June 21, 7:00 a.m. – Free Field Trip: Birding Big Sit at Blair-Wallis
Red-headed Woodpecker. Laramie County, Wyoming. Photo by Kirk Miller
Cheyenne Audubon members invite the public for a free birdwatching field trip, a Big Sit, at the Blair Picnic Area, June 21, leaving Cheyenne at 7 a.m. returning about 1 p.m. People of all levels of birdwatching expertise are welcome.
Participants will leave from the Lions Park parking lot between the Children’s Village at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and the picnic shelter, and drive to the Blair Picnic Area, about 40 miles west of Cheyenne in the Pole Mountain area of the Medicine Bow National Forest. Carpooling may be available.
Participants will sit and see and hear birds in the area and observe and document bird behavior. Hummingbirds are expected as well as the peregrine falcon that nests in the area.
Bring a lawn chair, lunch or a snack, water and clothes for variable weather. Bring binoculars if available.
Please call Grant Frost, 307-343-2024, to register so as to be contacted about any changes in plan due to weather. For more information about the Cheyenne – High Plains Audubon Society, please visit https://cheyenneaudubon.org/.
Welcome Summer! May was such a busy month for our Chapter. Many of us were out birding nearly every day – and this edition of the newsletter documents the many species identified as they migrated through Wyoming. Check out our June edition of “Flyer” for details.
We also want to thank Chris Hoffmeister of Western Sky Design for her contribution of our new logo! Our Chapter bird is the Mountain Plover; a bird that requires well-grazed, nearly bare prairie for it’s nest on the ground. Learn more about Chris and our logo on our “About” page!
Calendar
June 21, 7:00 a.m. – Field Trip: Blair-Wallis for a Big Sit
Broad-tailed Hummingbird by Mark Gorges
We will leave from the Lions Park parking lot between the Children’s Village at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and the picnic shelter and drive to the Blair Picnic Site. This is about a 40-mile drive west of Cheyenne in the Pole Mountain area of the Medicine Bow National Forest. Continue reading “June CHPAS Calendar”→
Each May, thousands of bird lovers throughout the world participate in the Global Big Day Bird Count. In 2025, the official count date was May 10th. Team eBird reports that this year, 172,609 checklists were submitted from with 68,939 eBirders reporting from 203 countries. A new milestone! In total, 7,931 bird species were reported – over 75% of all birds on Earth in just 24 hours. Thank you to everyone who participated and make sure to join us in December for the Christmas Bird Count too!
Never doubt the impact of citizen science.
In southeast Wyoming birders had two opportunities to participate; on May 10th in Goshen and Platte Counties, and on May 17th in Laramie County.
Results:
Goshen and Platte County “hotspots” visited included Table Mountain Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA) , Springer/Bump Sullivan WHMA, Rawhide WHMA, Grayrocks Reservoir and others.
Goshen County: 114 species
Eastern Phoebe by Kirk Miller
Platte County: 82 species
Laramie County: 143 species
Click on the links below to see full reports for both Global Big Days
More information about everything going in May can be found in our Chapter newsletter, “Flyer“. May is a busy month! Join us!!!
May 7, 6:00 p.m. – Greenway Cleanup
Cheyenne Audubon is hosting a Greenway cleanup event, Wednesday, May 7th in the evening. The public is invited to help.
The starting location is the parking lot adjacent to the intersection of Van Buren Avenue and Laramie Street (just north of East Lincolnway and east of its intersection with Pershing Blvd.). Work will proceed to the north along Dry Creek and should take a little over an hour.
Trash bags and light-weight gloves will be provided. Participants should wear sturdy footwear (preferably waterproof) and heavy gloves and bring rakes and hoes, if available, for fishing trash out of the creek.
May 8, 6:00 p.m. – Bluebird Nestbox Monitoring Volunteers and Training CHPAS needs volunteers to help monitor 16 nestboxes at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens’ High Plains Arboretum. Each survey takes about an hour and involves 1.5-miles of walking on mostly flat gravel roads and prairie grasses, with some unmown tall grasses.
Volunteers coordinate to complete the surveys weekly over the spring and summer. Surveys usually are completed in the morning on a day convenient to the volunteer during the week (or weeks) that they have selected.
Interested volunteers will need to attend a training session at 6:00 p.m. Thursday May 8th. Meet at the Arboretum parking area at 8301 Hildreth Road. The session will last 1 to 1.5 hours and will take volunteers to all monitored nestboxes.
