North Star Birding Series

This outing will focus on birding by ear during prime breeding season when singing is at its peak. Highlight species at this location include:  Great Blue Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, various waterfowl, Yellow Warbler, Lincoln’s and Song Sparrows, Tree and Violet-green Swallows, woodpeckers, and more.

This class requires advance registration to ensure appropriate planning for the field experience. 

This class meets at the South Gate parking lot, 2.1 miles from the intersection of Main/Hwy 82 and Original Street (paraglider’s parking lot). There are no restroom facilities at this location)

Special access to the south side of the river takes this class into prime bird habitats following the peak of summer breeding season when many fledglings are on the wing and learning the ropes of independent life.  Aspen groves provide habitat for wrens, flycatchers, swallows, and woodpeckers. Willow thickets and riparian cottonwoods yield warblers, vireos, and sapsuckers. Soras, Virginia Rails, waterfowl, and herons may be found in wetlands and pockets of open water. This special area is truly a birding hotspot, managed to foster the wildlife that depend on these habitats for breeding and migration, and for limited passive human activities that foster an appreciation for nature. Join us for this unique opportunity to learn about the birds of North Star Nature Preserve!

This class requires advance registration to ensure appropriate planning for the field experience. 

This class meets at the Main North Star parking lot, 1.65 miles from the intersection of Main/Hwy 82 and Original Street (wildlife viewing platform parking lot). There are no restroom facilities at this location.

Dispersing juvenile birds and early migrants are on the move by mid-August. This special birding outing will focus on learning about bird migration patterns in the Roaring Fork Valley, the importance of protected habitats for their resting and refueling needs, and how bird migration connects us to countries, continents, and hemispheres as birds begin the sensational phenomenon of fall migration. We will discuss the many environmental factors, internal cues, and physical adaptations birds use as they migrate between breeding and wintering ranges.

This class requires advance registration to ensure appropriate planning for the field experience. 

This class meets at the South Gate parking lot, 2.1 miles from the intersection of Main/Hwy 82 and Original Street (paraglider’s parking lot). There are no restroom facilities at this location.

Join us for this birding outing that will focus on local falls birds in the quiet, expansive setting of North Star where the river and wetlands make this location especially important for migration activities.  

This class requires advance registration to ensure appropriate planning for the field experience. 

This class meets at the Main North Star parking lot, 1.65 miles from the intersection of Main/Hwy 82 and Original Street (wildlife viewing platform parking lot). There are no restroom facilities at this location.