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.
Two large-scale monitoring programs collect data on bird populations every summer in the United States—Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions and the Breeding Bird Survey. How are they different, and in what ways do each program complement the other in addressing the vast information gaps needed to help inform avian conservation?
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.
Every year in late spring and summer, our field season crew traipses across mountains, prairies and deserts to survey birds under the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions (IMBCR) program. As this post from our of our field technicians attests, these rugged and remote landscapes don’t always make it easy!
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.
The grasslands of the Chihuahuan desert provide important overwintering habitat for over 90% of the migratory grassland species in western North America. Recently, our team joined partners and private landowners on a scenic tour through northern Mexico to visit some of Sustainable Grazing Network ranches that are working to conserve and restore grassland habitat for the benefit of people and birds.
The Central Plains Experimental Range in Northern Colorado provides the perfect place for researchers and ranchers to come together and explore new ways to achieve maximum economic yields alongside quality habitat for grassland birds.
After several decades of steep declines, Aplomado Falcon populations are slowly rising again in the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico, thanks to the efforts of our local partners, ranchers and biologists who are working hard to improve habitat, providing nesting locations, and closely monitor the progress of this threatened species.
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.
The scope and severity of the 2017 Lodgepole Complex Fire shook Montana’s Garfield County to the core, but it also brought together the community and sparked new conversations about repairing and restoring habitat on working lands. Working together to create a more resilient future brings hope for both agricultural producers and birds returning to breed in the spring.