Contact Kirk Miller (307-630-3238; kamiller63@gmail.com) if you plan to participate so that we can let you know if plans change. Kirk can also provide directions and more information.
May 10, 9:00 a.m. – First Big Day Bird Count for Platte and Goshen Counties
On May 10, the first Big Day for Platte and Goshen Counties organized by the Cheyenne – High Plains Audubon Society will take place. It will be on the same day as Global Big Day, and International Migratory Bird Day, and anyplace in those two counties can be part of it.
A guided group will meet at the Guernsey Fish Ponds at 9:00 AM and will use the paved path between there and the Platte River to bird. This will be for anybody, but is directed toward those brand-new to birding, families and those that may have mobility issues. Binoculars will be available for those that don’t have them.
For everybody else, you can bird together or alone, at home or your favorite spot, or seek out new opportunities. Are you looking to see birds you haven’t seen before, such as a Northern Cardinal or a Short-eared owl? This is a great area to try.
If you are interested, please contact Grant Frost at 307-343-2024 (call or text) to give him an idea of who is participating. Results can be entered through eBird, or lists can be sent to him at the end of the day.
May 12, 6:00 p.m. – Birding 101 Class
Join CHPAS at Laramie County Library in the Sunflower Room for an introduction to birding. This hour-long free class is open to the public, anyone with an interest in bird watching is invited. We will discuss the basics of bird identification, some birdwatching tips, and local bird species. Tools such as binoculars, guidebooks, and apps also will be covered. For questions or more information, contact Kirk Miller (307-630-3238 kamiller63@gmail.com).
May 17, 8:00 a.m. – Annual Cheyenne Big Day Bird Count
Starting at Lions Park, we will cover birding hot spots throughout the Cheyenne area. If you want to join us later than 8:00 a.m., please call Mark, 307-287-4953, to get a location update throughout the morning. We also encourage people to report all bird sightings during the 24-hour period beginning at midnight on the free app at eBird.org.
We will leave from the Lions Park parking lot between the Children’s Village at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and the picnic shelter to hike around the park for about an hour or two. We will then head to the Wyoming Hereford Ranch. At about lunch time we will head out to the Agricultural Research Station and the Arboretum west of the Air Force Base.
Bring a lunch or pick one up on the way; bring water and dress for variable weather. Everyone, no matter what your birding skills, is invited. Bring binoculars if you have them. We may finish the planned routes by 3 p.m. You may join us at any time throughout the day for as long as you wish and leave when you need to.
Chris Madson, photo by Pete Arnold
May 20, 6:30 p.m. – Special Program: Chris Madson, “Up From The Grass”
Cheyenne Audubon invites the public for a free program, at 6:30 p.m. in the Cottonwood Room at the Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave., featuring guest speaker Chris Madson.
Chris, the retired, long-time, award-winning editor of Wyoming Wildlife magazine, will repeat his May 2024 Cheyenne-High Plains Audubon banquet talk, “Up From The Grass” that leads us through the fascinating history of the Audubon movement and highlights some of the Wyoming conservationists, such as Frank Bond, who were important in the early Audubon Society.
Chris’s talk will be professionally recorded that night and archived for public access at the American Heritage Center.
May 27, 6:00 p.m. – Monthly Board Meeting
Contact us, cheyenneaudubon@gmail.com, if you would like to attend and participate in helping to plan chapter activities, or if you are interested in volunteering in some of our activities. This meeting will be held at the Laramie County Library in the Sage Room.
May 30, 7:00 a.m. – Country Club Bird Survey
Contact Chuck Seniawski to be on his email notice list: 307-638-6519 or chuckski@aol.com. The count will start in the Country Club’s clubhouse’s main parking lot. These outings are free and open to everyone, but please let Chuck know you are coming
April 15, 6:30 p.m. Program: Overabundant Free-Roaming Horses Impact Vital Rates of Greater Sage-Grouse
Greater Sage Grouse by Pete Arnold
Cheyenne Audubon members invite the public to a free talk by Jeff Beck in the Cottonwood Room at Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave. Dr. Beck is a Full Professor with the University of Wyoming in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management. He will present his 15-year study of the impacts of free-roaming horses on greater sage-grouse numbers in central Wyoming. Dr. Beck’s research broadly encompasses habitat ecology and management with a focus on linking resource selection and fitness of vertebrate populations in rangelands, with a particular focus on evaluating the efficacy of conservation practices and policy for species that inhabit sagebrush ecosystems.
