Saturday, February 22, 7:30 a.m. ~ 11:30 a.m.
Red Rock Canyon Open Space

Join us in February for a walk through Red Rock Canyon Open Space where we will be on the look out for our winter resident birds and maybe some unexpected visitors! Target birds will include White-winged Dark-eyed Junco, American Tree Sparrow, Northern Shrike, and maybe a Northern Goshawk, if we’re lucky. Plan for about four hours of walking with a fair amount of moderately strenuous uphill travel. Feel free to come and go as you wish. Bring your binos, water, snacks, and don’t forget your hiking shoes. Limited to 20 participants—we’ll split into groups if needed. To sign up, e-mail Clark Jones at [email protected].

Beaver Creek State Wildlife Area is a 2,200+ acre parcel of land in northeastern Fremont County. It is characterized by pinyon-juniper scrub, riparian woodland, mixed conifer forest, and dramatic canyons. Although we will primarily be birding on trails, expect to hike over difficult terrain. This will be a strenuous trip, but the scenery is worth it. Expect to find birds typical for late winter in the Pikes Peak foothills and riparian habitats. Possible species include Scaled Quail, Wild Turkey, American Dipper, Bewick’s and Canyon Wrens, Juniper Titmouse, Canyon Towhee, Golden Eagle, and numerous woodpecker, bluebird, and Corvid species.

Meet in the SW corner of the Safeway parking lot at 6520 S. Academy. We will carpool from there, leaving promptly at 6 am and returning no later than 2 pm. Maximum: 10 participants. Contact trip leader Tyler Stuart at [email protected] for more information and to add your name to the waiting list.

Saturday, March 14, 7:30 am – 3 pm
Lake Pueblo State Park

Join us for this Aiken Audubon early spring outing to Lake Pueblo State Park. Waterbirds will certainly be a major focus—we’ll scan for loons, ducks, grebes, gulls and more from the lake’s best vantage points—but we’ll also be alert for resident and early migrant raptors and land birds in the park’s desert habitats, as well as wooded areas such as the Rock Creek Canyon area. Our actual itinerary will be flexible based on recent reports, weather conditions and time, but it should be a fun day of easy birding (no long hikes planned) and we’ll have scopes to share for better views of those more distant waterbirds and raptors.

We’ll plan to spend the full morning and a few hours of the afternoon in or near the park, so pack a lunch, water and such and remember to bring along warm layers in the event of chilling early spring breezes.

Group size limited to 15. We’ll meet at the Safeway parking lot at South Academy and Hwy 115 (6520 S Academy Blvd.) at 7:30 a.m. for carpooling. Please note an $8/vehicle daily fee (or Colorado State Parks annual pass) is required for entry to Lake Pueblo State Park. Contact trip leader Kip Miller at [email protected] to register.

Tuesday, March 24, 6:45 am – all day
Colorado City and Rye Hotspots

Colorado City and Rye are very under-birded areas. We’ll try to hit all the hotspots in this area to see what is there and just enjoy the day. We’ll hope to see a Lewis’s Woodpecker, but there are no guarantees. Habitats vary, including grassland, marsh, riparian, ponds, and pine forest.

Participants will need to pack food/drink for the day and be prepared for some walking in a variety of conditions and habitats.

Meet in the Sam’s Club parking lot, 4385 Venetucci Blvd., Colorado Springs. Trip capacity is 12 people/3 cars. Contact Diana Beatty at [email protected] with questions and to sign-up.

Tuesday, April 14, 8 am
Garden of the Gods

This morning before the crowds of the day (and summer!) arrive, we’ll enjoy an easy birding walk through Garden of the God’s Central Garden area in search of typical foothills species. In addition to the spectacular scenery, we’ll especially hope to enjoy the aerial acrobatics of the many White-throated Swifts and get one or more of the resident Prairie Falcons in our scope for all to enjoy. The steep rock faces can be good locations to see and hear Canyon Wren and the juniper areas are good for a variety of species including Western Bluebird, Townsend’s Solitaire and sometimes Juniper Titmouse.

