Birdwatchers gather at Waneka Lake in Lafayette as part of Bird City designation
Jan. 7—If you ever see a group of people looking up at the trees with binoculars at Waneka Lake in Lafayette, ask them what kind of bird they just spotted.
Every first Sunday of the month, people gather at The Shack,1600 Caria Drive, to go birdwatching as part of the Lafayette Birds! program. Expert and beginner bird watchers alike walk around Waneka to look at the various bird species around.
Martin Ogle, education coordinator for Lafayette Open Space, said birds are an important part of ecosystems as well as an indicator of a healthy ecosystem.
"I call birds the single best way of understanding our world," Ogle said.
Birds are one of the easiest animals to study, Ogle said, as there are many birds in urban and rural places.
In 2019, Lafayette was designated as a Bird City, and the monthly Lafayette Birds! program is part of the city's initiative. Ogle said there are criteria a city has to complete to be considered a bird city, such as habitat restoration and preservation.
Lafayette's 1,640 acres of open space provides a place for the birds to thrive, Ogle said, and residents can learn about the ecosystem at The Shack, north of the pickleball courts.
The Shack is full of educational material about Waneka, the vegetation and the local birds.
Ogle said approximately 35 people gathered at Waneka to go birdwatching Sunday, but he has seen groups of 90 gather.
Lindsey Wohlman, a guide for Lafayette Birds!, has been birding since she was a kid. She said birding is a great excuse to go outside, pay attention to the environment and meet other birdwatchers.
As Wohlman and her group walked around the lake, birdwatchers used their keen eyes to spot a Red-tailed Hawk sitting on a cottonwood tree. She explained that despite the name, not all Red-tailed Hawks have a red tail, so it was important for birders to use multiple markings to identify birds.
"That's the fun thing about birding in groups, as long as you're not super loud, having another 10 pairs of eyes helps you see a lot more," Wohlman said.
She said it is pretty easy to spot birds, so long as you look up and into the trees. She added that being able to recognize bird calls is a great way to identify birds even if you are unable to see them.
A member of the group said they assumed birdwatching in the winter might limit them to only seeing Canadian geese, but they were surprised to see a merganser duck and a small species of falcon.
Lafayette Open Space and Environment for the Americas will host a Bird City reception at The Muse, 200 E. South Boulder Road, 5:30-7 p.m. Jan. 24. The event will showcase the "Innovations in Environmental Education Award" given to the Lafayette Birds! program from the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education.
