*FULL* Birds & Brews - Kettle Lakes & Lost Friend Brewing
2025-11-02 09:00 - 12:00 (America/Denver) | Kettle Lakes, Airfield Dr, Colorado Springs, CO, 80920
Kettle Lakes (9am) followed by Lost Friend Brewing (12pm)
We’ll hike through the meadows and pines that outline the ponds and willows along the Kettle Lakes, a great birding spot between USAFA and I-25. We’ll hope for the usual year-round residents, late migrants, and arriving waterfowl. Afterwards we’ll head 10 minutes down the road to see what’s on tap at Lost Friend Brewing.
This will be an easy/moderate hike – We’ll be on relatively flat terrain and may go three miles at a birder’s pace. One short area of trail is somewhat steep. Bring binoculars, wear good hiking shoes, and dress for the Colorado Springs forecast. If you need to borrow a pair of binoculars, let Jessica know when you RSVP.

This outing is full at 25 birders. Join the waitlist by emailing trip leader Jessica at jessicaisbirding@gmail.com

Park County with Denver Field Ornithologists: Lake George & Eleven Mile Canyon
2025-11-03 06:30 - 14:00 | Lake George, Hwy 24, 80827
Park County with DFO: Lake George & Eleven Mile Canyon
Monday, November 3, 2025, 6:30 AM – 2:00 PM
(NOTE: this is the time frame for Denver-area participants. COS-area, expect a later start/meeting time and an earlier arrival home.
Leaders: Joseph Tuttle & David Suddjian
Trip Difficulty: Moderate
This trip will visit Lake George to see what birds are on the water and in the Ponderosa pines there. Then we will head up Eleven Mile Canyon to see the sights and see what birds we can find there. Lake George is likely to have some nice waterfowl for us. The trip in the Canyon is going to offer gorgeous views, and we have a chance of seeing some more waterfowl on the river, American Dippers, Eagles, and birds of Douglas-fir/Ponderosa pine forest. We will mostly be pulling off and seeing what we can see at various stopping points. Be prepared for cold weather, and there may be snow/icy surfaces. Weather leading up to the trip may change what we do, as the road in the Canyon is not well maintained for winter weather. We will play it by ear. Trip marked as moderate, but we won’t be hiking too hard, just walking around a bit here and there. We will carpool hopefully in 3-4 cars. For folks from the Aiken Audubon Society, rendezvous info will be provided as we get closer to the trip. Bring lunch, snack and drinks, hat, cloves and good walking shoes. A few scopes will be handy and the leaders will bring theirs to share.
This trip is limited and registration will open at noon on 10/13/2025. on this webpage: https://dfobirds.org/FieldTrips/Register.aspx?TripID=22197. If you do not already have an account with DFO, visit https://dfobirds.org/, click “LOGIN” then click “Create an account” and follow the prompts.
Photo: American Dipper / Evan Barrientos / Audubon

Park County Reservoirs with Denver Field Ornithologists
2025-11-14 06:30 - 15:30 | Eleven Mile Reservoir, 4344 Co Rd 92 #4186, Lake George, CO, 80827, United States
Park County Reservoirs with Denver Field Ornithologists (DFO)
Friday, November 14, 2025, 6:30 AM – 3:30 PM
(NOTE: this is the time frame for Denver-area participants. COS-area, expect a later start/meeting time and an earlier arrival home.
Leaders: David Suddjian
Trip Difficulty: Moderate
We’ll visit some of the large bodies of water in South Park beginning with Eleven Mile Res, followed Spinney Mountain Reservoir and Antero Reservoir if the weather/ice is kind to us. Plan to see migrant waterbirds and a chance for scoters, loons, Long-tailed Duck, also raptors, and grassland birds like Horned Lark, with the possibility of finding a Lapland Longspur. We will carpool and car caravan between sites with limited walking. Walking will be on the lighter side except for a possible jaunt over uneven terrain at Spinney, plus cold mountain temperatures and some long drives. Bring lunch, water, scopes, and dress in layers. Be ready for cold and maybe breezy conditions. Joe Tuttle will meet with folks in Jefferson and then we will head down to 11 mile from there. Trip may not go all the way to 3 PM, but want to leave the option open if we feel up to it. For folks from the Aiken Audubon Society, a meetup point and time will be communicated as we get closer to the trip. Eleven Mile State Park requires a State Parks pass for each vehicle.
This trip is limited and registration will open at noon on 10/4/2025. on this webpage: https://dfobirds.org/FieldTrips/Register.aspx?TripID=22196. If you do not already have an account with DFO, visit https://dfobirds.org/, click “LOGIN” then click “Create an account” and follow the prompts.
Photo: Long-tailed Duck / Kate Persons / Audubon Photography Awards

