Upcoming Field Trips and Events

All field trips are free (unless otherwise noted) and currently open to the public. All experience levels are welcome. Bring snacks or lunch, water, binoculars, and spotting scopes. Please understand that changes to dates, meeting times, locations, and trip leaders occasionally are unavoidable. One week before a scheduled trip, please visit the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NoCoBirdAlliance), or here at nocobirdalliance.org/calendar.html for a link to register. Registration will be posted one week before the scheduled trip. Attendance is limited to 12 individuals. For Field Trip Reports, see the Field Trips page.

March 2026

March 14

LGBTQIA+ Community and Allies at Arapaho Bend.

Leader: Kit Gray, kit@kitgrayillustration.com. Join us at 9 a.m. for a relaxed and social bird outing in southeast Fort Collins. We will keep our eyes and ears open for different types of waterfowl (Common Goldeneyes, American Wigeons, Buffleheads, and more), Belted Kingfishers, raptors, Song Sparrows, chickadees, and more. All levels are encouraged. Please bring binoculars if you have them. Meet at 9 a.m. at the parking lot located off of Harmony Road (at Harmony Transfer Center). We will meet in the NW section of the parking lot near the intersection of paved and dirt trails. This outing will be a slow-paced, 2-hour walk on a relatively flat trail. The signup for the LGBTQIA+ Community walk at Arapaho will be sent out in mid-February.

February 2026

February 8

Bobcat Ridge Survey

Leader: Denise Bretting, dbretting@swloveland.com or 970-402-1292. The survey looks at bird populations and helps local scientists better understand bird dynamics. The little more than 4-mile hike covers moderate to flat terrain with some steep sections. No registration required and there is no participation limit, but pleaseemail or text Denise that you plan to attend. Meet at 7:30a.m. in Bobcat Ridge parking lot. Signup not required. The trip may be cancelled, re-scheduled or relocated if trails are closed.

February 12

February Presentation: Rodenticides and Colorado

This talk examines how rodenticide poisoning reaches far beyond its intended targets and why Colorado is now considering legislation to prohibit the most dangerous poisons.

Rodenticides bio-accumulate in carnivores that consume poisoned rodents, affecting more than 25 wildlife species including hawks, owls, foxes, bobcats, coyotes, and mountain lions. These poisons can cause internal bleeding, immune suppression, increased vulnerability to diseases like mange, and widespread mortality in non-target wildlife.

To learn more about this informative talk, please visit the event page:

February 15

Raptor Alley

Leader: Nolan Bunting, nolanbunting@hotmail.com or 907-299-4625. A trip out to one of the most amazing ecosystems on planet earth. The Pawnee National Grasslands during the winter is home to a large variety of birds, including Lapland Longspurs, Rough-legged Hawks, and Northern Shrikes. The group will meet in Nunn at 8 a.m. to carpool; the trip will likely run until 2 to 3 p.m. Please pack a lunch and be prepared for some driving and birding. Signup for Raptor Alley will be released on Sunday, February 1.

February 21

Riverbend Ponds

Leader: Sheila Webber, 13sheilaw@gmail.com. Meet at 8 a.m. in the southern parking lot along Prospect for a walk of about two hours along the smooth, but unpaved path around the ponds. There are many ponds and a wide variety of wildlife. Possible sightings include ducks, geese, raptors, sparrows, and Townsend’s Solitaire.

February 28

Sandhill Cranes.

(possible addition of Sunday, March 1), Sandhill Cranes. Leader: Lori Pivonka, lori.pivonka@gmail.com. Attendees will gather at 7:15 at the Jax Farm & Ranch in northern Fort Collins (https://maps.app.goo.gl/44L1wZz2Pe3cEJnd9) to carpool north, where they will try to find migrating Sandhill Cranes. The trip will involve driving along agricultural fields to spot the cranes and will run from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. Bring binoculars, a camera, and/or a scope if you have one. Lori will also have a scope. Expect to learn about cranes and their behavior, and possibly get to watch their mating dance displays! If you attended this trip in 2025, please consider attending in alternating years to give others the chance at this experience. Signup for the Sandhill Crane trip will be sent out on February 14. If the trip on Saturday fills, we may announce an additional signup for a Sunday trip.

January 2026

Jan 1

Christmas Bird Count - Loveland

Compiler: Denise Bretting, dbretting@swloveland.com or 970-402-1292. The Loveland CBC circle is a birdy combination of lower foothills, higher Great Plains, managed residential landscapes and gardens, a river corridor, and plenty of lakes and reservoirs. Bird highlights are gulls, raptors, waterfowl, and sometimes a small mountain owl. Con-tact Denise for an assignment.

