Bird Camps
If your kids enjoy learning, playing hard and spending time in the great outdoors, then our Bird Camps are for them!
Camp Philosophy
The mission of Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Summer Bird Camps is to engage children in conserving birds and their habitats, while connecting them with nature. Children are taught through hands-on learning activities and direct experiences to help them develop a deeper awareness, enjoyment, and respect for all wildlife and their habitats.
All camps are about getting kids outside to have fun and explore nature while making friends, developing leadership skills and gaining insights into their relationships with themselves, others and the world around them. Camp content and activities are designed in a progression to introduce young children to the outdoors and build their skills over time slowly offering opportunities for deeper exploration and understanding of the natural world through the lens of bird conservation.
Scholarships are available for all camps!
Applications for scholarships can be made through our online scholarship application.
Please note: Online registration is required for all camp sessions; we cannot accept walk-ins.
Click below to learn more about the Bird Camps programs.
Day Camps
Our day camps are the perfect introduction to science and nature for campers ages 4-13. All Day Camps take place at Bird Conservancy’s Environmental Learning Center in Brighton, Colorado and are led by a team of professional environmental educators. With a small staff-to-camper ratio, each day program fosters a positive learning environment through hikes, games, crafts, and outdoor play. For campers ages 10-13, we offer Progressive Camps, which broaden each camper’s confidence and resiliency by exploring different ecosystems via field trips and expanded learning goals. These camps specifically help to build the skills needed to allow day campers to feel confident attending overnight camp programs.
Bird Conservancy makes every effort to provide reasonable accommodations to campers with mental, emotional, social, or physical challenges. To view our essential eligibility criteria for Day Camps, please click here. To discuss accommodations for your camper, please contact Becky Heath at (303) 659-4348 x 49
Download Our Day Camps Handbook
To learn more about our policies and practices, including our cancellation policy, please download our 2025 Day Camp Parent Handbook.
Online registration for day camps closes a week prior to the first day of camp. Click here to register.
Birding Adventure Camp (Ages 12-13)
Birding Adventure Camp
Ages: 12-13
When: June 2-6, 2025. 9 a.m. to 4 pm. Daily
Tuition: $340/week; scholarships are available
Location: Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton, CO
Take your birding to the next level by visiting different birding hotspot locations along the front range. Campers will go on three field trips away from Barr Lake to find new birds to add to their life lists while exploring some of the different ecosystems that birds thrive in.
The Big Week Camp (Ages 10-11)
The Big Week Camp
Ages: 10-11
When: June 9- 13, 2025. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Daily
Tuition: $285/week; scholarships are available.
Location: Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton, CO
In The Big Week, campers will hone their observational and scientific skills in order to see as many bird species as possible. We will explore different habitats and seek out the birds that call them their home. All of our Day Camps strive to balance learning and fun through games, hikes, crafts, scavenger hunts, and structured outdoor play.
Fort Collins Foothills Camp (Ages 9-12)
Fort Collins Foothills Camp
* New Camp for 2025!
Ages: 9 – 12
When: June 2 – 6, 2025. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Daily
Tuition: $240/week; scholarships are available.
Location: Lory State Park, Bellvue, CO
Join Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and Lory State Park for a day camp week of birding through the park. We’ll explore each of the ecosystems, learning about bird species that call each of them home. Throughout the week, we’ll be putting a specific emphasis on understanding the natural history of each species, becoming better acquainted with our variety of summer and year-round species!
Raptor Camp (Ages 8-9)
Raptor Camp
Ages: 8-9
When: July 14-18, 2025. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Daily.
Tuition: $240/week; scholarships are available.
Location: Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton, CO
Raptors are top predators here on the grassland! Campers will learn all about the variety of raptors that live in Colorado, as well as their adaptations and the food webs that they dominate. All of our Day Camps strive to balance learning and fun through games, hikes, crafts, scavenger hunts, and structured outdoor play.
Budding Birders Camp (Ages 6-7)
Budding Birders Camp
Ages: 6-7
When: July 21-25, 2025. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Daily.
Tuition: $240/week; scholarships are available.
Location: Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton, CO
Hone your birding skills in this camp designed to take your birding to the next level! Campers will become experts in binocular and field guide use, and build their observational and scientific skills. All of our Day Camps strive to balance learning and fun through games, hikes, crafts, scavenger hunts, and structured outdoor play.
Wild Nestlings Mini-Camp (Ages 4-5)
Wild Nestlings Mini-Camp
Ages: 4-5
When: July 28-August 1, 2025. 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Daily.
Tuition: $120/week; scholarships are available.
Location: Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton, CO
Our youngest campers will explore the great outdoors through nature walks, crafts, stories, games and structured outdoor play. Mini-Camps focus on building connections to the outdoors through sensory experiences and building friendships among campers.
