Date: 9/11/26 6:44 am From: Virginia Holman <virginiaholmanwrites...> Subject: [cobirds] Economic impact of birding in Colorado
Hi folks,
I’m looking for Colorado-specific and birding-specific economic impact
info.
USFWS has some national birdwatching data with a few states tossed in but
not Co.
Most data I’m coming across is aggregated with non-consumptive wildlife
watching at best.
Is anyone aware of birding-specific economic impact studies or reports in
Colorado?
Thanks,
Virginia
Sent from my phone. Please be kind regarding typos, spelling, punctuation
etc
On Fri, Sep 11, 2026 at 7:25 AM <cobirds...> wrote:
> <cobirds...>
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> <https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email#!forum/cobirds/topics> >
> - Historical Front Range abundance of Black-chinned Hummingbird and
> Blue Jay <#m_2591826660976768264_group_thread_0> - 3 Updates
> - Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (10 Sep 2026) 20 Raptors
> <#m_2591826660976768264_group_thread_1> - 1 Update
> - Bird Conservancy of the Rockies - Barr Lake Banding Report, 9/10/26
> <#m_2591826660976768264_group_thread_2> - 1 Update
> - Chico Basin Ranch Banding Station Report-Bird Conservancy of the
> Rockies-September 10, 2026 <#m_2591826660976768264_group_thread_3> - 1
> Update
> - Nashville Warbler - SW Denver <#m_2591826660976768264_group_thread_4>
> - 1 Update
>
> Historical Front Range abundance of Black-chinned Hummingbird and Blue Jay
> <http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds/t/d2e096f26940754?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email> > Margaret Smith <margaretalicesmith...>: Sep 10 12:27PM -0600
>
> I spent a great deal of time south of (and above) Nederland at the
> University of Colorado Radio Astronomy Observatory during the spring,
> summer, and fall of 1973, monitoring solar activity for the protection of
> the Sky Lab astronauts. Black-chinned Hummingbirds were abundant at the RAO
> feeder (about half as common as Broad-tails), and obviously nesting in the
> proximity. Now, they are the most common daily visitors to my Boulder
> feeder, spring through fall, and obviously not migrants.
>
> However, Bailey and Niedrach (1965) lists them as “resident in southwest
> and stragglers to the northward and east.” Andrews and Righter (1992) lists
> them as “casual in northeastern foothills (five records).”
>
> I grew up in Denver (50s & 60s) and have lived in Boulder since 1970. I
> didn’t become a birdwatcher till the early 70s, but previously kept track
> of what I saw. I saw my first Blue Jay in north Boulder in 1978. Now, they
> are the most common species at my backyard feeder.
>
> Bailey and Niedrach (1965) lists the first Denver Area record as 1937 and
> documents finding several subsequently. The Spring Count of 1962 shows
> “Boulder 1”. The map in Andrews and Righter (1992) shows gray (uncommon to
> fairly common) for them except in the eastern Platte Valley, and lists the
> first breeding record in Pueblo County in 1970.
>
> Can the community please comment on time of arrival of abundance for these
> two species?
>
> -- Margaret Smith
> Paula Hansley <plhansley...>: Sep 10 01:22PM -0600
>
> Margaret and all,
>
> The eastern Blue Jay arrived in the Denver-Boulder area in the early 1960s
> when I was at CU. During the first few years, the Blue Jay hybridized with
> the Steller’s Jay! The hybrids had Steller’s Jay heads and Blue Jay tails.
> The hybrid birds had strange calls as you might expect. There were some
> backcrosses, but I don’t remember what the birds looked like.
>
> I don’t recall anything about the Black-chinned Hummingbird.
>
> Note: I saw my first Eurasian Collared-Dove in Colorado in 1995.
>
> Paula Hansley
> Louisville
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 10, 2026 at 12:27 PM Margaret Smith <
> Michele Bloom <mbloom...>: Sep 10 08:12PM -0700
>
> Margaret, I live at WindCrest, SW of Denver (Highlands Ranch), near
> Chatfield Reservoir. We've had Black-chinned Hummingbirds in recent years
> at our feeders but not in abundance.I saw them at my feeder early in the
> summer. I also had occasional Black-chins at my home feeders in Centennial
> before moving here. At WindCrest we have many native plants in our gardens
> ,and they predictabley come to the Arizona Hummingbird (Zaucheneria)
> plants
> in our pollinator garden, This summer I had a remarkable experience of
> finding a Black-chinned nest at eye level -- 4-feet away on a pathway into
> my building. The mother appeared and I watched her sitting on the nest
> with
> two little fluff balls of grey. The nest was beautifully constructed of
> dry
> grasses and had a woven rim; it looked like intricately woven spider webs
> for reinforcement. I checked on the nest twice every day for a couple of
> weeks. Eventually one baby fledged, leaving a smaller one behind. The
> mother was not seen for a week or so, but the baby continued to grow.
