Bird Monitoring Projects
Mountain Bluebird by Kay Niyo
For information on any of these projects, contact Brad Andres.
Elk Meadow Nest Box Monitoring
Evergreen Audubon has committed to monitoring the nest box trail in Elk Meadow Open Space. Thirty-one nest boxes placed along a three-mile loop attract bluebirds,
swallows, wrens, and chickadees. We check boxes every two weeks between April and August and record the number of eggs and chicks produced by breeding cavity-nesting birds. In the last few years, virtually every box has been used, and some bluebird pairs raised more than one brood. We hope to increase our efforts in the next few years and, working with Jefferson County Open Space, increase the number of nest boxes in Elk Meadow and other areas in the Bear Creek Watershed. For our most recent report, please:
Download Elk Meadow Nest Box Monitoring 2009 Report
Bear Creek Watershed Map - click for larger version
Bear Creek Watershed Breeding Bird Atlas
The purpose of the Bear Creek Watershed Breeding Bird Atlas (hereafter Bear Creek Atlas) is to provide information on the distribution, abundance, breeding status and habitat use of birds on public lands within the Bear Creek Watershed. Information from these surveys will be provided to the appropriate federal, state, county, and local agencies to help them manage these public lands. Data collected in this project will also help inform conservation decisions considered by Evergreen Audubon and will be used for educational purposes in the Evergreen Nature Center.
Based on Evergreen Audubon’s membership and area of interest, we have designated the Bear Creek Watershed as an appropriate area to survey breeding birds over the next five years (2008-2012). After the initial five-year survey period, sites will be surveyed every five years. These repeated surveys will provide some information on how bird populations are changing within the watershed.
In general, methods follow state breeding bird atlas projects, such as the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas. Observers record the numbers and breeding evidence of birds they encounter during surveys within the breeding, which is approximately 1 May – 31 July. See the Bear Creek Birding Atlas website for more information.
2010 Sites & Leaders, Assistants
Participating in the BCA Project is a great way to learn more about the birds in our area. Beginners are welcome. Call the leader(s) of the sites you would like to visit to learn when they plan survey trips.
Chief Mountain Trail, Forest Road 192, Arapahoe Nat Forest
combined with: Squaw Mountain Trail, Arapahoe Nat Forest
Larry White 303/674-0535 llarrywhite@msn.com
Maxwell Falls, Arapahoe Nat Forest
Heather Johnson 303-670-0101 heather_johnson@fws.gov
Hicks Mountain, Denver Mountain Parks
Brad Andres 303-670-0101 heatherbrad1@yahoo.com
Dedisse Park, Denver Mountain Parks
Susan Harper 303-670-9377 sharper74@msn.com
Mount Evans State Wildlife Area (Elk Management) not open until June 15
No leader yet. Call Brad Andres, Mike Foster, or Kay Niyo
Mount Falcon Park, JeffCo Open Space
Sherman Wing sherman.margie@prodigy.net
Bear Creek Greenbelt East, City of Lakewood
Mike Foster 303/456-2647 mike1.foster@comcast.net
Kay Niyo 303-679-6646 kay@kayniyo.com
For the latest report of the effort, please:
Download Bear Creek Atlas 2008 Report
Bear Creek Watershed Bird Checklist
We maintain a checklist of birds that can be found within the Bear Creek Watershed during all seasons of the year. The Watershed, roughly, extends from C-470 in the east to Summit Lake in the west and I-70 in the north to US-285 in
the south.
This checklist is an update of the one produced by Kent Simon in 2000 and represents information from the Birds in the Balance and Bear Creek Breeding Bird Atlas projects, the Christmas Bird Count, and other incidental observations. It is organized by families and reflects the taxonomic opinion of the 50th Supplement of the American Ornithologists Union’s Checklist of North American Birds. The Bear Creek Watershed checklist is updated annually. For the most recent edition, please:
Download Bear Creek Watershed Bird 2010 Checklist
Christmas Bird Count 2009
Each year, Evergreen Audubon members spend a December day counting all the birds they can find in the Evergreen-Idaho Springs area. Sponsored by the National Audubon Society, the first Christmas Bird Count was held on December 25th, 1900 in Central Park, New York City, and has been going strong since that time. Information collected on Christmas Bird Counts is used to track the status of birds throughout North America and the Western Hemisphere.
We held the 41th Evergreen-Idaho Springs Christmas Bird Count on December 20, 2009, and it turned out to be a banner day! We set a record high count of 55 species and added three new species for the count – one Black-crowned Night-Heron in Genessee, 15 Bushtits in Idaho Springs West, and one Brown-headed Cowbird at a feeder in Kerr Gulch. With these additions, we have now tallied 99 species on the count since it began in 1969. For the full report, please:
Download Evergreen-Idaho Springs Christmas Bird Count 2009 Report