Year-round Camps
Youth Banding Weekend/Camp (Ages 14-18)
Youth Banding Weekend/Camp
Ages: 14-18
When: October 4 – 5, 2025. 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Daily
Tuition: $120; scholarships are available
Location: Barr Lake State Park, 13401 Picadilly Rd, Brighton, CO
Get ready to roll up your sleeves at the Barr Lake State Park Banding Station, where you’ll dive into the world of bird banding and become an expert on songbird migration and conservation. It’s a weekend of winged wonders you won’t want to miss! Campers will learn the processes of bird banding at the Barr Lake State Park Banding Station and work towards understanding songbird migration and conservation work first hand.
Birds of Winter Camp (Ages 6-12)
Birds of Winter Camp
Ages: 6-12
When: January 2 & 3, 2025. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Daily
Tuition: $46/day; scholarships are available
Location: Environmental Learning Center, 14500 Lark Bunting Lane, Brighton, CO
Join us during winter break for some fun days with Bird Conservancy! School is out and birds are in! Join us as we explore what it takes for birds to survive the winter at Barr Lake. Each day will focus on different aspects of how birds are adapted to survive in winter while exploring different ways we as birders, scientists and stewards of the land can help conserve birds.
Overnight Camps
Overnight Camps are a welcoming learning environment for teens who have aged out of our Day Camps, as well as pre-teens and teens who are new to Bird Conservancy’s programs. Both On the Wing and Taking Flight are held in Jamestown, Colorado with transportation provided by Bird Conservancy from our headquarters in Brighton, CO. These programs delve further into the science behind bird conservation and offer opportunities for campers to learn about career opportunities, build connections with like-minded campers, and strengthen a sense of self as they prepare to look toward their futures.
Bird Conservancy makes every effort to provide reasonable accommodations to campers with mental, emotional, social, or physical challenges. To view our essential eligibility criteria for Day Camps, please click here. To discuss accommodations for your camper, please contact Becky Heath at (303) 659-4348 x 49
Download Our Overnight Camps Handbook
To learn more about our policies and practices, including our cancellation policy, please download our 2025 Overnight Camp Parent Handbook.
Please note: Online registration is required for all camp sessions. Please REGISTER HERE!
Required Paperwork for Overnight Camps.
Colorado state regulations require campers to provide a health history, as well as proof of a physical within the last 24 months.
This paperwork must be received by May 26, 2025.
Campers who do not submit this paperwork will not be permitted to participate in camp, and will be charged fees pursuant to our cancellation policy. You will receive this paperwork once you register your camper(s) for overnight camp.
On the Wing Overnight Camp (Ages 15-17)
On the Wing Overnight Camp
Ages: 15-17
Dates: June 19 – June 27, 2025
Tuition: $1,400/session
Location: Camp takes place in Jamestown, CO. Drop-off and pick-up take place at the Environmental Learning Center in Brighton, CO
In our longest running camp program, we aim to provide our eldest campers with opportunities to learn about careers in natural resources, spot new lifer species and create an investigative research question about the things that inspire them. From trekking through the tundra of Rocky Mountain National Park to camping among the woodland forest in the foothills, we aim to truly take these campers soaring over different unique spaces learning and having fun throughout.
Taking Flight Overnight Camp (Ages 12-14)
Taking Flight Overnight Camp
Ages: 12-14
Dates: July 6 – 11, 2025
Tuition: $950/session
Location: Camp takes place in Jamestown, CO. Drop-off and pick-up take place at the Environmental Learning Center in Brighton, CO.
Learn the ecology of the Rocky Mountains and the birds that call these spaces home. Our Taking Flight campers work toward a deeper understanding of the flora and fauna that exist here and the ways that they interact with our avian residents. We aim for these campers to come away with better observational skills and lasting memories of hiking, birding and so much more.
Leaders in Training (LIT)
Inspired by past campers who wanted to give back (and didn’t want to stop coming to Day Camp!), the Leaders in Training (LIT) Program gives teens the opportunity to mentor and teach younger campers while learning about science and leadership skills. Our LIT’s are a large part of what makes Bird Conservancy’s Summer Camps such an incredible experience for our campers both new to and experienced in the world of birds!
All LITs will participate in a training to get them ready for the summer season. LIT training will take place on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at the Environmental Learning Center in Brighton, CO. Following that, LITs will sign up to assist with one or more Day Camp(s) throughout the summer. Furthermore, once the summer sessions have finished, our LIT’s have the opportunity to help with our Winter Break Camp as well as other community events throughout the rest of the year!
Prospective LITs should apply to the program online. Space is extremely limited, so we encourage early applications. Registration is now open. Applications accepted on a rolling basis, but please submit by April 1st for full consideration.
To learn more about the LIT Program, please click here to download the Leaders in Training Handbook 2024.
The LIT Program also falls under our Day Camps, please click here to download the 2025 Day Camp Parent Handbook
The LIT program is a Bird Conservancy Camps program that is provided at no cost to all participants thanks to generous funding from our donors and grants.
For more information about the LIT program:
Payson Cronen Smith
Environmental Educator
For more information:
Becky Heath
Assistant Education Director
(303) 659-4348 x 49