TBD

Christmas Bird Count - Rawhide Energy Station

Compiler: Joshua Smith, joshua1vs89@icloud.com. We will meet at the visitors overlook/parking lot outside the Rawhide Power Station at 7 a.m. to get area assignments and to break into groups. If you are interested in owling before this, contact me via email or text and we will work out a plan. Participants are invited to meet for a post-count tally and dinner at 5 p.m. at Sol de Jalisco Mexican restaurant in Wellington. I must provide the power plant with a list of participants' names in advance of the count so they can provide us special access to the reservoir; therefore, it is critically important to register early. Bring layers of warm clothes, warm hat, gloves, scope, binoculars, camera, water, a packed lunch, and a desire to see some fantastic waterfowl!

January 8

January Presentation: The State of the Butterflies in the United States: A Colorado Viewpoint

Declines in insect abundance are increasingly being documented in recent years; however, additional insights about the geographic scopes and implications for specific groups and species is greatly needed. Butterflies have some of the most geographically widespread data available in the United States due to long-term monitoring programs and com-munity science efforts across the country. This talk will summarize a study focusing on the Mountain-Prairie region and provide illustrative examples of butterflies occurring in Colorado. Additionally, we'll hear how these findings can reinforce the importance of existing conservation efforts and what we all can do to take action.

To learn more about this informative talk, please visit the event page:

January 11

Bobcat Ridge Survey

Leader: Denise Bretting, dbretting@swloveland.com or 970-402-1292. The survey looks at bird populations and helps local scientists better understand bird dynamics. The little more than 4-mile hike covers moderate to flat terrain with some steep sections. No registration required and there is no participation limit, but please email or text Denise that you plan to attend. Meet at 8a.m. in Bobcat Ridge parking lot. The trip may be cancelled, rescheduled, or relocated if trails are closed.

January 17

Fossil Creek Reservoir

Leader: Sirena Brownlee, sirena.brownlee@hdrinc.com. This reservoir can attract a large variety of water birds in winter and is a great place for birders of all ages and abilities to practice identifying duck species. Early migrating passerines are also possible. Bring a spotting scope if you have one, but we'll have at least one to share. The trail includes a paved section and a section surfaced with loose pea gravel that may shift underfoot. Meet in the parking lot at 9 a.m.

January 25

Indoor Birding at High Plains Environmental Center

Leader: Amy Roush, amy@suburbitat.org. Join Amy to watch birds from inside the building at the High Plains Envi-ronmental Center (HPEC). If you feel stuck indoors by the winter weather, come be stuck indoors in a spot where we can watch birds together! This will be a laid-back oppor-tunity to be with other birders during a lull in our field trip offerings and look at anything we can see from in-side the classroom of the main building.

Contact Amy at ncbafieldtrips@gmail.com to share or express interest in a January planning meeting for 2026 field trips.

Past Events

The past three months of events are listed here. For information on earlier events, please consult that month's Ptarmingan.

December 2025

December 11

Our Year-End Extravaganza!

We are combining our annual fundraiser with our annual potluck and member slideshow. Come early (6:30) for a little holiday shopping for gently used books/art/etc. Local bird guide Nick Komar will be available to sell signed copies of his new book, “The Biggest Year in American Birding: A Quest to Find 900 Birds in the USA and Its Territories”

To learn more about our fun annual potluck, please visit the event page:

December 14

Christmas Bird Count - Nunn

Compiler: Cliff Hendrick, cliff.hendrick@gmail.com (Robert Beauchamp is travel-ing this year). The Nunn CBC covers the western por-tion of the Pawnee National Grasslands, just north of Nunn, Colorado. Beginning in 1966, this count circle has been active for nearly 60 years. Join us for a day birding the short-grass prairie. For more information or to register, contact Cliff.

December 14

Bobcat Ridge Survey

Leader: Denise Bretting, dbretting@swloveland.com or 970-402-1292. The survey looks at bird populations and helps local scientists better understand bird dynamics. The little more than 4-mile hike covers moderate to flat terrain with some steep sections. No registration required and there is no participation limit, but please email or text Denise that you plan to attend. Meet at 8a.m. in Bobcat Ridge parking lot.

