Green BIG DAY, May 7

Chris Rurik, a long time friend of Joe Roller, and I are going to embark on a green big day on Friday, May 7. We will start from my house in Littleton and work our way around town to see as many species as possible! I'd prefer to do our big day on Saturday, May 8 to be a part of the Colorado Birding Challenge (https://cobirds.org/CFO/COBC/), but I need to be dad on the 8th.

We are dedicating this Big Day to Joe Roller (of course) and supporting the new Joe Roller Research Grant, which will fund bird research in Colorado. Please consider a pledge to our big day. Your pledge can be a flat amount or, if you want to have more fun with it, a per-species pledge. For example, if you pledge $.50 per species and we see 90 species (which would be a solid total), you will be contributing $45 to the new fund.

If you're interested in supporting our big day, please contact me at
ssomershoe AT gmail.com with your pledge and after the big day we will coordinate fulfillment.

Thanks!

Scott and Chris

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Tis the end of the Green Year

27 January 2022 Well the Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year is over. As the year was winding down, the reality of the end of this amazing year started to set in. I admit that I was a little bummed that it was coming to an end. Of course, one person said to just do it again 2022 and let's raise more funds for the Roller Grant. HAHA! I'd be sleeping on the couch if I had considered doing that again! I'm also pretty sure my bikes and body (and leave balance at work) wouldn't hold up either! Joking aside, it was a little bit of a downer as the last days of the year came fast like a Peregrine Falcon on a flock of unsuspecting shorebirds. Suddenly the year was over. I've done 98% of my birding on foot or bike from my house since the pandemic began, so I thought the shifting of gears was likely going to be a shock to the system. I think the end of the year snuck up on me because of the "winter" was unseasonably warm with 50 and 60+ degree temperatures, incredibl...

Introducing the 2021 Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year

Welcome to the 2021 Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year Blog! The Colorado birding community lost one of its pillars when Joe Roller passed away in November 2020. Joe was a fountain of birding lore and loved people as much as birds. Many considered him a beloved friend. To honor Joe's legacy, I've partnered with Colorado Field Ornithologists (CFO) and created the Joe Roller Memorial Grant to support bird research in Colorado. The grant will be initially funded by pledges raised through my 2021 Green Big Year, a green (carbon-free) birding initiative. I will be walking or riding my bike from my house in Littleton, Colorado to see as many species as possible in 2021. My 2020 green list is currently 244 species, but I am aiming for at least 250 bird species in 2021! I'll update this blog with adventures, birds, and photos throughout the year. We are taking per-species pledges and flat tax-deductible donations towards the Grant online at https://Cobirds.org/CFO/Grants...

A sparrow, a sapsucker, and a shrike, oh my!

I've been able to take advantage of dry roads and nice weather lately. I had a couple very successful adventures in the last week and picked up some green avian targets for the year. January 20, 2021 A Harris's Sparrow was frequenting a private residence in Littleton (JeffCo) and despite arriving in the early afternoon, to find no birds anywhere, a flock of White-crowned Sparrows showed up a few minutes later and the Harris's popped up! Talk about luck! I also had taken my camera (a first for a bike ride) and lucked out with a couple decent photos for the blog! A sharp looking Harris's Sparrow! Harris's Sparrow (Green year bird #75) With the grand luck on the Harris's Sparrow, I decided to swing by the ball fields at Kipling and 285 (still in Litteton) to see if there were any Snow Geese around. Not a goose to be found, so I kept going north to Bear Creek Greenbelt to look for either of Winter Wrens that had recently been found between S Estes St and S. Kipling ...

Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year

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