We will take Jeff to dinner at 4:45 at Good Friends, 507 E Lincolnway, Cheyenne. If you are interested in joining us for dinner with Jeff, please contact Lorie Chesnut at cheyenneaudubon@gmail.com so that we can reserve enough seating.
April 22, 6:00 p.m. – Monthly Board Meeting Contact us at cheyenneaudubon@gmail.com if you would like to attend and participate in helping to plan chapter activities, or if you are interested in volunteering in some of our activities. This meeting will be held at the Laramie County Conservation DistrictOffice, 1923 Whitney Road.
April 25, 8:00 a.m. – Country Club Bird Survey Contact Grant Frost, 307-343-2024, so that he can let you know if there are any changes. The count will start in the Country Club’s clubhouse’s main parking lot. These outings are free and open to everyone, but please let Grant know you are coming.
April 26, 6:00 a.m. – Field Trip – Sharp-tailed Grouse Lek Viewing
Sharp-tailed Grouse by Mark Gorges
We will meet at the Pilot Truck Stop in the front parking lot (off I-80 Exit 367, also known as the WHR exit, 8020 Campstool Road) for departure at 6:00 a.m. sharp. It is about a 40-mile drive to the lek area. We will be driving east on I-80 then north to an area north of Hillsdale. We hope to see grouse dancing on their lek as well as other spring prairie birds.
We will carpool to the lek site as much as possible to keep the number of vehicles to a minimum. The outing will be about three hours, so we should be back to the truck stop by 9 a.m. If you are interested in going, contact Grant Frost, 307-343-2024, so that he has a list of those expected, and can let you know if the plans change for any reason.
March 18, 6:30 p.m. Program: Ryan Dibala on restoring bald eagles at Channel Islands National Park
Cheyenne Audubon members invite the public to a free talk by Ryan Dibala, author, naturalist and guide, about his work restoring bald eagles on Catalina Island and Channel Islands National Park, Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 p.m., in the Cottonwood Room at Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave. We will take Ryan to dinner at 4:45 at 2 Doors Down, 118 E 17th St, Cheyenne. If you are interested in joining us for dinner with Ryan, please contact Barb Gorges at 307-287-4952 or bgorges4@msn.com so that we can reserve enough seating.
March 19, 6:00 p.m. – Monthly Board Meeting Contact us, cheyenneaudubon@gmail.com, if you would like to attend and participate in helping to plan chapter activities, or if you are interested in volunteering in some of our activities. This meeting will be held at the Highlands United Presbyterian Church at 2390 Pattison Avenue, Cheyenne. Please park and come in at the back of the church.
March 28, 8:00 a.m. – Country Club Bird Survey Contact Chuck Seniawski to be on his email notice list: 307-638-6519 or chuckski@aol.com. The count will start in the Country Club’s clubhouse’s main parking lot. These outings are free and open to everyone, but please let Chuck know you are coming.
March 29, 3:00 p.m. – Field Trip: Table Mountain Wildlife Management Area: Sandhill Crane Migration
Sandhill Cranes by Mark Gorges
We will leave the Lions Park parking lot south of the Children’s Village at 3 p.m. Carpooling should be available but check with Grant (see below) if you will need a ride. Our field trips are free and open to the public. Anyone interested in birds is welcome.
We are going to Table Mountain to watch Sandhill Cranes return in flocks to their nighttime roosting area after they spend the day feeding in grain fields. We will also be looking for migrating waterfowl along the way.
The management area is about 75 miles north of Cheyenne, near Yoder, WY. The trip is free, open to the public, and non-birders of all ages are encouraged to join us to learn about the birds we see.
We expect to be back in Cheyenne by 9 p.m. Be sure to bring water, something for yourself to eat and dress for changing weather. If you want to carpool but don’t want to leave your car in the parking lot in the evening, when you call Grant, let him know if you want a ride or riders and let’s see if we can make arrangements to arrive at the park already matched up. If you are interested in going, contact Grant Frost, 307-343-2024, so that he has a list of those expected, and he can let you know if the plans change for any reason like bad weather.
February 14-17, Great Backyard Bird Count From Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Brown Creeper by Kirk Miller
Spend time in your favorite places watching birds—then tell us about them! In as little as 15 minutes notice the birds around you. Identify them, count them, and submit your counts to help scientists better understand and protect birds around the world.
If you already use eBird or Merlin, your submissions over the 4 days count toward GBBC. You can get detailed information about this event at https://www.birdcount.org/
February 15, 1:00 p.m. – Field Trip: Tie City Trailhead – Medicine Bow National Forest We will leave the Lions Park parking lot south of the Children’s Village at 1 p.m. Carpooling should be available for the 40-mile drive to the trailhead.
