Bird Conservancy of the Rockies recently hosted our 3rd annual Barr Lake BioBlitz, a wonderful day of exploration and a celebration of community science with opportunities for everyone to learn about Barr Lake’s biodiversity! This year’s BioBlitz on June 4, 2022 was our most successful to date, with 68 attendees and over 70 species of plants and animals recorded!

At our “home base” near the Nature Center, Ryan Bartlett of Colorado Native Bee shares his many bee identification resources with survey participants.
- Bird Conservancy Development Assistant Taylor Dziedzina leads a plant identification survey.
- Bird Conservancy Education Programs Coordinator Skye Newman explains how to identify bindweed.
- “My most exciting sighting of the day was a very tiny juvenile crayfish found in our kick-net. Everyone loves a crayfish!” – Lorna McAllister
- “I loved seeing all the different beetles, especially the weevils. ” – Janine Runfola
- “Our most exciting observation of the day was a location with pelican, deer, and racoon tracks for our mammal survey.” – Chira Noce
Participants of all ages had meaningful experiences. Morning bird surveys included numerous first-time birders, who were in awe of the abundance, diversity, and striking coloration of our native birds. Folks also got a chance to see birds up-close and personal during the morning bird banding sessions as well, which were very popular! Surveys continued to be well-attended throughout the day, with budding community scientists exploring every inch of the trails near the Barr Lake Nature Center. Survey leader Janine Runfola recalls one of the insect surveys in particular that was full of enthusiastic kids: “I love seeing the kids there and getting interested in science at a young age. They were all really excited to find insects and show them off. We had a great time sharing our finds with each other and then letting them go free. I loved their excitement.”
- Bird Conservancy Banding Manager Colin Woolley leads a morning bird survey.
- Bird Conservancy Bander and Volunteer Coordinator Meredith McBurney runs the bird banding station.
- Participants on the morning bird survey saw many different species, including this Mourning Dove. Photo by Sofia Prado-Irwin.
We used the iNaturalist mobile app to document our sightings throughout the day. iNaturalist is a popular nature app that helps users identify plants, animals, and fungi. Once photos are uploaded, other community scientists can also help identify species. You can see our iNaturalist project here – and if you’re a keen naturalist, feel free to help us with any observations that are still uncertain! Observations on iNaturalist can also be used by scientists interested in studying and protecting nature. It’s a wonderful example of a technology tool that can bridge curiosity and love of the outdoors with making a meaningful contribution to our scientific understanding of the natural world around us.

Lake James, Species Identification Specialist from the Butterfly Pavilion, leads an aquatic insect survey.

Chira Noce and Sara Hansen, SOLE Educators with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, displayed preserved hides to teach about mammal identification.
By the end of the day, survey leaders and participants alike were tired but satisfied. No matter our level of expertise, we all saw new species and learned new ways to find and identify them, and had a great time exploring this local biodiversity hotspot. The BioBlitz provided a great opportunity to advance our mission, immersing children and adults in nature and fostering stewardship values across generations. We had a wonderful time! Keep an eye out for next year’s event, which will likely happen sometime in June as well – hope to see you there!
We would like to thank all of our leaders and participants who made it such a great success. We would also like to thank our sponsors United Power, Bank of Colorado, Birds & Beans Coffee, and Fiesta Time Inc.
Photos by volunteer Eric Tokuyama unless otherwise noted.