Join Aiken Audubon with Megan Miller presenting her research on The Effects of Wildfire Smoke on Migrating Birds.

Wildfire smoke is an emerging threat to birds at both the individual and population level. Limited studies associate smoke exposure with slower weight gain in House Wren nestlings, reduced banding capture rates and poorer body condition among those captured birds, and large-scale avoidance behavior from migrating birds. Megan investigated whether exposure to poor air quality could affect the oxidative balance system in passerines migrating through Southern Colorado during spring and fall migration.

Megan Miller has been a part of Colorado’s birding community since her first Christmas Bird Count in 2006. She completed a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology in 2017 at Colorado State University and then spent some time doing field work across the country. She has worked on projects studying birds in apple orchards, seabirds, black-throated blue warbler ecology, and migration banding stations. In January 2025 she completed her masters degree at Colorado State University Pueblo on the impact of wildfire smoke on migrating birds. Megan received a grant from Aiken Audubon to help fund this research.

This is an in-person meeting held at the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Office; 4255 Sinton Road 80907. Our entrance to the building is located on the EAST side (back side) of the building; not the main entrance. Parking is encouraged in the south and west parking lots.

Snacks & Bird Talk (meet & mingle) 6:30pm
Meeting announcements 7:00pm
Program Presentation 7:15pm

photo credit:Megan Miller