Upcoming Field Trips and Events

All field trips are free and open to the public. Anyone at any experience level is welcome. Bring snacks or lunch, water, binoculars, and/or spotting scopes. Changes to dates, meeting times, locations, and trip leaders are occa-sionally unavoidable. To register for any trip, please see posts at www.facebook.com/NoCoBirdAlliance, our Instagram page, or member emails sent out one to two weeks in advance of each trip. When announced, links will also be posted at lnk.bio/nocobirdalliance. Attendance may be limited. Bobcat Ridge surveys do not require registration. With comments or questions, contact Amy at fieldtrips@nocobirdalliance.org (new email address). Keep an eye on email and/or social media posts for updates or additional field trips.

September 2026

September 6 Saturday

Bird Banding and Survey at the High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC).

Leaders: Scott Rashid (bird banding at 9 a.m.), Sheila or Joseph Webber (survey walk starting at 10 a.m.). Scott shares his extensive knowledge of bird banding data and demonstrates ethical bird banding practices, and Sheila or Joseph leads a survey walk around Equalizer Reservoir, which generally lasts until about noon. This is a collaboration between the High Plains Environmental Center, Scott Rashid/Colorado Avian Research and Rehabilitation Institute, and the Northern Colorado Bird Alliance. Registration is through HPEC by donation at tinyurl.com/HPECbirdbanding. This event does not occur in January or July and may be cancelled due to weather or other circumstances. Anyone who is registered will be notified of cancellation.

September 10 Thursday

September Presentation: What are Talking Parrots Telling Us?

Parrots are one of the few groups of animals that can learn vocalizations throughout their lives. Why do they learn so well? What makes some birds better at vocal gymnastics than others? The Many Parrots Project is investigating these questions (and more) with the help of companion parrots and their humans. The project has data describing how over 1,200 individual parrots mimic human speech. Join Dr. Lauryn Benedict, to hear what these data have revealed about cognition and vocal learning across a range of parrot species.

September 13 Sunday

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 four-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 7:00 a.m. in the Bobcat Ridge parking lot. Signup not re-quired for Bobcat Ridge. The trip may be cancelled, rescheduled or relocated if trails are closed.

September 24, Thursday

River's Edge Natural Area

Leader: Amy Roush, canyonwren4@gmail.com or 512-993-0242. This is a great location for birds year-round, but at this time we might find some migrating warblers. The group will meet at the east parking lot at 8 a.m. and walk for about two hours on the natural surface trails around the ponds. Signup for River's Edge Natural Area will go out on Sep. 12.

October 2026

October 4 Saturday

Bird Banding and Survey at the High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC).

Leaders: Scott Rashid (bird banding at 9 a.m.), Sheila or Joseph Webber (survey walk starting at 10 a.m.). Scott shares his extensive knowledge of bird banding data and demonstrates ethical bird banding practices, and Sheila or Joseph leads a survey walk around Equalizer Reservoir, which generally lasts until about noon. This is a collaboration between the High Plains Environmental Center, Scott Rashid/Colorado Avian Research and Rehabilitation Institute, and the Northern Colorado Bird Alliance. Registration is through HPEC by donation at tinyurl.com/HPECbirdbanding. This event does not occur in January or July and may be cancelled due to weather or other circumstances. Anyone who is registered will be notified of cancellation.

October 11 Sunday

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 four-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 7:30 a.m. in the Bobcat Ridge parking lot. Signup not re-quired for Bobcat Ridge. The trip may be cancelled, rescheduled or relocated if trails are closed.

October 17 (tentative)

Mindful Birding Walk at High Plains Environmental Center.

Leaders: Barbara Patterson, bpatters1957@gmail.com, and Amy Roush, amy@suburbitat.org. We plan to start in the classroom and then head out on a walk; more details TBA.

November 2026

November 1 Saturday

Bird Banding and Survey at the High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC).

Leaders: Scott Rashid (bird banding at 9 a.m.), Sheila or Joseph Webber (survey walk starting at 10 a.m.). Scott shares his extensive knowledge of bird banding data and demonstrates ethical bird banding practices, and Sheila or Joseph leads a survey walk around Equalizer Reservoir, which generally lasts until about noon. This is a collaboration between the High Plains Environmental Center, Scott Rashid/Colorado Avian Research and Rehabilitation Institute, and the Northern Colorado Bird Alliance. Registration is through HPEC by donation at tinyurl.com/HPECbirdbanding. This event does not occur in January or July and may be cancelled due to weather or other circumstances. Anyone who is registered will be notified of cancellation.

