CPW's Arkansas Headwaters seeks volunteers to monitor bird boxes this summer
Bill VogrinSoutheast Region Public Information Officer
719-466-3927 / [email protected]
April 4, 2024
AHRA seeks volunteers to monitor cavity-nesting birds in the Upper Arkansas Valley
SALIDA, Colo. – Citizen scientists with a particular interest in birdwatching are invited to help Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area monitor bluebirds, swallows and other birds this summer in the Upper Arkansas River Valley.
Volunteers who sign up for the 2024 Bluebird Monitoring program will gather important data on birds by helping track the nesting behavior of cavity-nesting birds paying particular attention to mountain and western bluebirds.
Volunteers will be asked to take a 2-hour training class to learn the basics of cavity-nesting birds and proper nest box monitoring protocols. They will learn about the different types of birds they may encounter, how to understand and report nest box data and how to properly care for their route and bird boxes.
Then volunteers are expected to monitor a specific set of nests on routes mapped by CPW. The monitoring is done once a week into September.
The end of the season will be celebrated in October with a barbecue where volunteers will share their findings.
Anyone interested in joining the bird monitoring team should register on the CPW website.
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The AHRA stretches 152 miles along the Arkansas River from Leadville to Pueblo. It is managed through a cooperative effort between the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Formed in 1989, this partnership allows agencies to provide visitors with recreation opportunities and care for significant natural resources of the upper Arkansas River valley.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.