December 20

Christmas Bird Count - Fort Collins

Compiler: Thomas Hall, redbear44@msn.com. To participate in Fort Collins, please send address and phone along with your preference for hiking or car areas to Tom Hall. The Fort Collins CBC typically gets 90-plus species with a goal of 100. Each Area (A-Q) will have a Team Leader. You can participate as much as you like, but you will be assigned to a Team Leader for a given area and coordinate with them. The count starts at 7 to7:30 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 20, though some groups may go out owling earlier. The count will conclude about 5 p.m. Team leaders compile information for an area and must have numbers by the end of the day for the compilation. We are going to try to do a hybrid dinner/Zoom call for compilation. The CBC final tally and dinner will be held from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the conference room of the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, 230 Cherry Street, Suite 150, Fort Collins. It is just west of the Ft. Collins Museum of Discovery.

December 27

Christmas Bird Count - Greeley

Compiler: Paul Light-sey, plightse@info2000.net. We organize groups before-hand (via email) and assign sections of the count area. Local section leads arrange with their team where to meet to conduct the count. Information on the tally rally can be obtained from the compiler when you are assigned to a count group.

November 2025

November 9

Bobcat Ridge Survey

Leader: Denise Bretting, dbretting@swloveland.com or 970-402-1292. The survey looks at bird populations and helps local scientists better understand bird dynamics. The little more than 4-mile hike covers moderate to flat terrain with some steep sections. No registration re-quired and there is no participation limit, but please email or text Denise that you plan to attend. Meet at 8a.m. in Bobcat Ridge parking lot.

November 15 or 16

LLGBTQIA+ and Allies

Leader: Kit Gray,kit@kitgrayillustration.com. Join us for a friendly and social bird outing. Birders of all levels are wel-come. More info to be shared via email and social media.

TBD in November

Collaboration with Wilderness Society's Arctic Defense Campaign.

Join us to learn more about our local winter birds who rely on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the summer! More info will be shared via email and social media.

October 2025

Thursday, October 9

The Wisdom of the Sierra Madre: Apache, Leopold, and the Land Ethic

Aldo Leopold once wrote, “for the first time in my life I was seeing land in perfect aboriginal health.” How could Leopold, a land doctor, create the land ethic if he had not heretofore seen land as it looked in “perfect” health. Join NCBA as we host Dr. Richard Knight as he explains the intersection of land use and land health in the American West.

To learn more about this presentaion, please visit the event page:

October 25

Grandview Cemetary

Leader: Nolan Bunting bunting@rams.colostate.edu or 907-299-4625, and Dave Leatherman, daleatherman@msn.com. Prepare for a spooky trip just before dusk at the Grandview Cemetery. The trip will be 1.5 hours and will include some mild walking through one of Fort Collins' hidden birding locations. We may see owls, Brown Creepers, and perhaps stumble upon a murder of crows. Additionally, there will be stories about some of the well-known ghosts and hauntings that are said to happen in the cemetery. The trip will begin at 5 p.m. and will conclude at dusk. Meet at the Mountain Ave entrance near City Park. Please bring a headlamp and flashlight. Registration will be increased to 15 for this trip. Additional cemetery trips may be added if demand is high.

TBD in October

Accessible Field Trip.

Contact: Amy Roush, canyonwren4@gmail.com or 512-993-0242. This field trip will be on a paved hike and bike path. More detail will be provided with the signup. Past locations have included Boyd Lake Trail at Boyd Lake State Park and the Poudre River Trail from Lee Martinez Park.

September 2025

Thursday, September 11

Caring and Triage of Wild Birds

As birdwatchers, we love helping birds be it though supporting conservation or educating others. On some occasions however, we become more than just stewards and become caretakers for the birds with which we come in contact. We all have stories of coming across injured birds, be it from a cat bite, window strike, or nest falling out of the tree. In these moments our adrenaline takes over. We want and wish to do everything we can to help the injured animal and give it the best shot at being released. This presentation is to be a tool to help you with that process. Dr. Bunting will discuss the common injuries, triage and transportation, personal protective equipment, and other ways to support the health and safety of local birds.

To learn more about this presentaion, please visit the event page:

September 14

Bobcat Ridge Survey

Leader: Denise Bretting, dbretting@swloveland.com or 970-402-1292. The survey looks at bird populations and helps local scientists better understand bird dynamics. The little more than 4-mile hike covers moderate to flat terrain with some steep sections. No registration re-quired and there is no participation limit, but pleaseemail or text Denise that you plan to attend. Meet at 7a.m. in Bobcat Ridge parking lot.

Signup not required. The trip may be cancelled, re-scheduled or relocated if trails are closed.