Pawnee Grassland Prairie Dog Towns and Raptor Watching

Black-tailed prairie dogs live in sprawling underground colonies, or towns, where they emerge to feed, groom, and stand sentry, barking sharp warnings that ripple across the town when danger nears. Their tunnels and clipped grass reshape the prairie, and they are a keystone species, meaning a great many other animals depend on them and on the habitat they create.

Because the towns concentrate so much life, they are the best place to watch the grassland's drama unfold. Hawks and eagles hunt the colonies, coyotes patrol their edges, and other creatures move in to use the burrows. Watching a town at dawn, alive with movement and calls, is a window into how the whole shortgrass ecosystem fits together, all of it triggered by these busy little rodents.

One of the treasures of the prairie dog towns is the burrowing owl, a small, long-legged owl that, unusually for an owl, nests underground in abandoned prairie dog burrows and is often active by day. Spotting one standing at the mouth of a burrow, bobbing and watching, is a highlight for many visitors, and the owls depend directly on the prairie dogs whose towns they borrow.

The wider grassland is a birding paradise, home to specialties like the mountain plover, lark bunting, longspurs, and a chorus of meadowlarks singing from the fence posts. It draws birders from across the country hoping to add prairie species to their lists, and even casual watchers will notice how much birdlife fills this seemingly empty landscape.

The Pawnee grassland is one of the finest places in Colorado to watch birds of prey. Hawks of several kinds, including the big ferruginous hawk of the plains, hunt over the grass and prairie dog towns, prairie falcons cut across the sky, and golden and bald eagles appear, especially in the colder months when eagles gather where prey is plentiful.

The raptors are drawn by the same abundance that makes the towns lively, and a patient watcher scanning the fence posts, power poles, and open sky is likely to be rewarded. Winter can be especially good for eagles and rough-legged hawks that move down from the north, turning a quiet drive into a running tally of hunting birds.

The grassland is famous for a self-guided birding auto tour, a loop of back roads laid out to lead visitors through the best of the prairie's habitats and birding spots. Driving it slowly, stopping often to scan and listen, is the classic way to experience the area, and it captures both the birdlife and the vast, quiet character of the plains.

Spring and early summer are the peak of the birding, when migrants pour through and grassland species are singing and nesting. Fall brings hawk movement and cooler, comfortable days. Winter is stark and cold but excellent for eagles and northern raptors, while summer middays turn hot and still, so dawn and dusk are the times to be out watching.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Pawnee National Grassland on Colorado's northeastern high plains is renowned for its wildlife watching, particularly its prairie-dog towns and the raptors they attract. Sprawling colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs dot the shortgrass prairie, and these towns draw an abundance of birds of prey, including hawks, eagles, falcons, and the charming burrowing owls that nest in prairie-dog burrows. This makes the grassland one of the best places in Colorado to observe prairie-dog behavior and watch raptors hunting and nesting, offering a fascinating window into the interconnected wildlife of the prairie ecosystem for birders and nature lovers.

In and around the prairie-dog towns, you can see the busy colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs themselves, popping up from their burrows and calling to one another, along with the many raptors drawn to hunt them, including various hawks, golden and bald eagles, and falcons, and the delightful burrowing owls that live in abandoned prairie-dog burrows. Pronghorn, songbirds, and other prairie wildlife are also often present. The interconnected web of prairie life makes for rich wildlife viewing. Bringing binoculars and watching quietly gives the best chance to observe the prairie dogs, owls, and raptors.

The best way is to drive the grassland's back roads and birding auto-tour routes slowly, scanning the prairie-dog towns, fence posts, and skies for raptors, and stopping to watch and photograph from your vehicle, which serves as a good blind. Bringing binoculars or a spotting scope greatly improves viewing. Dawn and dusk are prime for wildlife activity. Because the grassland is vast and remote, come prepared with water, a map, and a full tank of gas. Watching patiently and respectfully, without disturbing the animals or nesting birds, rewards visitors with excellent wildlife viewing.

Spring and early summer are excellent, when many raptors are nesting, burrowing owls are active, and grassland birds are abundant, while fall brings migrating raptors, and winter can offer wintering eagles and hawks. Prairie dogs are active in the warmer months. Dawn and dusk are prime for wildlife activity in any season. For the fullest variety of raptors and active wildlife, spring and early summer are ideal, though good birding continues into fall, always with an early start and preparation for the remote, exposed conditions of the high plains.

The prairie-dog towns and raptor-watching areas are within the Pawnee National Grassland on the high plains of northeastern Colorado, near the dramatic Pawnee Buttes, the town of Greeley to the southwest, and within reach of Fort Collins and the Front Range. That makes the grassland's wildlife watching a unique nature stop to combine with the Pawnee Buttes and the northern Colorado Front Range attractions on a visit to the state, offering exceptional prairie birding and wildlife far from the mountains.