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General Information
Mesa Verde offers a greater diversity of wildlife viewing than the casual visitor might imagine. Regardless of where you see wildlife in Mesa Verde, remember that these are wild animals roaming freely in their natural habitat. Feeding these creatures is not only illegal, it is also harmful to their health. Use your binoculars and take pictures when you can, but keep your distance from animals such as mountain lion or bear.
Ask rangers at the Far View Visitor Center or Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum for special hints if you are on the lookout for that certain species you want to add to your life list. Fill out a wildlife sighting card if you see something rare or unusual. Such sightings are added to the park's resource management data file, providing a detailed permanent record that assists researchers.
Mesa Verde is in the Upper Sonoran Life Zone. This zone is characterized by semi-arid climate, moderately high altitude, and pinyon-juniper forests.
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Black-billed Magpie Canyon Wren Common Bushtit Common Raven Mountain Chickadee Pinyon Jay Plain Titmouse Red-tailed Hawk Scrub Jay Steller's Jay Turkey Vulture White-breasted Nuthatch White-throated Swift Golden Eagle Sharp-skinned Hawk American Kestrel |
Mourning Dove Great Horned Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Common Poor Will Black-chinned Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Northern Flicker Hairy Woodpecker Ash-throated Flycatcher Violet-green Swallow House Wren Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Mountain Bluebird Townsend's Solitaire American Robin Solitary Vireo |
Virginia's Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Gray Warbler Black-headed Grosbeak Green-tailed Towhee Rufous-sided Towhee Savannah Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Gray-headed Junco Brewer's Blackbird Western Tanager Pine Siskin Rosy Finch Cassin's Finch House Finch |
Bird Watching
There are various habitat types in Mesa Verde National Park so bird watching depends on whether you are in one of the deep canyons, near the Mancos River, on the mesa top, or at the north escarpment. If you are an avid birder, make sure to purchase a copy of the 25 cent brochure, "Checklist of the Birds". This will help you locate where the species are found in the park. The listing of birds in this page will get you started as a bird watcher in Mesa Verde.
Most trails within the park do not enter the deep canyons because federal law closes the backcountry to protect archaeological sites located there. If you are visiting the park during late spring when migration and nesting are in progress, you can see many bird species at any point in the park.
Take the Petroglyph Point or Spruce Canyon Trail and look for warblers, flycatchers, woodpeckers, jays, hawks, chickadees, titmice, and other species. A second option would be the Knife Edge Trail (currently this trail is closed until further notice due to the Bircher Fire) out of Morefield Campground. If you are lucky, you may see a peregrine falcon or a golden eagle soar from its nest out across the Montezuma Valley.
During the summer months, you can take any of the above-mentioned trails or walk the Soda Canyon Overlook Trail near Balcony House or the short trail to Park Point lookout. The Park Point area is a good place to see hawks, towhees, grouse, eagles, and many of the other species listed above.
In the fall, you may want to take the Knife Edge Trail (currently this trail is closed until further notice due to the Bircher Fire) early in the morning to catch migrating warblers and hummingbirds feeding on the Indian Paint Brush along the trail.
If you are one of the few winter visitors, most trails are closed. You may want to be on the lookout for chickadees, nuthatches, an occasional brown creeper, canyon wrens, woodpeckers, flickers, and jays as you join a Spruce Tree House tour. The turkey vultures usually arrive in late March and leave in early October, so the large black birds you see will unlikely be common ravens or the vivid black-billed magpie.
The riparian area of Mesa Verde is largely inaccessible within the park. To access a similar habitat, take one of the county roads west of Mancos and follow the road along the Mancos River. You will see lots of ducks, Canada geese, great blue heron, possibly an American dipper, flocks of western and mountain bluebirds, lots of red-winged and Brewer's blackbirds, and bald and golden eagles. Depending on the season, you may also spot migrating waxwings, goldfinches, Evening grosbeaks, a variety of flycatchers, both ruby and golden-crowned kinglets, 4 or 5 varieties of swallows, and lots of other species.
Bird watching in Mesa Verde is not as impressive as some specialized areas, but it is an exciting and worthwhile experience. Ask rangers at the Far View Visitor Center or Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum for special hints if you are on the lookout for that certain species you want to add to your life list. Fill out a wildlife sighting card if you see something rare or unusual. Such sightings are added to the park's resource management data file, providing a detailed permanent record that assists researchers.