> After
> a windstorm, I saw him on the rocks below his torn nest. He was then seen
> back in the partial nest for a few days. And the next time, I saw him on a
> branch below, clinging to a small limb. I think the mother must have been
> watching him and feeding him all along. Shortly after, I saw him in the
> center of the shrub and she was there feeding him. Both were gone the next
> time I passed by. A few days later I passed some flowering plants quite a
> distance from the nest and saw a mother and juvenile feeding there. I like
> to think it was the two of them, preparing to migrate. It ws a happy
> experience. A few weeks ago, our maintenance staff told me that multiple
> hummingbirds were being seen near a garage opening. I checked there and
> saw
> three Black-chinned Hummingbirds in small trees out side the garage. Later
> they reported that the birds were nesting in the garage. In August!
>
> Michele Bloom
>
> On Thursday, September 10, 2026 at 12:27:11 PM UTC-6 Margaret Smith wrote:
>
> Back to top <#m_2591826660976768264_digest_top>
> Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (10 Sep 2026) 20 Raptors
> <http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds/t/615a13a3da733e27?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email> > <reports...>: Sep 11 02:38AM
>
> Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park
> Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA
>
> To see hourly weather data and details of migrant raptors, look up this
> watch at hawkcount.org.
>
> This is a new raptor migration site identified and designated in
> mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch site, and the
> second hawk watch in Colorado.
>
> To get to the site which is along Lookout Mountain Rd. in Golden, enter
> either Windy Saddle Park or Mount Zion into Google Maps on your favorite
> navigation app, or enter the coordinates 39.7368,-105.2454. From the
> parking lot ascend the stone steps to the watch site.
> EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO THE HAWK WATCH TO ENJOY THE SPECTACLE OF RAPTOR
> MIGRATION, EVEN IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IDENTIFYING RAPTORS IN FLIGHT. We
> will help you to learn Raptor ID if you are interested.
> See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk >
> Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 10, 2026
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Species Day's Count Month Total Season Total
> ------------------ ----------- -------------- --------------
> Black Vulture 0 0 0
> Turkey Vulture 0 26 131
> Osprey 0 10 12
> Bald Eagle 1 1 2
> Northern Harrier 0 1 2
> Sharp-shinned Hawk 0 2 5
> Cooper's Hawk 4 23 37
> American Goshawk 0 0 0
> Broad-winged Hawk 0 0 0
> Red-tailed Hawk 10 99 256
> Rough-legged Hawk 0 0 0
> Swainson's Hawk 0 63 78
> Ferruginous Hawk 0 1 1
> Golden Eagle 0 1 2
> American Kestrel 4 29 49
> Merlin 0 0 0
> Peregrine Falcon 0 0 1
> Prairie Falcon 0 0 1
> Mississippi Kite 0 0 0
> Unknown Accipitrine 1 1 1
> Unknown Buteo 0 0 1
> Unknown Falcon 0 0 0
> Unknown Eagle 0 0 0
> Unknown Raptor 0 0 1
>
> Total: 20 257 580
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Observation start time: 08:15:00
> Observation end time: 12:00:00
> Total observation time: 3.75 hours
>
> Official Counter: Liza Antony
>
> Observers:
>
> Visitors:
> A pair from Wisconsin were interested in what I was doing. I explained
> briefly about fall migration of raptors.
>
>
> Weather:
> Wildfire smoke over Denver cleared by noon DST. Winds were variable and
> light for the first 2 hours and then were from ESE. Unusually there wee
> less than 5% cloud cover to the far SE. The air was quite grainy and the
> raptors looked blurry with binos and the spotting scope.
>
> Raptor Observations:
> The first raptor was a RT at 9.57 DST
> Most of the raptors were seen over Lookout mountain or the gap between
> Lookout mtn. and Green mtn.
>
> Non-migrant raptors: TV3; RT 4; CH 1
>
> Non-raptor Observations:
> The first paraglider took of at 11 AM DST
> Subsequently I saw 4 other paragliders.
> Other birds seen: STJA2, SPTO1,WTSW 4.CORA 4, BGGN 2
>
> Predictions:
> Mostly sunny with a high near 89F,
> Light west winds changing to east winds by 11AM
> ========================================================================
> Report submitted by Liza Antony (<liza.antony15...>)
>
>
> More site information at hawkcount.org:
> https://hawkcount.org/siteinfo.php?rsite=968 >
>
> This is an automated email report from hawkcount.org. If you do not wish
> to receive these reports,
> please send email to <unsubscribe...> to unsubscribe.
