Colorado Springs Christmas Bird Count
2023-12-16 | Bear Creek Nature Center, 245 Bear Creek Rd, Colorado Springs, CO, 80906
Join us for the Colorado Springs Christmas Bird Count on December 16! The Christmas Bird Count is the longest-running citizen science project in the United States and dates back to 1901. It provides valuable data about the wintering distribution and abundance of birds across the U.S. and you can help! You don’t have to be a bird expert and can contribute right from your back yard or join Aiken Audubon as we canvass our count circle in Colorado Springs. If you would like to participate, please reach out to Tyler Stuart (our Christmas Bird Count Coordinator for the past 10 years!) and let him know that you would like to join us. Following the count, we will have a potluck dinner at Bear Creek Nature Center to go over all the sightings from count.

Great Backyard Bird Count at Fossil Beds - February 17, 9a-1p
2024-02-17 09:00 - 13:00 (America/Denver) | Florissant Fossil Beds, 15807 Co Rd 1, Florissant, CO, 80816, United States
The Friends of the Fossil Beds have held a citizen science event for the Great Backyard Bird Count for the last 9 years. It goes from 9 AM to 1 PM. They offer short bird walks to count birds and record the count. They also have other activities for the families and children such as making bird feeders and scavenger hunts.

No registration is necessary, just show up for any or all of the bird count!
Any questions, please contact Sally at sammckind@aol.com

May 11th: Starsmore Visitor Center's Annual North Cheyenne Cañon Humming Bird Festival
2024-05-11 10:00 - 14:00 | Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center, 2120 S. Cheyenne Cañon Rd., Colorado Springs, CO, 80906, United States
Visit https://coloradosprings.gov/starsmore for more information

Photo from Songbird Orchids

Pikes Peak Birding and Nature Festival
2024-05-16 06:00 - 2024-05-19 12:30 | CO
Hold the dates for Pikes Peak Birding and Nature Festival.
www.pikespeakbirdingandnaturefestival.org
Early Bird registration opens March 23

Join Aiken's Grant Recipient, Jennifer Redmond, for Kestrel Banding!
2024-06-10 08:30 - 10:30 | Bluestem Prairie Open Space, 6254 Goldfield Dr, Colorado Springs, CO, 80911, United States
Jennifer Redmond, an Aiken Audubon Grant recipient, will be banding the Kestrel nestlings from the Bluestem Open Space nest box project, June 10th at 830a!

If you’d like to join us for this rare treat, please email mhelton016@gmail.com with your name and phone number. There are 8 slots available for the first responders!

The confirmed attendees will meet at Bluestem Open Space and then drive through the open space to the two nest boxes. We will not publicize the exact nest box locations.

Background on Jennifer and the project:
I am a 2023 Aiken Audubon Grant recipient. We currently have three active boxes. Two are in Bluestem Open Space and one is in Corral Bluffs Open Space. I am partnering with the City of Colorado Springs Open Space to monitor the boxes. We will be banding the nestlings from the boxes at Bluestem in the early morning of Monday, June 10th. We will band the two nestlings at Corral Bluffs during the last week of June.

Birding 101 with Aiken Audubon - Register with El Paso Nature Center
2024-06-13 18:00 - 20:00 | Bear Creek Nature Center, 245 Bear Creek Rd, Colorado Springs, CO, 80906
Birding 101 with Aiken Audubon

Date: Thur & Sat, June 13 & 15
Time: 6-8pm (Thur) & 8am-12pm (Sat)
Audience: 18+
Cost: $10 per person/$8 per member

Meeting Details

06/13/2024 –06/13/2024
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Days: Thu, Sat
Bear Creek Nature Center
245 Bear Creek Nature Center
Colorado Springs, CO, 80906
(719)520-6387

