The COVID-19 pandemic brings unique challenges to delivering our award-winning environmental education programs. Our Education team has risen to the occasion, delivering an array of wonderful virtual programs and getting us ready for a safe and enjoyable in-person summer camp season!
This year is the 100th anniversary of the Bird Banding Laboratory, the federal agency responsible for overseeing all bird banding efforts in the United States and Canada. Here we’ll take a look at why banding is such a powerful tool for research while highlighting a few of our projects that put banding to use. With the fall banding season rapidly approaching, its a good time to reexamine what makes a bird in the hand so valuable.
They sat quietly, as still as possible, a group of kids and their adults listening for the elusive sound. Then they heard him: the muffled gobble of the wild tom turkey. It wasn’t long before this dinosaur of the modern age was in full view, following the sound of what he thought to be a receptive hen. It’s an emotional and immersive experience that brings these young people closer to nature and continues a long heritage of tradition and stewardship.
Like the Phoenix, our Bird Camps are transforming, being reborn and rising to meet the challenges posed by an unprecedented public health crisis. Though our 2020 summer programs will not look like they have in years past, we are committed helping kids connect with nature and rolling out exciting opportunities to engage though interactive virtual experiences. Learn more in this post from our Education team!
Bird Conservancy Science Director, Brandt Ryder, shares his personal stories about the special people, events, and ideas that have sparked his lifelong passion for bird conservation.
What do you get when you combine a nature center, rocks and 5th graders? You get habitat restoration, of course!
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies finished 2019 among friends and with binoculars in hand at Birds of Winter Camps and a successful Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Stacey and Tyler from our Education team share stories from the adventures, many of which are sure to provide lasting memories in the minds of participants.
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.
This year marks the 119th year for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC), where volunteers across the country came out to add to a century of community science data. Bird Conservancy of the Rockies helped organize two local CBCs at Barr Lake and Fort Collins, and we are excited to provide this report from the field!
