Come hear about RMBO's Colony Watch - Wed April 24th at 7 pm

The Laramie Audubon monthly meeting will be held this Wednesday, April 24th. This month we will be hearing about colonial waterbirds from Chuck Hundertmark with the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.

Meeting Schedule:
6:30 pm - Bird Chat and refreshments
7:00 pm - Update on Mortenson Lake and Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuges Expansion Project
7:15 pm - Colonial Waterbirds of North Park: Preliminary Results of a Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory Citizen Science Project by Charles A. Hundertmark, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.




Program Description:
From 1998 through 2012, biologists and volunteers from Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) monitored breeding populations of 12 species of colonial waterbirds as well as Osprey, Bald Eagle, and Willet in North Park. The colonial waterbird species predominantly nest on or near the numerous reservoirs and ponds of this north-central Colorado mountain park.

This monitoring, conducted through Project Colony Watch, was initiated as an integral part of the comprehensive Monitoring Colorado’s Birds program. After 15 years, a picture is emerging of dynamic population fluctuations that respond to sometimes abrupt or dramatic changes in water levels. While populations of some species (e.g., Eared Grebe, American White Pelican, California Gull) appear to be stable, others (e.g., Franklin’s Gull, Black and Forster’s Tern) endure at marginally viable levels. This presentation will discuss colony locations, changes in colony size and location, and movement of species among colonies.

Location:
Our meetings are held on the University of Wyoming campus in the Berry Biodiversity Center located at the corner of 10th & Lewis Streets. There is free parking after 5pm. Laramie Audubon Society programs are free and open to all public.