Denver CBC - Final plea for help
Joey Kellner
Cobirders,
The Denver Christmas Bird Count (Denver CBC) is almost upon us! On Saturday, December 20th (a little over a week away) 24 teams of birders will be searching for and counting as many bird species and individuals as possible in their areas. HOWEVER, some areas could use more observers to help. As in any birding, the more eyes and ears, the better. If you have never participated in this annual project, PLEASE consider it! See what it's about. Discover new places to bird. Hone your skills. :-)
Last year we had 108 people helping. This was DOWN from 163 in 2019. Currently, the Denver CBC needs additional eyes and ears in the following Count Areas (see attached map for Count Area location and the attached announcement for contact information for that Count Area leader).
Area 10 – Lower Deer Creek (Chatfield Farms/Arboretum and lower Deer Creek Canyon) – This area has lots of riparian, prairie dog town, and some foothills birds.
Area 14 – North Turkey Creek – This area needs one or two more volunteers willing to hike some hillsides in search of Dusky Grouse (we miss this bird most years)!
Area 15 – Indian Hills – This area includes Mount Falcon Denver Mountain Park – LOTS of area to cover and should have plenty of foothills birds. Will early risers get a Northern Pygmy-Owl this year?
Area 16 – Upper Bear Creek – Foothills hiking. Good exercise with ~4 miles of uphill and downhill hiking. The Area Leader states, “We usually get dippers at a local park which is a nice incentive!”
Area 20 – Willow Creek – This is a LARGE urban area that contains Harriman Lake and Hine Lake!
Other areas may want more people as well. Use the below info and contact the Area Leader directly to help out. You need not be an "experienced" birder! Beginners welcome!
We add a new bird to the count about every 3 years. The last new bird added after (70 years of counting) was in 2023 with the addition of Short-billed Gull! So, who knows, one of the groups may discover another “new” bird for the Count!
Please consider helping out this year. If you are not free on the 20th, then PLEASE help out on one of the other Denver metro area Counts…or one (or more) further afield! Some people do 6-8 CBCs EACH year!
Thank you for supporting “citizen science”.
Joey.
Joey Kellner
Littleton, Colorado
Compiler - Denver CBC
71th DENVER CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT - SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2025
Count Leader/Compiler: Joey Kellner (303-978-1748), SWDenverBirding at gmail.com
Feeder Coordinator: Bob Shade wrshade3 at gmail.com – Feeder watchers, please send your list of species and numbers of each species to the email above as soon as possible after “Count Day”.
Potluck Coordinator: Laura Steadman lauramsteadman at gmail.com;
All are encouraged to participate in the annual Denver Christmas Bird Count (CBC) sponsored the National Audubon Society.
Fees: None! So, no excuses! Come have a great time and help count birds! Beginners and experts all welcome!
POTLUCK and COMPLILATION:
After a day in the field, ALL participants are invited to attend the compilation potluck meeting to warm up, chat with other birders, and find out how the count fared. It is a lot of fun. We will start gathering around 5:00pm in the multipurpose room at the Chatfield State Park headquarters on the south side of the lake near the Heronry Overlook (State Parks vehicle entry pass required). Contact Laura Steadman (lauramsteadman at gmail.com ) and let her know what you will be bringing (or ask her what items she needs more of). Bringing food is NOT a requirement to join in the fun! The compilation itself will start closer to 5:30pm when a representative f all areas arrive/report in with their sightings.
The 15-mile diameter “count circle” (see image below) is subdivided into 24 “count areas” each with an Area Leader. To participate, please contact the Area Leader (see below). If you would like to help in an area that still needs additional observers, call the Count Compiler (contact info above).
Area Number and Location Area Leader Contact Info
1. Red Rocks Park Gregg Goodrich 303-655-9135
2. Lower Bear Creek Scott Somershoe 615-829-3573
2A. Bear Creek Lake Park Mary Geder mfg5000 at live.com
3. Bow Mar/Marston Luke Pheneger phenegerluke at gmail.com
4A. Lower South Platte - East Cole Sage colesage03 at gmail.com
4B. Lower South Platte - West Glenn Walbek juncos at comcast.net
5. Highline Ditch Jason Zolle zollejd at gmail.com
6. Plum Creek Norm Erthal 303-917-2596
7A. Middle South Platte - West Audrey Hicks Audrey at denveraudubon.org
7B. Middle South Platte - East Steve Stachowiak 720-256-6583
8. Chatfield Reservoir Joey Kellner 303-978-1748
9. Upper South Platte * Jill Holden 720-288-4018
10. Lower Deer Creek (Chatfield Farms) Barbra Sobhani barbramaher at comcast.net
11. Upper Deer Creek Wes Donnell 720-648-7305 or wdonnell7584 at gmail.com)
12. Yegge Peak Audrey Boag aboag at ecentral.com
13. Doublehead Mountain Amy Davis amyjaned21 at hotmail.com
14. North Turkey Creek Ed Furlong 303-956-8321
15. Indian Hills Ryan Dibala ryan at gobirdingman.com
16. Upper Bear Creek Laura Steadman lauramsteadman at gmail.com
17. Ken Caryl Ranch David Suddjian dsuddjian at gmail.com
18. Garrison Gate Archer Silverman archer.silverman at gmail.com
19. Morrison/Willowbrook Steve Meier stevem2717 at gmail.com
20. Willow Creek Dale Pate 575-706-4584
21. Mount Lindo/Willow Springs Chris Sherry 303-807-3645
* To participate in Area #9, you must contact the area leader no later than Monday, November 24.
IF you cannot participate in the Denver CBC, PLEASE consider helping out on a different Christmas Bird Count (many are held all over Colorado and on different dates). It's a great way to learn about a new birding area and meet some great people!
Joey.