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Cliff fendlerbush Fendlera rupicola Douglas fir Pseudotsuga menziesii Gambel oak Quercus gambelii Mormon tea Ephedra viridis Mountain mahogany Cerocarpus montanus Pinyon pine Pinus edulis Ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa |
Rabbitbrush Chrysothamnus nauseosus Utah juniper Juniperus utahensis Utah serviceberry Amelanchier utahensi Yucca Yucca baccata Big sagebrush Artemesia tridentata Skunkbush sumac Rhus trilobata Snowberry Symphoricarpos oreophilus |
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Aster Aster bigelovii Evening primrose Oenothera caespitosa Globemallow Sphaeralcea coccinea Indian paintbrush Castilleja linariaefolia Larkspur Delphinium nelsonii Lupine Lupinus ammophilus |
Lupine Lupinus caudatus Mariposa lily Calochortus nuttallii Pricklypear cactus Opuntia polycantha Scarlet gilia Gilia aggregata Scarlet penstemon Penstemon bridgesii Scarlet penstemon Penstemon eatonii |
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Masked Shrew Merriam Shrew Dwarf Shrew Gray Shrew (Desert Shrew) California Myotis (Bat) Long Eared Myotis (Bat) Little Brown Myotis (Bat) Long-legged Myotis Fringed Myotis Yuma Myotis Silver-haired Bat Hoary Bat Western Pipistrel Big Brown Bat Spotted Bat Western Big-eared Bat Pallid Bat Mexican Freetail Bat Desert Cottontail Mountain Cottontail |
Blacktail Jackrabit Least Chipmunk Colorado Chipmunk Yellow-bellied Marmot Golden-mantled Squirrel Whitetail Antelope Squirrel Tassel-eared Squirrel Red Squirrel Rock Squirrel Whitetail Prarie Dog Valley Pocket Gopher Plains Pocket Mouse Silky Pocket Mouse Beaver Western Harvest Mouse Brush Mouse Canyon Mouse Deer Mouse Pinyon Mouse Northern Grasshopper Mouse |
Whitethroat Woodrat Bushyrail Woodrat Mexican Woodrat Longtail Vole Mexican Vole Mountain Vole Muskrat House Mouse Porcupine Coyote Red Fox Gray Fox Black Bear Ringtail Cat Raccoon Longtail Weasel Badger Striped Skunk Mountain Lion Mule Deer |
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Prairie Rattlesnake Bullsnake Yellow-bellied Racer Collared Lizard |
Northern Plateau Lizard Sagebrush Lizard Short-horned Lizard Six-lined Racerunner |
Wildlife Viewing
Mesa Verde offers a greater diversity of wildlife viewing than the casual visitor might imagine. Almost everyone spots a mule deer somewhere along the road as they enter the park. The only time these deer are not visible is in the middle of winter when snow drives them south into the warmer valley areas. Since the reintroduction of wild turkeys in 1991, many visitors are delighted to see these turkeys along the park entrance road or in Morefield Campground. The campground is a good place to look for ground squirrels, skunks, or an occasional black bear. Remember that black bears are wild so put food out of reach when you camp and do not feed any of these creatures.
To view other wildlife, you may want to get up early in the morning or wait until dusk or early evening. You might see a coyote, gray fox, mountain lion, black bear, elk, marmot, or even a porcupine. Between Far View and the Headquarters area, you have a good chance to see a coyote, cottontail rabbit, or possibly a jackrabbit. Be on the lookout for trespass horses along the road to Wetherill. These horses have crossed the boundary from the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation and casually graze along the roads within the park. If you go to Spruce Tree House, you may see an Abert's or chickory squirrel. The long ears, silver color, and bushy white tail of the Abert's squirrel make it a favorite sighting.
Regardless of where you see wildlife in Mesa Verde, remember that these are wild animals roaming freely in their natural habitat. Feeding these creatures is not only illegal, it is also harmful to their health. Use your binoculars and take pictures when you can, but keep your distance from animals such as mountain lion or bear. At night one of these animals might scurry across the road in front of your car so drive slowly and carefully. Look or listen for owls if you are camping in Morefield or staying at the Far View Lodge. Mesa Verde is fortunate to have great horned, spotted, long-eared, pygmy, saw whet, and flammulated owls within its boundaries.
You may be pleasantly surprised at the variety of wildlife visible on a regular basis in the park. Ask a ranger for information about likely places to see a favored species. If you are fortunate enough to spot a rarely seen animal such as a mountain lion or bear, please to fill out a wildlife sighting card to record your special sighting. Take your time and enjoy the diversity that Mesa Verde provides.
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