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Elkfest
Poudre Rendezvous
1st Annual!

Your Colorado Division of Wildlife and partners will host a day-long outdoor skills event, near beautiful Red Feather Lakes, on September 11 to introduce families and newcomers to wildlife recreation. Come out for a day of outdoor activities, skills-building, wildlife appreciation, and more, all in the fresh air of Colorado's great outdoors!

The registration deadline is September 8! See the Poudre Rendezvous page for details, or complete and return your registration now.

Some of the highlights:

  • Pull the trigger on .22 rifles, shotguns, and BB guns in a safe environment
  • Bait a hook and catch a fish (catch-and-release; private pond, no license required)
  • Shoot arrows at standard targets and on a field range
  • View and identify wildlife you might see on your travels
  • Learn to survive outdoors and take care of yourself until help arrives 

Come on out and have a great day in the great out-of-doors!


More to Enjoy Out-of-Doors!

  • New! Fall Birding Festival, September 11, Barr Lake State Park
  • Willow Creek Trail Wildflower Hike, September 11, Roxborough State Park 
  • New! "First Shot"—Intro to Archery, Fishing, and Shooting, September 18, Denver 
  • New! Wild Times at St. Vrain State Park, September 25, Firestone
  • Cast and Blast clinic for women and girls, September 25, near Eads  
  • New! Northern Colorado Birding Fair, September 25, Ft. Collins
  • New! Elk Fest, October 2-3, Estes Park
  • Colorado Wildlife Coloring Book
    Bilingual Supplement to the Wildlife Discovery Pages

    Cover of the Colorado Wildlife Coloring BookThe Wildlife Discovery Pages consist of a series of activities for pre-school to middle school-aged kids. Each activity focuses on one of more than forty Colorado wildlife species. Activities can be used on their own or as part of classroom activities.

    Kids can also keep track of the species they see and have learned about through the Wildlife Discovery Pages using the Looking for Wildlife? checklist. 

    There's more! Just added is the Colorado Wildlife Coloring Book, based upon the discovery pages. Encourage your kids and students to download and print a copy! It's in English and Spanish, too!

    While they are doing that, they can find more to do and learn from the Kid's Discovery Pages—watch short wildlife videos, play games and solve puzzles, and much more. 

    Update! Barr Lake & Chico Basin Field Trips!


    A King Bird is held just before it is released after it received an identification band. The bands help people throughout North America to monitor the health of song birds. Photo © DOW.Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory’s Barr Lake Banding Station Field Trips at Barr Lake, 13401 Picadilly Road, Brighton. September to mid-October.

    (See Bird Banding: Unraveling Migration's Mysteries to learn about "whys-and-wherefores" of bird banding.)

    Spend a morning with one of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory’s birdbanders at Barr Lake State Park. Every year thousands of birds stop to rest and eat at Barr Lake during their migratory journey. Your students will get an “up-close and personal” experience with nature while they watch a wildlife biologist place a band on migrating birds captured harmlessly in nets. In addition to watching the banding process, students will also participate in other migration related activities and observe wildlife while on a hike along Barr Lake. The fee ($5 per student) for this field trip includes a follow-up classroom program.

    Read the flyer for field trip and follow-up program information. (In-class programs are available even if your class cannot take one of the field trips; contact Kacie Ehrenberger, 303/659-4348, x16, to learn how to take advantage of this resource of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.)

    Program fee and bus scholarships are available; contact Kacie Ehrenberger, 303/659-4348, x16, for information. Check, too, with your local cultural district for fee assistance.

    Time: Any time between 6 a.m. and 1 p.m.; programs are 1 1/2 - 2 hours long
    Cost:
    $5 per student (includes the follow-up program in the classroom)
    Audience: 1st to 12th grade students
    Contact: Cassy Bohnet, 303/659-4348, x15

    Attention Colorado Springs/Pueblo, Grand Junction, and Ridgway/Ouray teachers: Contact Kacie Ehrenberger, 303/659-4348, x16, for information about banding stations in the fall in these areas.


    Chico Basin Ranch offers free bird banding field trips and other educational opportunities for teachers, students, parents—and anyone interested in this fascinating research. Field trips are offered September 9 to October 9, Monday through Saturday mornings. Contact Lee Derr, 719/634-2305, or Caroline Ferguson, 719/683-3779, for additional information. Visitor information, including directions to the ranch, should be reviewed prior to your visit. 

    Students get a rare close-up of a bird being banded. Putting bands, containing tracking information) on their legs may help researchers learn more about migration patterns. Birds are not harmed by having a band attached. Photo © DOW/M. Seraphin.For educators, the Division of Wildlife's education staff can help you adapt programs for all age levels, K-12. Topics and activities such as Prairie and Wetland Ecosystems, Sustainable Ranching Practices, and "corral tours" of the ranch's facilities can be added to enhance the experience. For more on this, contact a DOW Education Coordinator.

    In addition to over 200 species of birds, the Chico site provides an excellent opportunity to view white-tailed deer, pronghorn, prairie dogs, or even an occasional elk along with various reptiles and amphibians inhabiting sand sage, short-grass prairie, and riparian ecosystems.