Steller’s Jay at Rocky Mountain National Park
Be prepared for snowy conditions. The trip is free, open to the public, and non-birders of all ages are encouraged to join us to learn about the birds we see. We can watch the feeders that Don Jones keeps stocked from the warming hut. We expect minimal walking and nice conditions on a winter day.
We may see a variety of winter forest birds including Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, Steller’s Jay, woodpeckers, nuthatches and more. We may even see a rosy-finch. We expect to be back in town by 4:30 p.m. Be sure to bring water, and dress for changing weather. If you are interested in going, contact Grant Frost, 307-343-2024, so that he has a list of those expected, and he can let you know if the plans change for any reason like bad weather.
February 18, 6:30 p.m. Program: Chris Madson Cheyenne Audubon invites the public for a free program, at 6:30 p.m. in the Cottonwood Room at the Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave., featuring guest speaker Chris Madson.
Chris, the retired, long-time, award-winning editor of Wyoming Wildlife magazine, will re-give his May 2024 Cheyenne-High Plains Audubon banquet talk, “From the Grass Up” that leads us through the fascinating history of the Audubon movement and highlights some of the Wyoming conservationists, such as Frank Bond, who were important in the early Audubon Society. Chris’s talk will be professionally recorded that night and archived for public access at the Wyoming Heritage Center. Also, see the President’s Message for more information about Chris’s presentation (February Flyer).
February 25, 6:00 p.m. – Monthly Board Meeting Contact us, cheyenneaudubon@gmail.com, if you would like to attend and participate in helping to plan chapter activities, or if you are interested in volunteering in some of our activities. This meeting will be held at the Laramie County Library in the Sage Room, 2nd floor.
March 7, 8:00 a.m. – Country Club Bird Survey Contact Chuck Seniawski to be on his email notice list: 307-638-6519 or chuckski@aol.com. The count will start in the Country Club’s clubhouse’s main parking lot. These outings are free and open to everyone, but please let Chuck know you are coming.
Join the Celebration! Migrating Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska
Only five (5) hours east of Cheyenne is the experience of a lifetime! Join Audubon to view the migration of the Sandhill Cranes at Rowe Sanctuary (Minden, NE) in March or April.
Ticket sales opened today and a few days in late March are already sold out. But you still have time to get tickets for the three unforgettable opportunities: Guided Crane Experience, the Guided Crane Photography Experience, or (for those brave souls who really want to “get down” with the birds) the Overnight Crane Photography Experience. This writer has done all three and all are exceptional.
Sales open today (January 8, 2025) and tickets go fast. Most people reserve rooms in Kearney, NE for the experience. This is an opportunity not to be missed!
Learn about all three options on the Audubon Rowe website using this link: Crane Experiences
January 18, 1:00 p.m. – Field Trip: Tie City Trailhead – Medicine Bow National Forest
We will leave the Lions Park parking lot south of the Children’s Village at 1 p.m. Carpooling should be available for the 40-mile drive to the trailhead. Be prepared for snowy conditions. The trip is free, open to the public, and non-birders of all ages are encouraged to join us to learn about the birds we see.
We may see a variety of winter forest birds including Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, Steller’s Jay, woodpeckers, nuthatches and more. We may even see a rosy-finch.
We expect to be back in town by 4:30 p.m. Be sure to bring water, and dress for changing weather.
If you are interested in going, contact Grant Frost, 307-343-2024, so that he has a list of those expected, and he can let you know if the plans change for any reason like bad weather.
January 21, 6:30 p.m. Program: Motus Wildlife Tracking System—what it is and how it’s used (Note our new start time.)
Cheyenne Audubon invites the public for a free program, at 6:30 p.m. in the Cottonwood Room at the Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave., featuring guest speaker Matt Webb. Matt uses Motus, a worldwide automated telemetry network, for grassland bird species migration studies for the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. The information can help conservation efforts stem the decline of these species. Motus is also used to study the movement of other kinds of animals, including bats and large-bodied insects. Matt is looking for a site in southeastern Wyoming for a new Motus radio tower – there are very few Motus systems in Wyoming. Help our Chapter make a difference – join us to learn about this important information system.
January 28, 6:00 p.m. Cheyenne-High Plains Audubon Chapter Board Meeting
We are always looking for volunteers for our Board of Directors! Please let us know if you would like to attend. cheyenneaudubon@gmail.com.