Kip Miller will lead this outing. Group size limited to 15. We’ll meet at the main (North Garden) parking area along the loop road. Please contact Kip at [email protected] to register.

Saturday, April 18, 8:30 am
Kettle Lakes

Mid-April should be a good time for a visit to the Kettle Lakes area north of Colorado Springs. Migrant ducks and other waterbirds could be present on the lakes and the adjacent brushy areas and pines should host a variety of resident and migrant landbirds. With luck we may find a few raptors as well, possibly including Osprey and Great Horned Owl. We’ll walk 2-3 miles on easy terrain and have one or more spotting scopes available to share.

Kip Miller will lead this outing. Group size limited to 15. We’ll meet in the parking area at the north end of Airfield Drive. (Airfield Drive is a right turn off of South Gate Blvd, just before the South Gate entrance to the US Air Force Academy.) Please contact Kip at [email protected] to register.

Wednesday, May 13, 7:15 am – mid-afternoon
Chico Basin Ranch

Join John Drummond to look for spring migrants that use Chico Basin Ranch as a stopping point on their journey north. Almost any type of warbler is possible. There will be bird banding in progress. A 4WD vehicle is recommended if the roads are wet. Be sure to bring lunch, water, and sun protection.

Meet at Hanover Fire Station. Limited to 16 participants. This is always a popular trip and fills up quickly. There is a $15 fee per person, or $10 each for groups of 10 or more. Contact Diana Beatty at [email protected] with questions and/or to sign up.

Tuesday, May 19, 7:30 am
Ute Valley Park

Kip Miller is leading this trip to Ute Valley Park in northwest Colorado Springs. We’ll begin by checking the wetland adjacent to the parking area for rails and then work our way up the ridge watching for meadowlarks, sparrows and other grassland species while enjoying the morning light on Pikes Peak.

From here we’ll descend and follow the “Arch trail” back to the west though areas of rocky pinyon, juniper and ponderosa habitat. Through here we’ll watch for Pygmy Nuthatch, Western Bluebird, Black-headed Grosbeak, Western Tanager and other typical migrants and resident species of these habitats. Birds or no birds, it’s a pleasant “close to town” hike of 1.5-2 miles. Participants should be prepared for a trail with ups, downs and rocky sections—but of course we’ll be taking our time looking for birds, not racing!

We’ll meet at the Ute Valley Park parking area on Vindicator Drive, east of the intersection with Centennial Blvd. Group size limited to 15. Please contact Kip at [email protected] to register.

Friday, June 12, 2019, 8 am – 1 pm
Lovell Gulch Nature Walk

Dave Elwonger will again lead this nature walk in Lovell Gulch, in the Pikes Peak National Forest. We will focus on butterflies (usually 30+ species), flowers (with three species of orchid possible), and the local breeding bird species (usually about 30 species). Possibilities include Red-naped and Williamson’s Sapsuckers, Hairy Woodpecker; Northern Flicker; MacGillivray’s and Audubon’s Warblers; Olive-sided, Hammond’s and Cordilleran Flycatchers; Western Wood-Pewee; Steller’s Jay; Clark’s Nutcracker; Warbling and Plumbeous Vireos; Ruby-crowned Kinglet; Black-headed and Evening Grosbeaks; Mountain Chickadee; three species of Nuthatch; Townsend’s Solitaire; Hermit Thrush; Western Tanager; Grey-headed Junco, House Wren and maybe some surprises). Whether and which orchids we find will depend upon the timing of trip vs Spring rainfall. Lists of species from previous years’ trip available.

We will walk mostly on trails into Lovell Gulch, about a 3 mile round trip with about 800′ elevation gain, with a few short steep sections. We may need to bushwhack a short distance to find the orchids (which are not along the trails).

Meet at the northwest corner of the Woodland Park Walmart parking lot to carpool to the Lovell Gulch trailhead (about 3 miles). There’s a Portapotty at the trailhead. Bring drinking water, a snack, rain gear, sweater for early morning chill, and wear sturdy walking shoes. Limit: 8 participants. Contact Dave at [email protected] with questions and to sign up.