Denver Audubon Center

     The National Audubon Society is a large network of local chapters, nationwide. So when my friend who works for NYC Audubon asked me if I knew another Audubon staff member that they ran into at their annual conference, I was so excited to know they oversee the operations in Denver! They recommended to me some good places to bird, including the Audubon Center at Chatfield. So off we went!

The best part of Colorado?
Hands down... hummingbirds. EVERYWHERE.
This female rufous hummingbird is s stunner.

Oh. And they feisty.
If one gets too close to another while feeding, the break out in their high pitched chirps and go all buzzy on each other.

A male broad-tailed hummingbird catches the sun just right in its iridescent throat feathers. ISN'T THAT JUST SO MIND BLOWING THAT THOSE ARE FEATHERS?!

The broad-tailed hummingbirds make a buzzy noise when they (very quickly) flap their wings.
I think I am so absolutely and unnaturally delighted by hummingbirds because of how damn amazing they are, THEY ARE SO SMOL and they survive the cold, can live (sometimes) 10 or more years, and they can travel amazing distances. HOW ARE THEY SO BADASS?!
Oh and they look so good while they do all that stuff....

Don't let that "lesser" fool you, lesser goldfinch are so beautiful in their little hoodies! We also saw American Goldfinches too and both are very happy for the seeding thistles that were abundant along the trails.

Made friends with this cottontail. I don't know if our friendship was reciprocal.

A crayfish.. which I am learning the rusty crayfish is an invasive species from the Ohio River Basin.

Bullfrogs are also an invasive species in Colorado.

A Checkered White was a butterfly we saw a lot of.

A Western Painted Turtle.

The only chance I got to capture the yellow-breasted chat.
#WorstBirdPic

A spotted towhee....

Or a satanic, feathered beast?

The center is a beautiful place to visit and I was so happy to reconnect with a person I worked for over 10 years ago at the Audubon Sanctuary in Oyster Bay, NY which had such a huge influence on my own career path (thanks!).
 If you're in Denver, this place is a 30 minute drive at most from downtown and make sure you put it into your navigation app appropriately, it is at the South end of the park.

If you go in the morning, do as was recommended to us, go to Breckinridge Brewery. Enjoy some beers, eat some yummy food, and then walk off your beers on the trails that are right behind the brewery. We enjoyed yellow warblers, house wrens, red-shafted northern flickers, among a few others.