January 31, 8:00 a.m. – Country Club Bird Survey
Contact Chuck Seniawski to be on his email notice list: 307-638-6519 or chuckski@aol.com. The count will start in the Country Club’s clubhouse’s main parking lot. These counts are free and open to everyone, but please let Chuck know you are coming.
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Remember – the 2025 Habitat Hero Workshop will take place on Saturday, February 1st at LCCC. Registration is now open! Check out the January edition of “Flyer” for more information or look under “Habitat Hero” on our website.
December 7, 1:00 to 3:00 pm – Introduction to the Christmas Bird Count
House Finch – photo by Kirk Miller
This is a class and outing for families and kids of all ages. We will meet at the Children’s Village in the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens and introduce you to some of the local winter birds. Then we will take a short hike in the park to see what birds we can find and record their numbers. We will talk about the upcoming official Cheyenne Christmas Bird Count planned for December 14th.
December 9, 4:00 to 5:00 pm – Bird Counts and Birds Count! Join us at the Laramie County Library in the Early Literacy Center on the 2nd floor: for kids from the 2nd through 6th grades. Meet a volunteer from the Cheyenne High Plains Audubon Society who will tell us how and why we count birds. Discover how to find and identify birds then test your skills at spotting feathered friends (or their look-alikes) and learn about the library’s birding backpack program and the upcoming Christmas Bird Count.
Northern Flicker by Kirk Miller
December 14 – Cheyenne Christmas Bird Count
(Meet at the downtown Post Office at 8 a.m., 2120 Capitol Ave.) Or be a field observer on your own.
If you are interested in participating, contact Grant Frost, 307-343-2024, so that he has a list of those expected, so he can let you know if the plans change for any reason such as stormy weather. Grant will have a list of regular spots within our count circle and will encourage people to spread out to specific areas so that we can have good coverage of all hot spots first thing in the morning to assure a good count on the number of each species in the Cheyenne area, i.e. the number of geese before they all start flying around. Novice birders will be paired with experienced counters. – Tally sheets and more details about the area and process in the December issue of FLYER.
December 14 – CBC Tally Party, 6:00 p.m., Perkins on Dell Range Blvd. For the tally party have ready the numbers of each species you observe and the amount of time and distance you walk and the amount of time and distance you drive. Keep track of where and when you saw species of note so we can tell if you counted the same bird or flock as someone else. Feeder watchers can bring their counts too. Please contact Mark Gorges at 307-287-4953 if you plan to attend the Tally Party so that we can arrange for enough room.
After the tally party contact Grant with any species that you see three days before or three days after December 14 that were not listed at the tally party. They are entered in the CBC data as “Week of the Count” species.
December 27, 8:00 a.m. – Country Club Bird Survey Contact Chuck Seniawski to be on his email notice list: 307-638-6519 or chuckski@aol.com. The count will start in the Country Club’s clubhouse’s main parking lot. These counts are free and open to everyone, but please let Chuck know you are coming.
January 1 – Guernsey/Ft. Laramie Christmas Bird Count If you are going to join the count, please let Jane Dorn know at 307-640-4002. Also call her if the weather turns nasty; she will set an alternate date. Bring water, lunch, warm clothes, binoculars, and a scope if you have one, and whatever you need for a day watching birds at Guernsey State Park, Ft. Laramie National Historic Site, the Oregon Trail Ruts and Hartville.
We also want to thank Chris Hoffmeister of Western Sky Design for her contribution of our new logo! Our Chapter bird is the Mountain Plover; a bird that requires well-grazed, nearly bare prairie for it’s nest on the ground. Learn more about Chris and our logo on our “
CHPAS needs volunteers to help monitor 16 nestboxes at Cheyenne Botanic Gardens’ High Plains Arboretum. Each survey takes about an hour and involves 1.5-miles of walking on mostly flat gravel roads and prairie grasses, with some unmown tall grasses.
Cheyenne Audubon members invite the public to a free talk by Ryan Dibala, author, naturalist and guide, about his work restoring bald eagles on Catalina Island and Channel Islands National Park, Tuesday, March 18, 6:30 p.m., in the Cottonwood Room at Laramie County Library, 2200 Pioneer Ave.
We will leave the Lions Park parking lot south of the Children’s Village at 1 p.m. Carpooling should be available for the 40-mile drive to the trailhead. Be prepared for snowy conditions. The trip is free, open to the public, and non-birders of all ages are encouraged to join us to learn about the birds we see.
Cheyenne-High Plains Audubon Society 