Weekends in March and April are a good time to watch greater prairie chickens on the "booming" grounds as they go through an amazing courtship dance on the Colorado prairie.

The town of Wray, in partnership with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, is offering guided tours to view the birds in their natural habitat from March 24 to April 22.

The greater prairie chick was declared an endangered species in 1972, but recovered to the point there are an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 in the state at this time, mostly on private property in the sand hill region of northeastern Colorado.

To ensure that wildlife watchers avoid any harmful disturbance to the birds during the courtship period, tour participants will use a special viewing blind seating only 20 people per trip. Reservations are required. For more information, go to:

http://www.wraychamber.net/prairiechicken.html or call the Wray Chamber of Commerce at 970-332-3484.

The town of Wray is on U.S. 34 about three hours drive from Denver or Fort Collins.