Habitat Garden Tour - Monday, Sept. 8th, 5:30 pm

Join us for a Habitat Hero Garden Tour on Monday (9/8) at 5:30 pm.  We'll visit two gardens, starting at 2303 Nighthawk Drive, where we'll stay for approximately 30 minutes.  We'll then continue on to 1167 Frontera Drive. After the tour we'll enjoy light refreshments and spend time sharing garden stories, bird stories, and ideas for the coming season!

(Yellow Warbler photo courtesy of LAS member Heather Johnson)

Bird Hike -- Saturday, Sept. 6th

We'll gather downtown** at 8 a.m. this Saturday (9/6) to discuss the trip and informally arrange rideshares.  The group will then caravan to Rock Creek Canyon, located approximately 45 miles west of Laramie near Arlington.  The trail has a steep uphill and then downhill section immediately after the parking area, but then levels out along the creek, where we may see dippers.  Our pace will be participant- and bird-driven.  If it is a small group, we will walk along slowly to accommodate both birding and all participants.  If we have a large enough group, we'll consider breaking into a faster "hiking" group and a more leisurely "birding" group.  

Please be prepared for a variety of weather conditions, with sturdy shoes, warm layers, rain and sun protection, snacks, and water.  We anticipate being back to Laramie by approximately 12:30 p.m., but participants with their own transportation are welcome to leave earlier or stay longer -- we do ask that you let the trip leader know if you decide to turn back or to forge ahead (leaving the group).  

** Meeting Location - 1st Street Plaza in downtown Laramie (corner of 1st Street and Grand Avenue).  All day parking is available along 1st Street.    

Kids & Families get batty

A small group of kids and their families, including some new folks in town- welcome!- came out for our back-to-school Kids & Families event on Saturday, August 30.

After a ramble around the block using 5 senses to see, hear, smell, touch and even taste our natural surroundings, the group came inside to enjoy snacks while learning about bats, with live cam footage and a video of a "batnado" at the world's largest bat cave, and finished up with a lively game of bird bingo, learning about some really colorful species and some with very long and funny names. Everyone left with prizes and information about upcoming LAS field trips, evening programs, and our annual Spooky Halloween Scavenger Hunt.

Check out our Events page to see what's coming up this fall!

August Newsletter Now Online!

 

Hot off the presses - our August newsletter!  

Waterbird Field Trip - 16 August 2025

Five of us met on Saturday, 16 August, to search for waterbirds on the Laramie Plains. Because all the basins on Hutton Lake National Wildlife Refuge were dry, we checked Blake’s Pond, Meeboer Lake, and Twin Buttes Lake. Starting at Blake’s Pond, we had a smattering of shorebirds including Killdeer, American Avocet, Least Sandpiper, Wilson’s Snipe, Wilson’s Phalarope, and Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Western Wood-Pewees were still singing from nearby cottonwoods, which also produced a Yellow Warbler and American Goldfich and several Bullock’s Orioles. A Prairie Falcon and Northern Harriers winged by the pond. The road into Meeboer Lake had lots of Yellow-headed and Brewer’s Blackbirds and Vesper and Savannah Sparrows. The lake was pretty quiet, although we were treated to a small group of Forster’s Terns, a Ruddy Duck pair, a winter-plumaged Eared Grebe, and great looks at winter-plumaged Spotted Sandpipers. We finally found some Baird’s Sandpipers at Twin Buttes Lake and were able to get some good looks at California and Ring-billed Gulls. Great light and calm winds were a highlight of the morning! Overall, we tallied 51 species in two and one-half hours of birding.

Brad Andres

 

Foster's Terns (Heather Johnson)

 

Ruddy Duck (Heather Johnson)

 

 

Greater Yellowlegs (Heather Johnson)

 

 

 Kids and Families Fly on the Prairie

Eight kids and families gathered on the edge of the prairie on Saturday morning, June 28. There was not a cloud in the sky, but we learned how clouds form, and where to look for them, as well as the precipitation they drop on the earth. The sun was already quite hot, and we explored how that heat helps birds that may be found on the prairie, providing thermals they can glide on, and how the winds can come up with the heat of sunrise and calm with the cooling at sunset. We learned about how wings work and why birds can fly and people cannot.

Kids and their parents shared stories of the birds they have seen in their backyards, including nesting robins and a mourning dove. We talked about baby crows and how their parents act when someone gets too close to a baby learning to fly. 

Although we did not see clouds or hawks when we looked up this morning, some pledged to go out earlier in the morning and look again, and to look for clouds forming over the mountains. Kids took home a tropical bird glider to put together, and took a guess answering the question, "Why do tropical birds come in such bright colors?" The winner took home a copy of the Audubon Rockies book Voice of the Grasslands. 

Our next Kids & Families event will take place on Saturday, August 23. The theme is Back to School, and we will go a little batty playing some bird games. Keep your eyes peeled for location. We will list the event on our website Events page, post on social media, and send a reminder email to Laramie Audubon Society members. 

