Every year, our friends at Rocky Mountain Raptor Program in Fort Collins, CO receive over 300 injured, sick and orphaned birds. They are nursed back to health and more than 80% of them are released back into the wild. Last fall, bird banders at our Barr Lake State Park station enjoyed the opportunity to meet one of the recipients of their kindness in person!
We had a banner year at our banding station at Wildcat Hills State Recreation Area in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. 2020 proved to be our busiest season there to date. We set new highs for total banded birds and added several new species that had never been banded there before. All of this was while simultaneously adapting to meet health and safety guidelines that enabled visitors to experience bird banding firsthand in a safe way.
A visit to the banding station sparks wonder and curiosity. This hands-on learning opportunity engages the community in our work and inspires the next generation of nature stewards.
Barr Lake’s fall banding station had an incredible season with 1,902 individual birds caught last year—more than any year in over a decade! The station celebrates another chapter of educating visitors of all ages about the importance of birds in our lives, while also contributing to our understanding of bird distribution, population levels, and conservation needs at key migration stopover habitat.
Traditional and high-tech tools are revealing details about where Mountain Plovers spend time during migration and over winter—highlighting critical habitat locations and guiding much-needed conservation efforts.
After several weeks of intensive nest searching and observation, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies has confirmed that Baird’s Sparrows are actively breeding at Soapstone Prairie Natural Area—the first time the species has been documented reproducing in the State of Colorado. This remarkable discovery marks an exciting milestone in an already-eventful 2018 summer field season.
Colorado’s Chico Basin Ranch, southeast of Colorado Springs, CO, is well known as a home and haven for migratory and resident birds. 2018 marks Bird Conservancy’s 19th consecutive spring season of bird banding at ‘The Chico’ and this year did not disappoint with some exciting species observed.
Dana Ripper, Director of Missouri River Bird Observatory, shares how earlier career experiences at Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (then Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory) are helping foster and support bird conservation in the heart of the Midwest.
Mike Carter, founder and Executive Director of the Colorado Bird Observatory from 1988-2001, shares his memories about the creation of our organization and how events at the time came together to make it all happen.
2018 marks our 30th Anniversary, and we’re celebrating! In the coming months, we’ll reminisce about the migratory milestones and positive impacts that our organization has made through the years, as well as look to the future. We hope you enjoy this timeline featuring just a handful of the many accomplishments made possible by our supporters, partners, collaborators and staff.
