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Birding ‘another dimension’ for outdoor recreation

Durango Bird Club ready to accept newcomers under its wings
John Bregar, co-vice president of the Durango Bird Club, looks for what birds are flying around the banks of the Animas River last week. The club hosts monthly outings to observe bird species and teach newcomers the tricks of the bird-watching trade. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

The great outdoors have so much to offer.

Hiking, biking, rafting and climbing are all activities people from all over the world visit Durango for. But if someone is looking to spread their wings and fly into a new hobby, birding might be for them.

Durango Bird Club takes regular trips into the field once a month. Sometimes, they stroll along the Animas River Trail, other times they venture into the San Juan Mountains.

Durango Bird Club co-vice president Joe Bregar said birding is like entering “a whole new dimension of being outdoors.”

It’s never boring. Rather, it’s “astounding,” he said.

“Birdsong is not just something that’s in the background,” he said.

Whether one walks along the Animas River Trail in Durango or climbs the San Juan Mountains, there are many chirps and songs to be heard.

An American goldfinch tears apart a sunflower plant to get to the seed last week in La Plata County. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

In the Durango area, notable birds include Piñon-juniper birds, Gray Flycatchers, Ash-throated Flycatchers and Gray Vireos, Durango Bird Club co-vice president Amanda White said.

It takes practice to learn the language of the birds. Some are more accustomed to it than others.

“Birds tell you by voice what they are, and learning that is a skill,” Bregar said. “It takes a lot of time; some people are better at remembering birdsong and others, not so.”

But whether one is attuned to birdsong or not, Bregar and White said they should take a tour with Durango Bird Club.

“The Bird Club’s a great place for new birders to learn how to bird because you come along with people who are experts,” he said. “You learn how to use your ears.”

Bregar got into birding when he found himself perplexed by some fowl’s call.

“It took me three weeks to figure out what a house finch song was,” he said. “I could never quite find the bird singing it.”

A black chin hummingbird feeds on a hollyhock this month in La Plata County. Southbound hummingbirds typically appear near the end of June. Like other hummingbird species, migration peaks again in September, John Bregar of the Durango Bird Club said. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)
A black chin hummingbird feeds on a hollyhock in La Plata County last week. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

He said one can develop an ear for the calls of robins, chickadees and other species.

He said seasoned birders at the Durango Bird Club are there to help prospective birders identify the bird songs they are hearing.

Birders across the country rely on dedicated volunteers to record sightings of every species, which the Durango Bird Club reports regularly.

That reporting function is easier than ever thanks to eBird, a Swiss Army Knife of birding, capable of recording geographical location as well as the sounds birds make, White said.

The app tells users how rare a bird species is, allows observations to be recorded in notes and can also try to identify a bird based on its recorded sound.

White said the app is useful in a backyard setting, but she doesn’t like using it in the field because it diminishes the real birding experience.

“It detracts from the beauty of the act of birding, which is mindful, trying to be in the moment, trying to use all of your senses, as opposed to this (app),” she said.

Some Durango Bird Club expeditions are walking trips, often along the Animas River Trail and ending at the Durango Fish Hatchery. Others entail voyages to the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge, or Pastorius Reservoir in the springtime, Bregar said.

“We spent a lot of time at the Monte Vista Wildlife Refuge because the Sandhill Cranes were migrating through at that time,” he said. “(The) spectacle is crazy.”

He said in 2022, the birding group watched migrating snow geese and a variety of ducks.

White said 200 bird species have been spotted at Pastorius Reservoir alone. Across La Plata County, at least 337 bird species have been identified, according to the birding apps.

An American goldfinch feeds on a sunflower plant. Various kinds of finches can be found in the Durango area; birding apps have made it easier than ever to keep track of native species and rare sightings of birds in and around La Plata County. (Jerry McBride/Durango Herald)

Rare and fascinating birds live in the high country, too, where they may be harder to reach for some birdwatchers.

White said she encountered white-tailed ptarmigans, brown-capped rosy finches and other important species in the mountains around La Plata County.

In the figurative sense, some are climate change canaries – they are “indicators of climate change,” White said. That’s because they flock to where the snowpack is strong.

Birding can be competitive, and it can be casual. And there is plenty of room in between. Bregar finds the hobby to be “pure enjoyment.”

He said telling the difference between bird species that share many similarities, such as vireos, can be difficult because there are only subtle differences in appearance.

“Some of those things you can read about, but when you get into the field, it’s hard to see it,” he said. “An experienced birder, they’ve wrestled with this problem for years and they can help you out.”

cburney@durangoherald.com



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