Global Big Day Birding

The Global Big Day is an annual celebration of birds in your community. To celebrate, 13 birders met at Greenhill Cemetery on 10 May. Although we had great weather, migrant birds were still a bit scarce. We were treated to numerous singing Ruby-crowned Kinglets, a few migrant Swainson’s Thrushes and Orange-crowned Warblers, and a small flock of Chipping Sparrows. After our Greenhill visit, we headed over to LaBonte Park, where 150 Wilson’s Phalaropes were feeding busily on emerging insects. A number Cinnamon Teal pairs provided a visual delight. Yellow-headed Blackbirds and Great-tailed Grackles appeared to be establishing territories in the lake’s cattails. For the morning, we tallied 33 species in celebration of the return of our migratory birds.

 

                                        Ruby-crowned Kinglet

                                            Wilson's Phalarope (Heather Johnson)

 

May 17th Kids and Families Program - CANCELLED

Due to administrative complications related to our park permit, we are cancelling the May Kids and Families program.  We hope that you are able to get outside and enjoy the Spring!

Saturday Field Trip - Vulture Watch Training (10 a.m. April 5th)

Our April 5th field trip will be a combination of inside/lecture format and vulture-focused birding on the University of Wyoming Campus as we attend the Vulture Watch Wyoming training session.  

Each year in early to mid-April, Turkey Vultures arrive in Laramie after migrating from wintering grounds in Central and South America.  They have a communal roost located on the University of Wyoming campus (adjacent to Old Main), which they use until migrating back to their winter grounds in September and October. 

There is much to learn about roost dynamics, breeding behavior, and how they interact with their habitat! The Laramie Audubon Society encourages our members and friends to attend this training and participate in this community science program. Training will take place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the University of Wyoming's Berry Center building (Room 217 - Teaching Lab) and outside on campus. 

Kids and Families welcome a chilly spring.

 On a cloudy Saturday morning, March 22, 20 kids and families gathered at Undine Park to search with all senses for signs of spring. Some even ventured over the state line from Colorado, while others were visitors staying in town. The group heard and saw several bird species, including robin, chickadee, flicker, sparrow, crow, collared dove and starling. Signs of spring included green grass, nesting material dropped by a starling, and nests in trees. 

 After wandering the park, participants abandoned the chilly weather for a trip across the street and down the alley to the Sheila Bird Farms greenhouse. Owner Ricky Kent showed kids and families the seed planting process and several types of seedlings now growing in preparation for transplanting on the farm. The group also enjoyed the tropical plants that Ricky brought to the greenhouse from his former home in Florida many years ago. On the way out, participants treated themselves to a sprig of microgreens or pea shoots to eat. Back at the park, all kids received a seed planting kit and dipped their peat pots into a bag of soil to collect for planting before heading home. 

 Our next Kids and Families event will take place on Saturday, April 19, at 9am in Washington Park, where a group of students in the UWYo Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Program will provide Earth Day activities, including making bird feeders! Meet at the bandshell for this event. 

 Laramie Audubon Society offers a Kids and Families activity every month of the year. Keep your eyes peeled on our website Events page, social media, with your school or home school group, and members receive a reminder by email before all events. 

 Family membership in Laramie Audubon Society is just $25 per year. Members receive notice of upcoming events, our quarterly newsletter, and invitation to occasional special members only events. Join online at: https://laramieaudubon.blogspot.com/p/membership.html. 

 Below photos: Microgreens and pea shoots growing in the greenhouse. Mmmm! And the group spies a crow nest high in a tree. 

Evening Program - Adventures and Volunteer Opportunities in Our State Parks (Feb. 26th)

Come Learn about the Wyoming State Parks in the Laramie District!  Carlo Migliaccio, Interpretative Ranger for the Laramie District of Wyoming State Parks, will share information on the parks, his work in them, and programs and projects available to attend and looking for volunteers. The Laramie District of the Wyoming State Parks includes multiple local sites, including the Wyoming Territorial Prison, the Ames Monument, the Quebec 1 Historic Site, and Curt Gowdy State Park.  Come learn with LAS about what will be happening this spring, summer, and fall! 

Hidden Falls is one reward of hiking at Curt Gowdy State Park! 
Photo from Wyoming State Park website.

Centennial Bird Hop - Saturday, February 22nd

Join us for a leisurely morning birding in Centennial.  We'll wander through the protected aspen groves within the downtown neighborhood and possibly up onto the hills.  After our meander, we will retreat to the Bear Bottom Café for a NO HOST coffee or early lunch.  The Bear Bottom typically has feeders visible through their large dining room windows, so the birding fun will continue even after we head indoors.  

Laramie-based folks will meet at 8:45 a.m. at First Street Plaza (corner of 1st Street and Grand Avenue) and caravan to Centennial.  If you would like to meet us in Centennial, look for the group in front of the Bear Bottom Café at approximately 9:30 a.m.

XC Ski/Snowshoe "Winter Tracking Trip" POSTPONED TO FEBRUARY 1

 Meet at intersection of Hwy 130 & Sand Lake Road at 9 a.m. on Saturday, January 25 Saturday, February 1.  BYO equipment. See other post, below, for more details.