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Recent and Upcoming Activities for 2011
See the Ptarmigan
for more details.

January 2012
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January 29 (Sunday). Field
Trip. Bald Eagle Viewing at Fossil Creek Reservoir Regional Open
Space. Leader: Rich Roberts, rcroberts617@gmail.com, 970-407-8524. Lead by master
naturalists. Meet at the outdoor classroom at 9 a.m. on Jan.14,
Saturday, and 3 p.m. on Jan. 29, Sunday, at the parking lot. Wear
warm clothing and boots, bring spotting scopes, binoculars, and
telephoto cameras. |

February 2012
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February 2 (Thursday). Board Meeting. 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Monthly Board Meeting to be held at the National Seed Storage Lab,
1111 S. Mason St. (map).
Read minutes of
past board meetings |
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February 9 (Thursday). Program.
Social Gathering 7:00 p.m., Program 7:30 p.m.
Fort Collins Senior Center-Multi-Use Room, 1200 Raintree Drive.
Dave Leatherman will present a program on “Life in the Cemetery,” an
account of his two-years worth of observations of the numerous
species of birds, wildlife, and trees living in Grandview Cemetery.
Much more than just a graveyard, the 40-acre Grandview Cemetery at
the west end of Mountain Avenue is home to over 600 trees (two of
them state champions), around 20 species of birds on any given visit
(190 seen during the last 38 years), amazing insects, a wide variety
of plants (native, weedy, ornamental, and plastic), mushrooms, and
interesting/exotic animals like crayfish, deer, squirrels, foxes,
golfers, and much more. This presentation by Dave Leatherman,
long-time local entomologist, birder, and naturalist, chronicles
natural events observed over the last two years during 300-plus
visits to Grandview. Learn about shiny wasps with bodies over two
inches long, baby birds six times their parents' mass, the building
materials of hornets, peonies decorated with meadowhawks, and how
cute little squirrels can be anything but cute. Featured will be the
unprecedented double-nesting at low elevation by Loxy and Larry, an
endearing pair of White-winged Crossbills during the winter of
2009-2010. And no description of this remarkable place would be
complete without touching on the strong ties to nature memorialized
at Grandview by the people and families who rest there. Join us on
Feb. 9 at the Fort Collins Senior Center at 7 p.m. The program is
free and open to the public. |
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February 12 (Sunday). Bobcat
Ridge Natural Area Bird Survey.
Leader: Denise Bretting (dbretting@swloveland.com,
work: 669-1185, or home: 669-8095). Call for any change. Meet at
7:30 am. FCAS performs a monthly bird census for the city of Fort
Collins. All levels welcomed. |

March 2012
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March 1 (Thursday). Board Meeting. 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Monthly Board Meeting to be held at the National Seed Storage Lab,
1111 S. Mason St. (map).
Read minutes of
past board meetings |
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March 8 (Thursday). Program.
Social Gathering 7:00 p.m., Program 7:30 p.m.
Fort Collins Senior Center-Multi-Use Room, 1200 Raintree Drive.
Eric DeFonso, FCAS’s former field trip coordinator, will have
returned from a year in South America to share information and
photos of the birds and habitats he experienced while there. |
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March 10-18
(Excursion). Guatemala Highlands Excursion
This spring, join fellow Auduboners in experiencing the mystique of
Guatemala’s volcanoes and cloud forests, home of the Resplendent
Quetzal. Quetzal Tours is offering an eight-day relaxed-pace birding
and nature photography ad-venture to the Guatemalan highlands, led
by Guatemala’s premier birding guides, Knut Eisermann and Claudia
Avendaño. Not only will this be a unique experience at a low price
(just $1,999 per person), but the event also serves as a fund-raiser
for FCAS, as a portion of the proceeds will be donated to our local
chapter. Visit locations such as Los Tarrales Reserve, Lake Atitlán,
Biotopo del Quetzal, and Chelemhá Cloud Forest. In addition to the
quetzal, you can expect to see five species of motmots, and hundreds
of other species in the land of the Mayan indigenous peoples. The
tour is limited to six people who will travel in two 4WD vehicles.
An add-on birding excursion to Tikal National Park can be ar-ranged
for those who can stay longer. For more information, contact Quetzal
Tours owner, Nick Komar, at
info@quetzal-tours.com, or 970-449-3645.
More Information |
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March 17. Birds of Colorado Field
Trip Series.
Inland Ocean. Visit Birds of
Colorado for more information. |

April 2012
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April 21. Birds of Colorado Field
Trip Series.
Chihuahuan Desert. Visit Birds
of Colorado for more information. |

May 2012
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May 19. Birds of Colorado Field
Trip Series.
Eastern Plains. Visit Birds of
Colorado for more information. |

June 2012
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June 16. Birds of Colorado Field
Trip Series.
Rocky Mountains. Visit Birds of
Colorado for more information. |

July 2012
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July 21. Birds of Colorado Field
Trip Series.
High Plains of North Park. Visit
Birds of Colorado for more
information. |
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