Monday, November 25, 7:30 – 11:30-ish
Doubletree Pond & Stratton Open Space – FULL/Wait List

Start your Thanksgiving week with this trip led by Diana Beatty. We will visit two good birding hotspots in one morning: the Doubletree Pond, which provides both open water and shrubby habitat, and Stratton Open Space. The trip will start from the Target parking lot just off the I-25 Circle Drive exit at 1630 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd., 80906. We’ll walk across the street to see what birds are on and around the pond. Then we’ll carpool to the La Veta Way trailhead at Stratton Open Space, where we’ll walk the Stratton Springs path up to the first reservoir and back—a round trip hike of roughly two miles. Depending on weather/trail conditions, hiking spikes could be useful around the spring. Please bring whatever you need to be comfortable. Here are the eBird Hotspot lists for our destinations:

Doubletree Pond: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2107980
Stratton Open Space: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2361953

Trip is limited to 10 participants. Please contact Diana Beatty at [email protected] to sign up.

Saturday, December 7, 6:30 am—Noon+
Pueblo Reservoir & Nature Center

David Tønnesen will lead his annual field trip at Pueblo Reservoir and Pueblo Nature Center. We can see an interesting array of water fowl, birds of prey and just about anything else. Pack a lunch; if the birding is good this trip can be longer than a half-day event.

We’ll meet at the Safeway parking lot at S Academy and Hwy 115 (6520 S Academy Blvd.) for carpooling. Please note there is a $5 parking fee at the nature center, plus it is very helpful to bring a vehicle with a state parks pass. Please contact David at [email protected] to register. Field trip is capped at 12 participants.

Saturday, December 14, times vary
Audubon Christmas Bird Count & Potluck Dinner

You can add to a century of community science data by signing up for this year’s Colorado Springs Christmas Bird Count (CBC) on Saturday, December 14, 2019! 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.

After the count, we will gather for a potluck dinner, species compilation, and sharing of the day’s adventures at Bear Creek Nature Center from 5 to 7 pm on count day.

The CBC is a long-standing program of the National Audubon Society, with over 100 years of community science involvement. It is an early-winter bird census, involving thousands of volunteers across the U.S., Canada, and many countries in the Western Hemisphere. There is a specific methodology to the CBC, and you must sign up in advance. Each count takes place in an established circle 15-miles in diameter, and is organized by a count compiler. Count volunteers follow specified routes, counting every bird they see or hear. It’s not just a species tally—all birds are counted, giving an indication of the total number of birds in the circle that day.

For more information or to sign up, please contact Tyler Stuart at [email protected].

January 1, 2020 8 am – noon (latest)
Birding and Bicycles: Clear Spring Ranch

Start out the New Year with a great outdoor activity. Clear Spring Ranch has several miles of relatively flat dirt road and trails that makes it a suitable location for birding by bike for a good range of ability levels and most types of bicycles. Using the bikes to help us cover more terrain, we aim to visit most of the park to see what birds are there. We will ride slowly and make frequent stops to bird along the way, looking to find the wintering Western Screech Owl if he’s available, riding up to the fish ladder 3 miles north and possibly a bit beyond, checking out a few side spurs on our way back, and then heading south 1 mile to the train bridge before coming back to the trailhead. If the trails are not mostly dry and clear of snow, this trip will be canceled and offered again at a later date. Total riding distance should be 10 miles or less.

Trip is limited to 6 participants. Meet at the Clear Spring Ranch parking lot. Bring your bikes, binoculars, water, safety gear and anything else you need/want for the trip. Contact Diana Beatty at [email protected] to sign up.