On Friday, May 9, 2025 ten early-rising Evergreen Audubon Members met at 6:45 am at Denver Audubon’s Chatfield Nature Center to visit the spring banding station run jointly by Denver Audubon and Bird Conservancy of the Rockies (BCR). This banding station operates every spring to track northward bird migration. Visits provide the opportunity to observe our spring migrants up close and to learn more about how monitoring them seasonally contributes to our understanding of bird populations and distribution. Meredith McBurney, the lead Bander for BCR, provides detailed explanations how birds are banded, what data are collected, and how the data are used.
As it happened, banding captures had been unusually low in the days prior to our visit, but there was an uptick in numbers and species the morning we were there. The birds are captured in a series of mist nets set near the ponds and in brushy areas favored by the birds. The nets are monitored by Bird Conservancy team members every 20-30 minutes and our group was invited to walk the nets to observe how the birds are very carefully removed from the nets, placed in soft, cloth pouches, and taken to the banding station. At the banding station, the birds are measured, weighed, banded and released. The goal is always to minimize stress to the birds.
While we watched, Meridith banded a Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern House Wren, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-Breasted Chat, Grey Catbird, Song Sparrow, and White-crowned Sparrow – Gambel’s race – the distinctions of which were clearly explained. Several Yellow Warblers were “recaptures” meaning that they were already banded. Looking back through the records, Meridith was able to tell us when and where they were originally banded which was fascinating in itself.
One of the best parts of the morning was that almost all of us got to hold and release a captured bird. Their five- to twenty-gram bodies are impossibly light in the hand, and their blast off is unforgettable.
After visiting the banding station, we walked the nearby trails through the shrub, meadow, and riparian habitats along the South Platte River. One particular observation stood out: a sub adult Bald Eagle, whose plumage was approaching the striking colors of an adult, but that were not quite there. As adult and school groups started arriving at the Nature Center, the morning warmed up, and the birding slowed down, we ended a very successful and exciting morning.
Banding Station visits are very popular. Spring banding at the Chatfield Banding Station closes at the end of May, and most if not all opportunities to visit, available through the Denver Audubon website, are likely spoken for. However, keep an eye out for announcements detailing future visits to the Barr Lake banding station this fall, and to Chatfield Banding Station again in May 2026.
Spring migration is in full swing and birding opportunities still abound. Check the Evergreen Audubon Calendar of Events for future bird walks, but regardless, get out there and see all the birds, flowers, trees, and other flora and fauna our watershed and state provide!
Ed Furlong
Birds Observed to, from, and at the Chatfield Banding Station at Chatfield State Park–Audubon Center & Trails, May 9, 2025
12 Canada Goose
8 Mallard
1 Broad-tailed Hummingbird
6 Double-crested Cormorant
2 Great Blue Heron
4 Turkey Vulture
2 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Belted Kingfisher
5 Northern Flicker
1 falcon sp.
6 Say’s Phoebe
2 Blue Jay
1 Black-billed Magpie
1 American Crow
9 Black-capped Chickadee
8 Tree Swallow
2 Violet-green Swallow
2 White-breasted Nuthatch
13 Northern House Wren (Northern)
1 Gray Catbird
3 American Robin
2 Cedar Waxwing
13 House Finch
2 White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel’s)
1 Song Sparrow
15 Spotted Towhee
3 Yellow-breasted Chat
8 Western Meadowlark
42 Red-winged Blackbird
2 Brown-headed Cowbird
2 Common Yellowthroat
2 American Redstart
11 Yellow Warbler
Number of Taxa: 35