Hummingbird Homecoming - offered by Fountain Creek Nature Center
2024-06-22 10:00 - 12:00 | Fountain Creek Nature Center, 320 Pepper Grass Lane, Fountain, 80817
Hummingbird Homecoming
Saturday, June 22, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
With their speed, grace, agility, tiny size, and love of flowers, hummingbirds have captured the hearts and imaginations of countless people. Learn about their migrations, adaptations, and influence on cultures. You’ll discover our Colorado species and how to invite them to your yards, plus favorite viewing locations nearby. Recommended ages 10+.
$5/nonmember, $4/member. Prepaid registration required at www.elpasocountynaturecenters.com

Fountain Creek Regional Park Annual Fall Bird Count
2024-09-14 07:00 - 11:00 | Fountain Creek Nature Center, 320 Pepper Grass Lane, Fountain, 80817
Join Fountain Creek Nature Center and Steve Getty for their Annual Fall Bird Count on September 14th, 7a-11a.
If you’re interested, please email Jessica Miller at jessicamiller@elpasoco.com to register!

The Great Backyard Bird Count Starts Soon! February 14–17, 2025
2025-02-14 08:00 - 2025-02-17 17:00 | CO
The Great Backyard Bird Count Starts Soon!

The 28th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) starts on Friday, February 14!
All skill levels and all abilities are welcome to count birds from anywhere and enter their checklists online.
For more information – https://www.birdcount.org/

Fall Bird Count at Fountain Creek Nature Center
2025-09-13 07:30 - 10:30 | Fountain Creek Nature Center, 320 Pepper Grass Lane, Fountain, 80817
This event is being hosted by Fountain Creek Nature Center. Any donations benefit the Friends of El Paso County Nature Centers.
Join the annual tradition and help record the number of bird species and populations found in Fountain Creek Regional Park during fall migration. After morning snacks, quick socializing, and group assignments, we’ll split up across the Regional Park to identify and count all the birds. All levels of birders are welcome, and binoculars can be borrowed for free from the Nature Center. This is a citizen science project and children under 7 years old may not enjoy the activity.
Spots are limited; sign up by emailing Jessica Miller, Nature Center Supervisor, at jessicamiller@elpasoco.com

