Tag: birdwatching
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Pikes Pick: Two brothers travel U.S. in search of birds in popular documentary
This one’s for the bird lovers. The 2025 documentary “Listers: A Glimpse into Extreme Birdwatching” follows brothers Owen and Quentin Reiser as they attempt a Big Year. That’s the birding term for trying to observe as many species of birds as possible in a year. The brothers travel the U.S., valiantly searching for birds while…
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Pikes Pick: Return of mountain plovers sparks festival in eastern Colorado
The mountain plovers are back and ready to be feted. The medium-sized shorebird likes to nest in the short grass prairie and fallow fields of Colorado’s Eastern Plains. They return every year in early April, which sparked the annual Mountain Plover Festival. This year’s event will run April 24-25 in Karval and surrounding areas, including…
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Plumbeous vireo rises to the occasional sighting in Teller | Words on Birds
Most migrating bird species in Teller County are insect eaters that leave in the winter when their primary food source is unavailable. Vireos return to our area in early May when more insects are emerging. The plumbeous vireo prefers to hang out in forests and woodlands below 8000 feet, so while some squeak into the…
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Killdeer an oddly yet appropriately named shorebird | Words on Birds
Killdeer seems a rather strange name for a bird, but it’s quite appropriate for this species of shorebird. When alarmed they belt out a piercing call that sounds like “kill-deer! kill-deer!,” especially if they have a nest nearby. Besides their patented “killdeer” call, they will also emit short sharp notes and twittery calls. Killdeer are…
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Bird Call: Colorado bird, nature group to host award-winning, humorous bird cartoonist
A is for adorbler. One can detect the presence of an adorbler by noticing when fellow birdwatchers coo, “Oh, hello, little buddy,” and “Well, look at you,” or emit soft squeals of delight. A is also for American robin, defined as a device that converts worms into100-decibel songs outside your bedroom at 4 a.m. Those are…
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Bird Call: Just who was that masked bird?
It was the pick me up I didn’t know I needed. A New Bird. (Capitalization on purpose.) I’m not sure why, but spotting a species I’ve never encountered is like manna from the universe. And if I can figure out how to identify it? That’s a slice of ecstasy cake right there. In the last…
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Bird Call: Popular Colorado Springs-area festival takes advantage of spring migration
The third week in May is to bird lovers what fall is to pumpkin spice fanatics. Spring migration is upon us. What birdie will show up this year? Who will be blown off-course and spend a few days recuperating in the Pikes Peak region? Nobody knows until a tiny, yellow-rumped warbler is spotted picking through…
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Bird Call: Colorado Springs raptor expert to speak about owls at Colorado bird festival
An unusual interaction with a bird is often one way a bird lover is born. For Debbie Barnes- Shankster, it was the black-capped chickadee that alighted on her hand when she was 6 to steal seeds a farmer had poured into her open paw. “I was immediately charmed,” she said. “I’ve loved chickadees since then.”…
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Pikes Pick: November birding adventure
Just because it’s fall doesn’t mean all the birds have headed to warmer climes. Aiken Audubon Society will offer Birds & Brews, a 3-mile hike at Stratton Open Space beginning at noon Sunday, followed by beers at Happy Taps at 3 p.m. Jessica Miller will lead bird lovers across foothills, meadows and through pine oak…
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Bird Call: New club for bird lovers in Colorado Springs
By this time next year, Jessica Miller hopes her group of bird watchers have become full-fledged birders. The Fountain Creek Nature Center Interpretive Program coordinator first offered “Birding 101” at the nature center, which crammed a bunch of information into two classes and two field trips. That was a bit overwhelming for people, she decided,…