Birds & Science >
Colorado IBAs
Walden Reservoir
Jackson County
Size: 884 acres
Elevation: 8044 feet
Habitats:
Primary – open water
Secondary – shore/bank, wetlands
Ownership:
Federal (Bureau of Land Management)
Private (private individuals)
Land Use:
Primary – agriculture/livestock
Secondary – nature and wildlife conservation, hunting/fishing
IBA Criterion: 4 (shorebirds, gulls, terns)
Site description
Location:
Walden Reservoir is located one mile west of the town of Walden in the North Park area of north-central Colorado.
Vegetative/natural features:
The site consists of a shallow irrigation reservoir containing several islands. Natural features include shallows covered with emergent vegetation, reeds, and sedges.
Ornithological Importance
The site hosts Colorado’s largest nesting populations of Willets and Eared Grebes, and is the only known site of nesting Franklin’s Gulls in the state. It also regularly supports nesting Forster’s Terns, California Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants, and Western Grebes. Black Terns may nest here in small numbers.
Breeding species:
|
Average #
|
Maximum #
|
Eared Grebe
|
~800
|
~1,000
|
Western Grebe
|
~25
|
~40
|
Willet
|
|
|
California Gull
|
~400
|
~400
|
Franklin’s Gull
|
~10
|
~20
|
Forster’s Tern
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Conservation/Management Issues
Minor threats:
- disturbance to birds from summer snowmobile riding across shallow bays and mudflats;
- hydrologic changes from management of reservoir for irrigation purposes.
Management details:
The site is primarily Bureau of Land Management land, though a small portion on the south side is privately owned. The lake does not provide significant recreational fishing, and other recreational use is minimal.
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