September 12, 2026 Field Trip Report - Old St. Vrain Road, Lyons
Embedded Files
Helmut Retzer, Ron Harden, David Lawrance, Charlotte Wollesen, Kat Bradley-Bennet, Diana and Mark Wolenetz attended the September 12, 2026 field trip to Lyons. On a lovely early autumn day, right off the bat, Kat found a great horned owl camouflaged to exactly match the cliffs of Old St Vrain Road which the group walked. The group also visited Apple Valley Road, Antelope Drive, and the Lyons Cemetery. Twenty-four other species were identified including: wild turkeys, blue jays, a western wood pewee, northern flickers, American robins, a Townsend’s solitaire, house finches, a red-breasted nuthatch, black-capped chickadees, a belted kingfisher, American goldfinches, lesser goldfinches Steller’s jays, Magpies, spotted towhees, a raven, an American crow, a number of swifts, a scrub jay, pine sickens, a western tanager, a broad-tailed hummingbird, and a downy woodpecker, and a hawk. The group enjoyed lunch at La Mariposa.
David Lawrance and Helmut Retzer, Field Trip Coordinators
Great Horned Owl chilling out on Old St. Vrain Road
Photograph by David Lawrance
June 6, 2026 Field Trip Report - Rocky Mountain National Park
Club members returned to the Wyoming Hereford Ranch near Cheyenne for what is becoming an annual field trip finale. Accommodating weather met us for the duration.
We managed to see at least 35 species: including Great Blue Heron, Merlin, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Peregrin Falcon, Eurasian Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Western Kingbird, Western Wood Pewee, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Black-headed Grosbeak, Western Tanager, House Wren, American Redstart, Black and White Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Backpoll Warbler, Grey Catbird, Brown-Headed Cowbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, European Starling, Bullock’s Oriole, Swainson’s Thrush, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, American Goldfinch, Warbling Vireo, Lincoln’s Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sarrow, and House Sparrow.
David Lawrance and Helmut Retzer, Field Trip Coordinators
May 12, 2026 Field Trip Report - Wyoming Hereford Ranch
A beautiful day in our beautiful National Park greeted bird observers David Lawrence, Sue Puder, Art Dorsey, Kat Bradley-Bennett, Mark and Diana Wolenetz, Susan Wade, Tom Dennis and Julie Paranka, Evi Buckner-Opler and Ron Harden. On the way to breeding bird areas, three moose were seen near Sheep Lakes. Next, we visited the trails in Upper Beaver Meadows. After a sack lunch back at the picnic area, some participants ventured up Trail Ridge Road, watching Pika and Yellow-bellied Marmot at Rock Cut, and finally hiking on the Medicine Bow Curve trail. American Pipit and White-crowned Sparrow were seen there, but White-tailed Ptarmigan remained elusive.
Ron Harden, Field Trip Leader
Birds identified: Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Wild Turkey, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Red-shafted Flicker, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wook-Pewee, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Western Flycatcher, Violet-green Swallow, Black-billed Magpie, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, House Wren, Mountain Bluebird, American Robin, American Pipit, Plumbeous Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Green-tailed Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Grey-headed Junco, and Cassin’s Finch.
April 2026 Field Trip Report - Running Deer Natural Area
Fifteen club members began in morning air that was clear, crisp, and breezy at Running Deer Natural Area in Fort Collins on April 18. The area includes marsh, grassland, ponds, river, and a very accessible pathways. Altogether, they found 23 difference species including, in order of appearance: Red-tailed Hawk, a beautiful grey ghost (male) and female Northern Harrier, Red-winged Blackbird, Mallard, Northern Flicker, Canada Goose, American Robin, Rock Dove, Killdeer, Great Blue Heron, squadrons of American White Pelicans soaring overhead, Brewer’s Blackbird, Double-crested Dormorant, Blue Jay, Belted Kingfisher, Common Mergansers, Eurasian Collared Dove, Song Sparrow, American Goldfinch, Bald Eagle, White-crowned Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, and American Kestrel.
March 2026 Field Trip Report - Berthoud Area
Our field trip on March 21st was a fun venture to some of the surrounding lakes and ponds east of Berthoud. We had eighteen people enjoying the birds and beautiful but unseasonably warm weather. Participants were: Ron Hardin, Jim Cummings. Debbie Pittman, Rich Medina, Charlotte Wolleson, Janis Robinson, Kat Bradley-Bennett and Lynn Leopold (Kat's sister), Mary and Tony Madrid, David and Anita Lawrance, Helmut Retzer, Kathleen and Kurt Winklhake and friend, and Tom and Julie Dennis.
A few of the lakes had a fair number of waterfowl and the fields and pastures in between also provided some fun sightings. Species listed: Eurasian Collared Doves, Red Winged Black Birds, Canada Geese, Bald Eagle, Kestrels, Ring Necked Pheasants, Chukars, Western Meadow Larks, Starlings, American White Pelicans, Crows, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, Bluejays, Mallards, Hooded Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, Red Tailed Hawk, Robins, Song Sparrow, Great Blue Heron, Killdeer, Chickens (Eurasian Jungle Fowl ), Northern Flicker, Buffleheads, Redheads, American Wigeon, Common Golden eye, Coots, Black Billed Magpies, Blue Winged Teal, Ring Necked ducks, Canvasbacks, and about 25-30 turtles in two turtle piles(probably Red Eared Sliders). Some of us went to Grandpas in Berthoud for Lunch afterwards.
February 2026 Field Trip Report - Pella Crossing and Lagerman Reservoir
It was a chilly but sunny start on our February 21 morning field trip with Helmut Retzer, Don Starks, Charlotte Wolleson, new club member Jim Cummings, Anita and David Lawrance at Pella Crossing where we heard a western meadowlark and watched a great blue heron, red-winged blackbirds, ring-necked ducks, Canada geese, a song sparrow, white-crowned sparrows, hooded mergansers, gadwalls, black-capped chickadees, European starlings, mallards, a Eurasian collared dove, and a red-tailed hawk mobbed by a pair of American kestrels.
By late morning, the reservoir itself was otherwise occupied by only a few green-winged teals and several dozen common goldeneyes with the males doing their peculiar head-flipping courtship maneuvers.
As usual, we shared and enjoyed many educational and observational anecdotes, completing the trip with lunch at The Post.
Important Note: During this field trip, we noticed that the west-end portion of the trail at Lagerman Reservoir is closed. This is something that usually doesn’t happen until May for the ground-nesting birds, like Savannah and Vesper Sparrows. The club has been able to verify with Boulder County Open Space that the early trail closure this year is because ground-nesting sparrows are back early and are already defending nesting territory!
David Lawrance, Field Trip Co-Coordinator
Google Sites
Report abuse