*WAITLIST ONLY* El Paso County with Denver Field Ornithologists
2025-11-29 07:30 - 15:30 | El Paso County, United States
El Paso County with DFO: Various locations for an almost-big-day.
Saturday, November 29, 2025, 7:15 AM – 3:00 PM
(NOTE: this is the time frame for Denver-area participants. COS-area, expect a later start/meeting time and an earlier arrival home.)
Leaders: David Suddjian and Jessica Miller
Trip Difficulty: Moderate

This trip will visit a handful of locations in the Colorado Springs and Fountain area to seek known rarities and maybe to find our own. We should find a nice cross-section of wintering and resident birds and perhaps some tardy migrants. Plan for up to three miles of walking among our different locations. Bring lunch, snacks and drink, and dress in layers. Scopes will be helpful at some spots, and the leader will have one to share. Denver-area birders will carpool from the Castle Rock meeting spot, and a rendezvous in the Springs area will be announced for those living to the south.
This trip is limited and registration will open at noon on 11/8/2025. on this webpage: https://dfobirds.org/FieldTrips/Register.aspx?TripID=22238. If you do not already have an account with DFO, visit https://dfobirds.org/, click “LOGIN” then click “Create an account” and follow the prompts.

Aiken Canyon Preserve with Bruce Dunbar
2025-12-06 07:30 - 23:30 | Aiken Canyon, 3350 Turkey Canon Ranch Rd, Colorado Springs, CO, 80926
Join Bruce Dunbar for a walk around Aiken Canyon Preserve, a quiet retreat down Hwy 115. We’ll hike about 4 miles through oak meadows and evergreen woodlands that wind through the rocky outcrops. This is a moderately difficult hike, but we’ll be going at a slow birder’s pace. Along the way we should see and hear a number of winter residents, and hopefully discover some special mountain species that have come down in elevation for the winter.

*WAITLIST ONLY* Birds & Brews: Fox Run Regional Park & Goat Patch Brewing - Northgate
2025-12-14 10:00 - 12:00 | Fox Run Regional Park, 2110 Stella Dr, Colorado Springs, CO, 80921, United States
This intrepid bird outing will have us searching the Palmer Divide for winter birds in the Black Forest. Fox Run Regional Park has only 5 species reported on eBird during December – will this be the worst Birds & Brews? Enjoy the scenery and camaraderie while contributing to winter bird records for the park!
– This hike will be moderate, going up to 3 miles in 2 hours over uneven terrain with some incline.
– Bring binoculars and dress for the Monument, CO forecast.
– Space is limited. Join the waitlist by emailing trip leader Jessica Miller at jessicaisbirding@gmail.com

Pueblo Area with Denver Field Ornithologists
2026-01-01 06:00 - 17:00 | Pueblo Area
Pueblo Area with DFO: Various locations for an almost-big-day to start your New Year off with a birding bang!
Thursday, January 1, 2026, 6:00 AM – 5:00 PM
(NOTE: this is the time frame for Denver-area participants. COS-area, expect a later start/meeting time and an earlier arrival home.)
Leader: David Suddjian
Trip Difficulty: Moderate
Let’s kick start our year lists and even see new birds! Start 2026 with a visit to one of Colorado’s best winter birding areas! Lake Pueblo and the Arkansas corridor downstream can be counted on for a great variety of water birds and land birds, like loons, ducks, grebes, warblers and sparrows, and a good chance for rare wintering species. We will look for regional specialties like Scaled Quail, Curve-billed Thrasher, Canyon Towhee, Bewick’s Wren, and White-winged Dove. This will be a full day with several stops, including viewing around Lake Pueblo SP, along the Arkansas River, and at Pueblo City Park. Bring a scope if you have one (we can share), sturdy footwear, and bring plenty of clothing ranging from cold to pleasant. Plan for up to 1.5 miles of walking, mostly on flat terrain. Bring snacks, lunch and drinks. We will carpool from the Castle Rock meeting spot, and we will have a southern rendezvous point for those living south of Denver area.
This trip is limited and registration will open at noon on 12/11/2025. on this webpage: https://dfobirds.org/FieldTrips/Register.aspx?TripID=22255. If you do not already have an account with DFO, visit https://dfobirds.org/, click “LOGIN” then click “Create an account” and follow the prompts.