November 8 Sunday

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 four-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 8:00 a.m. in the Bobcat Ridge parking lot. Signup not re-quired for Bobcat Ridge. The trip may be cancelled, rescheduled or relocated if trails are closed.

Past Events

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

July 2026

June TBD

Possible alpine birding trip Lory State Park

We will lead walks in collaboration with Lory State Park throughout the summer. The walks are free to attend, but a valid state park pass is required. Registration is done through the Lory State Park visitor center: 970.493.1623 or dnr_lory.park@state.co.us. Registration for the first Lory State Park summer program begins May 1 and will be Birding 101 on May 16 at 7:30 a.m. with Lori Pivonka, 970.222.9029. If you are fairly new to birding, this is a good program for you. At home, please download the free app, “Merlin Bird ID,” from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Lori will cover birding gear, guides, visual and auditory identification tips, and online resources. The program ends at approximately 9 a.m., but could go longer. More Lory State Park programs later in the summer may include Birding by Ear, What Birds Eat, Mindful Birding, and others. Keep an eye out for additional announcements from the Birding Alliance or Lory State Park channels.

June 2026

June 7 Sunday

Well Gulch Nature Trail Lory State Park

Leader: Sirena Brownlee, sirena.brownlee@hdrinc.com, 970-980-6184. Abundant wild plum thickets and other native shrubs provide habitat for a variety of migrant and resident foothills birds. This walk will focus on nesting birds. In previous years we have seen nesting Cedar Waxwings, Cordilleran Flycatcher, and Blue Grosbeak. Meet at the Eltuck Group Picnic Area at 7:30 a.m. for a one-mile moderate hike. State park passes are required. Bring water, snacks, and sunscreen. The trail is rough, uneven, and slippery in some sections. Signup will be sent out around the end of May.

May 2026

May 10 Sunday

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 four-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 6:30 a.m. in the Bobcat Ridge parking lot. Signup not re-quired for Bobcat Ridge. The trip may be cancelled, rescheduled or relocated if trails are closed.

May 14 Thursday

May Presentation: Barn Swallows and Humans: The Rise and Fall of Coexistence in a Changing World

The Barn Swallow is one of those species whose expansion tracks with human settlement patterns and now is one of the most widespread species of bird on our planet encompassing breeding populations on both hemispheres and all but two continents. Artefacts from ancient human civilizations portray an enduring story between humans and Barn Swallows. This longstanding shared history of humans and Barn Swallows living side-by-side in our built environment is changing again dramatically..

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

May 16 Saturday

Etluck Picnic Area, Lory State Park

Leaders: Lori Pivonka, 970-222-9029. Begins: 7.30am at the Etluck Picnic Area, Lory State Park. Ends: approximately 9am-ish; AND depending how far attendees would like to hike and how much time they have to stay longer the birding outing could last potentially until 11am. Bring: Binoculars AND your cell phone (AT HOME, please download the FREE app “Merlin Bird ID” from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) **Field trip limited to 15 participants.

Registration is done through the Lory SP visitor center, and begins May 1, 2026

To Register:
Call Visitor Center @ 970.493.1623 (8am-4pm, 7 days/week)
Email Visitor Center: dnr_lory.park@state.co.us

May 23 Saturday

Accessible Walk in Loveland

Leaders: Amy Roush, fieldtrips@nocobirdalliance.org, Frank Morgan, and Kellie Baer. Location TBD, current top options would be Centennial Park or Boyd Lake State Park. At either location, the path is a paved hike-and-bike trail, and we'd take a two-hour wander beginning at 9 a.m. at a slow walk. More details will be sent out with a signup link by early May.

May 26 Tuesday

Reservoir Ridge Natural Area

Leader: John Shenot, president@nocobirdalliance.org, 802-595-1669. This Fort Collins Natural Area is the most reliable location in Larimer County to find beautiful, bubbly Bobolinks. Reservoir Ridge also offers good habitat for grassland species such as Western Meadowlarks, Vesper and Grasshopper Sparrows, and Blue Grosbeaks. We'll start at 6 p.m. for an evening bird walk and cover about 2.2 miles on a flat, soft surface trail. Meet at the parking lot on Overland Trail. Signup for Reservoir Ridge will be released May 19.