adult ...

Some of my BEST Yellow-headed Blackbird pics

... and juvenile ...

It took awhile to figure out what this little bird was

Cinnamon Teals ...

Cinnamon Teal

Gadwalls ...

Gadwall

Black-crowned Night Herons (and a Great Blue Heron I didn't photograph) ...

Heron on the wing

Lincoln's Sparrows ...

This Sparrow was a victim of the wind, as well

Horned Larks ...

One of the most common birds in Colorado

Killdeers ...

Lurking along the lakeshore

Black-necked Stilts ...

Every time we got close, they flew away

Mallards ...

Mallard Ducklings

American Pelicans ...

Pelicans on the wing

And Willets ...

This Willet was hiding most of the time

We saw lots more waterfowl in the distance, but these were the ones I was able to get photos of. It was virtually empty when we went (windy, too) and I definitely will go back.

Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge

Poudre Canyon

I mentioned that Arapaho is accessed via Poudre Canyon, which is the route over the Rockies to the north of Caty's. Unlike Trail Ridge Road, State Highway 14 through the Canyon is open year-round except for temporary weather closures. If open after a snow, it can be dicey, but you can generally get through. Accordingly, it is an alternate route during the months when Trail Ridge is closed.

Even though it gets snowy, the road stays open

Bighorn Sheep and a Bald Eagle in Poudre Canyon

The actual Canyon begins in northern RMNP, at an elevation of approximately 9,000 feet, where the Poudre River descends from near the Continental Divide. It winds gently to the northeast, then east, emerging through the southern end of the Laramie Foothills at an elevation of approximately 5,000 feet. Most of the Canyon is within the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the Roosevelt National Forest, which is headquartered in nearby Fort Collins.

The flanks of the Canyon wall are gently sloping and forested along most of its length, with the exception of several "narrows" that the river carved through recent formations leaving behind large glacial debris. Less developed than the Big Thompson Canyon west of Loveland, the Poudre houses a fair number of small cabins, most seasonal, a few resorts and lots of camping areas. It is a very popular fishing and rafting area. In fact, it is the site of our family's LAST real whitewater experience. I say LAST because Scott was sucked under his raft after jumping out to prevent it from capsizing after it "highsided" on a boulder. Not a fun adventure.

Caty rafting; Scott didn't get back in after his incident

The Canyon was inhabited by Utes in the 19th century and was the site of trapping expeditions by early settlers. The relative lack of mineral resources in the surrounding area spared the Canyon from intense population increases during the Colorado mining boom. In the early 1880s, Poudre Canyon was surveyed for a railroad by arch rivals -- the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Both intended to complete a transcontinental line through the Rockies, but that never happened. It was not until the 1920s that a road was constructed through the narrows.

The road affords incredible views

We usually just drive through, making a few photo stops. Occasionally, we explore off the highway. Caty has camped there with friends multiple times.

Early last summer, Caty and I went up a very steep, very narrow, very rocky road to the base of the Lake Agnes trailhead.

Lake Agnes trail views

Our intention was to hike to Lake Agnes, but deep snow and ice made us turn back. We planned to go back, but then the Canyon was hit (again!) with some devastating forest fires. 

Snow-capped mountains from the Lake Agnes parking area

I am not sure of the status of the Lake Agnes area now, but I think it sustained some damage.

Cameron Peak Fire footprint

Poudre Canyon is the site of two of the biggest forest fires in Colorado's history. Last year's Cameron Peak Fire burned 208,663 acres from August to November and is ranked the absolute worst fire in the state's history. The High Park Fire burned 87,284 acres in 2012 and, was, at the time, the state's biggest.

Fortunately, Colorado firefighters are incredible and saved many structures. Plus, the rocky outcrops among the trees that burned make the damage look a little less awful than if the terrain was just pine trees. Still, the scars will last for years.

Last year, we did see a couple of really cool things in Poudre Canyon. First, Profile Rock, which is also sometimes called "Old Man's Face." How did I not know about this cool formation? 

Profile Rock

In my defense, Profile Rock is more noticeable when you are heading west than when you are going east and, often, our return home is in dimming light.  

Second, on one of our drives through, we saw two Moose in the Poudre River. 

We noticed these two Moose as we zoomed by; necessitating a quick U-turn

Now, Moose are pretty common at Cameron Pass and on the west side of the Pass. Indeed, Highway 14 leads right to Walden, which was the site of the initial Moose release in Colorado in the 1970s ... 

Cameron Pass Moose

... but the two we saw were well on the east side, not that far from the end of the Canyon, which means not that far from Fort Collins. 

Moose keep moving farther east

And, that is pretty darn cool.

I mentioned that Poudre Canyon is open in winter, when it can be very pretty.

A frozen waterfall seen from the road

The combination of the river, which is alternately frozen and flowing, and the snowy and icy cliffs can be dramatic.

An open spot with an ice shelf

It can be tricky to photograph some of the winter phenomena because the pullouts along the winding road don't always coincide with the best views, especially the waterfalls tucked into river curves. Plus, sometimes, the pullouts are either icy or not plowed. You don't want to be walking a long a narrow road that might be slick and you don't want to slide over an embankment int a frozen river.

There isn't a great deal of wildlife along the road, but, occasionally, you see some good stuff.

An American Dipper feeding in the Poudre River 

And, just like so much of Colorado, you can't beat the scenery.

The Old Man wants us to come back

Trip date: July 16, 2020