2025 Social & Silent Auction
2025-09-17 18:00 - 20:00 | TriNity Brewing Co., 1466 Garden of the Gods Rd., Colorado Springs, CO, 80907, United States
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY
Wild Birds Unlimited
~~~~~Ticket sales have closed for this event.~~~~~
Thank you for all of the support!
Join us on Wednesday, September 17th for our Second Annual Social & Silent Auction!
TRiNiTY Brewing: 1466 Garden of the Gods Rd., Colorado Springs, CO, 80907
6:00pm – 8:00pm
As summer comes to a close and we look forward to fall migration, we hope you will join us for an evening of food, fellowship and fundraising. 100% of funds raised will be used to support Aiken Audubon Society’s educational programs, monthly guest speakers and research grants in 2026!
Dinner will be provided by our generous event sponsor, with gluten free and vegan options available.

This is a ticketed event with limited seating. Ticket cost is $12 per person.
Tickets will be issued under the purchasers name, if you are gifting the tickets or someone will be attending in your place, please send them your confirmation email with the tickets.
Silent auction bidding will open promptly at 6:00pm, and close at 7:30pm. Online bidding will not be available; we hope you can join us!
Silent Auction Items & Many More to Come:
Falconry Experience – Broadmoor Outfitters
Birdy Gift Basket – Wild Birds Unlimited
Mosaic Class Gift Certificates – Shattered Glass Restored
Harvest Basket – Abeja Hive Honey Farm & Homestead
Restaurant Gift Cards & Glassware – Phantom Canyon
Watercolor Workshop Gift Certificate – Eric Fetsch Fine Art
“Garden Red-tail” Watercolor on Canvas – Eric Fetsch Fine Art
Full-Day Birding Trip to Rocky Mtn. National Park – Birding Man Wildlife Tours
Birding Trip to Chico Basin Ranch with John Drummond
Framed Art Piece – Little Wing Photo
Bird on Canvas – Ruben Rodriguez
Autographed Copy of “The Backyard Bird Chronicles” by Amy Tan – Wild Birds Unlimited
Spa Gift Basket – Inspire Movements
90-Minute Massage – Inspire Movements
Leica Scope & Tripod – Aiken Audubon Society
Bird Friendly Coffee & Sibley Guide to Birds – Aiken Audubon Board Members
Bird Friendly Coffee & Great Blue Heron Tumbler – Clark Jones & Melissa Wetzig
Birdy Wine – Paula Wegert
“Landing Thrasher” Art Piece – Beth Skukrud
Bird Store Gift Cards – This Place is for the Birds
To allow guests to enjoy this social event, our monthly guest speaker presentations will resume in October.

Birds & Beans – Beginner Birding Class at Bear Creek Nature Center
2025-09-27 07:30 - 09:00 | Bear Creek Nature Center, 245 Bear Creek Rd, Colorado Springs, CO, 80906
This event is hosted by Bear Creek Nature Center and benefits the Friends of El Paso County Nature Center.
Sip your coffee and see new birds during this beginner’s birding class with Mary Rudolph, local bird enthusiast and member of Aiken Audubon! Learn the basics of birding – calls, shape and size, using your binoculars, common birds of the area, and more, all while enjoying a coffee treat on us. Binoculars and birding guides available to borrow at the front desk.
$5 per person; prepaid registration required at www.elpasocountynaturecenters.com

2025 Colorado Springs Christmas Bird Count
2025-12-20 | CO
Please join us for this year’s Colorado Springs Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 20, 2025.
Everyone is welcome to participate. Plan to spend at least the entire morning finding birds, though times will vary. Come prepared for cold temperatures and possibly snow and ice. Feeder watchers are also encouraged to sign up and participate.
We will gather for a potluck dinner, species compilation, and sharing of the day’s adventures at Bear Creek Nature Center from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. on count night.
For more information or to sign up for the count, please contact Tyler Stuart at colospringscbc@gmail.com.

Photo: Evan Barrientos/Audubon. Volunteers survey birds for the Boulder Christmas Bird Count at Teller Farm in Boulder, Colorado, on December 18, 2022. The Christmas Bird Count is a long-running, annual community science project.

Draw Pinyon Jays: Free Virtual Class
2026-04-11 14:30 - 16:00 | CO
This FREE online opportunity is not affilitaed with Aiken Audubon, but you may be interested in this bird-themed activity with a local artist! From Saraiya Kanning with Raebird Creations:
I’ve completely fallen in love with a bird most people have never heard of: the Pinyon Jay.
Over the last few months, I’ve been writing and illustrating an article for Birding magazine. In the process of interviewing 5 wildlife biologists and reading an extremely niche book on the species, I’ve learned so much.
Pinyon Jays are present in Colorado, where I grew up and now live, and where I saw my lifer in my teens. (In birding lingo, a lifer is the first time you ever see a species.) That color blue cannot be erased from memory, nor can their nasal, laughing calls. It’s wilderness distilled into one sound.
Right now Pinyon Jays are under review by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for potential listing under the Endangered Species Act. Their populations have declined an estimated 80% or more since the 1960s. It’s heartbreaking.
These birds are an iconic piñon–juniper woodland species. They help keep piñon forests alive through their cyclical relationship with piñon cones. And they are sheer FUN. Chatty, gregarious, and full of personality in classic jay fashion. I simply can’t imagine the world without them.
So I invite you to a short and FREE online art workshop where we’ll celebrate these spunky, spirited birds.
You don’t need to be an “artist” (whatever that means). You don’t even need to be a birder.
Maybe you’re someone who, like me, can’t stand to watch a species fade quietly. Maybe you’re someone who doesn’t quite know what to do about this ongoing planetary disarray and habitat loss.
We won’t be numb. Instead we’ll make art and fill the world with hand-drawn Pinyon Jays. Maybe they’ll fly right off the page and repopulate the forests in droves. It’s a start, anyway. A little corner of hope we’ll make together.
We’ll be drawing inspiration from the wonderful photos of Maresa Pryor-Luzier. @mpluzier
To register, email: raebirdcreationsart@gmail.com
The workshop is limited to 100 participants. If there’s enough interest, I’ll schedule another. 💙