> Back to top <#m_2591826660976768264_digest_top>
> Bird Conservancy of the Rockies - Barr Lake Banding Report, 9/10/26
> <http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds/t/d164c21a6397ba9d?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email> > Meredith McBurney <Meredith.McBurney...>: Sep 10 04:25PM
> -0700
>
> Today brought the biggest change in temperature this season, from the
> start
> of the day at 52 degrees to 82 five hours later when we closed. A
> relatively slow day for what so far has been a very busy season for us,
> with only 41 birds banded:
>
> Hammond's Flycatcher 1
> Red-breasted Nuthatch 3
> Rock Wren 1
> Northern House Wren 2
> Gray Catbird 2
> Orange-crowned Warbler 1
> Townsend's Warbler 1
> MacGillivray's Warbler 1
> Common Yellowthroat 1
> Wilson's Warbler 23
> Green-tailed Towhee 2
> Song Sparrow 2
> Dark-eyed Junco, Oregon 1
>
> We are open Tuesday through Sunday, weather permitting, through October
> 23. Most weekday mornings there is a visitor session from 7:30 to 8:30,
> and on the weekends there are sessions at 8, 9 and 10 a.m. Reservations
> are needed; here
> <
> https://campscui.active.com/orgs/BirdConservancyoftheRockies?e4q=b2bfe837-0b71-4b75-925b-f36b536eb857&e4p=4c592869-969a-4f02-9976-6f90b39e161c&e4ts=1787596706&e4c=active&e4e=snlvcmpscui00001load&e4rt=Safetynet&e4h=439587f8d42cbb095738a1671f169c4b&newcui=true> > is
> the link. Please join us......It is a great year to visit Barr!
>
> Meredith McBurney
> Bander, Barr Lake Station
> Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
> Back to top <#m_2591826660976768264_digest_top>
> Chico Basin Ranch Banding Station Report-Bird Conservancy of the
> Rockies-September 10, 2026
> <http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds/t/95c4848926eb0528?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email> > Chicobander <jshieldcastle...>: Sep 10 02:39PM -0700
>
> A strange day for bird activity today with some early movement and then
> around 8:30 - 10AM, it was very quiet. We did squeak out 20 bird species
> for the day with Pine Sisken being first of the season. Yesterday after
> photo confirmation, we did catch a Blue-headed Vireo.
> *53 New Banded Birds*
> Wilson's Warbler- 21
> MacGillivray's Warbler- 1
> Orange-crowned Warbler- 1
> Townsend's Warbler- 1
> Unknown Yellow-rumped Warbler- 1( Once again a bird having both Myrtle and
> Audubon's Characteristics)
> Willow Flycatcher- 1
> Dusky Flycatcher- 1
> Western Wood-pewee- 4
> Olive-sided Flycatcher- 1
> Warbling Vireo- 1 (taking measurements it was in the overlap of Western
> and
> eastern subspecies)
> Cassin's Vireo- 1
> Pine Siskin- 2
> Lincoln's Sparrow- 1
> Green-tailed Towhee- 2
> House Finch- 1
> Western Tanager- 1
> Yellow-breasted Chat- 3
> Swainson's Thrush- 1
> Gray Catbird- 2
>
> *No Recaptures*
>
> The banding station will be open tomorrow through Saturday from sunrise
> until @ 11:30 AM. Stop by and share your sightings with us. We would love
> to hear them.
> If interested in visiting the banding station, please register online at
> www.aikenaudubon.com
>
> Have a good day,
>
> Julie Shieldcastle, Bander
> Chico Basin Ranch
> Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
> Back to top <#m_2591826660976768264_digest_top>
> Nashville Warbler - SW Denver
> <http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds/t/85818c1cb522283b?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email> > Doug Ward <dougward...>: Sep 10 08:50AM -0700
>
> Back in town (Athmar Park neighborhood, SW Denver Co.) for a brief visit
> and
> have been lucky to have added two (2) new Yard Birds so far! Best being an
> immature/female NASHVILLE WARBLER this morning (Thurs., 10 Sept.'26). In
> addition, there is at least one (1) WOODHOUSE'S SCRUB-JAY hanging out that
> has apparently been here since late August. The warbler was repeated by
> another birder down the street (600 block of south Alcott), and the jay has
> been pretty vocal, so might be worth a check. Please let me know separately
> if you'd like more information.
>
>
>
> Good Birding,
>
> Doug
>
> Currently SW Denver
> Back to top <#m_2591826660976768264_digest_top>
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