Date: 12/23/25 8:07 am From: Ted Floyd <tedfloyd73...> Subject: Re: [cobirds] CBC Colorado Christmas wish list
This is an interesting and important conversation. I totally get Brandon's
concern about prospective new CBCs potentially cannibalizing existing ones.
But it's also a fun parlor game to brainstorm about where new CBCs might be
located; maybe that was part of Diana's point? And then there's the bigger
and weightier problem of the disconnect with basically flatline
participation in Colo. CBCs in the face of surging interest in birding. Why
is that?
Here's my take. The CBC is the grandest of Birding traditions. I actually
have a piece on that in the Dec. 2025 *Birding*. Anyhow, I think this means
that recruitment and participation rely, perhaps to a large extent, on
traditional "old media," as they say. Not to put too fine a point on it,
but: COBirds. Also: coverage in local/regional newspapers and television.
Those outlets are not where most people under the age of 50 get their
information anymore. So there's that. I think it's incumbent on "us" (peeps
born before 1975) to go to where the "kids" (b. after 1975) are.
The other thing is, if I may be so bold, something of a problem with
presenting all of this with, hm, a bit more éclat and verve—shall we
say?—than some of us are accustomed to. Joey Kellner's posts are exemplary
in that regard. I've never done his Denver CBC with him, but it's not for
lack of trying on Joey's part. One gets the impression, from Joey's COBirds
posts, that the Denver CBC is tremendous good fun. And it sounds like they
have strong participation to back that up.
So: Go to where the kids are; keep it fun. Folks, this isn't that hard.
Here are a few pics from the CBC season in the Front Range metro region
thus far:
[image: CBC 01.jpg]*Upperclasspersons at Boulder High School scouting for
the Boulder CBC, Boulder Co., Dec. 11, the first day of count week. We're
looking at an American Dipper roost in this pic from the Boulder Creek
path. We'd staked out two Wood Ducks a moment earlier, and we'd later go
looking for the famous warbler flock along the creek.*
[image: CBC 02.jpg]*My crew on the Boulder CBC, Boulder Co., Dec. 14. We'd
just seen a small troupe of Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays, scarce in Boulder.
Great birders, all of them, but they don't, for the most part, get their
birding news at COBirds, in the Boulder Daily Camera, or on Channel 7. I'm
just saying.*
[image: CBC 03.jpg]
*Me and a birding companion on the Fountain Creek CBC, El Paso Co., Dec.
17. We're celebrating our discovery of an American Pipit, the only one seen
on that count, I believe. I'm sure Diana will correct that if I'm wrong.😁*
[image: CBC 04.jpg]*My crew on the Broomfield CBC, multiple Colo. cos.,
Dec. 21. About an hour earlier, we saw the first bird—ever!—on the
first-ever Broomfield CBC. It was a Great Horned Owl.*
The best thing of all is: We're not nearly done with the 2025–2026 season!
We're not even halfway there yet. There's plenty of time to get out there
and find new birders for your sector. And check this out: Four years from
now, or forty years from now, they'll be the sector leader or even the
compiler.
Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder Co.
--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to <cobirds...>
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate.
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/membership/ ---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+<unsubscribe...>
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGk944d9ELSLDoqvK05Q6%3DzEnzr_399iM%<3D16R_a3uG2FbB3frw...>
