National Audubon Society

Newsletter | September 2025

Audubon After Dark is Back—Share Your Bird Stories and Art!

We’re welcoming back our popular Audubon After Dark programs this fall with a special Bird Story Hour featuring stories and art from our summer experiences with birds. If you have bird-inspired art or a bird-focused story from this summer—or earlier—we would love you to join this virtual event and share! Register here

Graphic: Yeji Kim/Audubon

A White-breasted Nuthatch eats bird seed.

Naturalist Chat, A Bird Q&A

Also returning this month is Naturalist Chat, A Bird Q&A, where our community science coordinator and bird expert, Zach Hutchinson, will answer your questions live on Zoom. Whether you’re curious about feeding birds, their behaviors, population changes, or need help with an ID, we’ve got you covered!

Sign up here

White-breasted Nuthatch. Photo: Kenneth Heiar/Great Backyard Bird Count

An American Goldfinch perches on goldenrod flowers.

Garden Refresh at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery

Join us and the City of Fort Collins’ Nature in the City program in revitalizing the Habitat Hero demonstration garden at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery in Fort Collins, Colorado! We’ll spend the morning planting new, native plants in the garden, transforming it once again into a vibrant, wildlife-friendly landscape. Together, we’ll create a habitat that provides food and shelter for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife along the popular Poudre Trail.

Sign up here

American Goldfinch. Photo: Max Kelly/Audubon Photography Awards

An illustration of a bird in flight above bright and dimmed outdoor lights.

How to Make Your Outdoor Home Lighting Bird-Friendly

If you’ve ever tried to stargaze in the haze of a bright city, you know there is little to see. The shine of millions of city lights culminates in sky glow, drowning out the stars and seemingly upending the night sky. If you’re a migratory bird who uses the stars to navigate, that’s a real problem. To help migratory birds travel safely, consider these bird-friendly lighting choices for light fixtures on and around your home.

Read more

Illustrations: Isabelle Pardew (isabellepardew.myportfolio.com)

A Western Warbling Vireo perches on a branch.

More Gulls, More Vireos: Latest Shakeup of North American Bird Names Splits Familiar Species

Since 1886, North America’s top organization for scientific bird study—now called the American Ornithological Society (AOS)—has maintained the official list of North American bird species. It’s a great benefit to have a standardized set of names that we can all use. However, names may change when species are reclassified, which occurs more frequently today as genetic studies reveal new insights into the relationships between birds. Every summer, the AOS publishes a supplement to their list, detailing any revisions. Since the 2025 supplement, published August 14, one common bird in the Rockies region is now recognized as two separate species! Which is it?

Learn more

Western Warbling Vireo. Photo: James Watts, Jr./Audubon Photography Awards

A Yellow Warbler sings from a branch of maroon leaves.

Turn Lights Out for Migrating Birds

Every spring and fall, billions of birds migrate through the Rockies region, the majority of them flying at night, navigating with the night sky. This mass movement of birds must contend with a dramatically increasing but still largely unrecognized threat: light pollution. More than an estimated one billion birds are killed annually from direct collisions with illuminated buildings, towers, and other structures across the country. Light pollution harms birds, but you can help. Pledge to turn off excess lighting during bird migration to help ensure birds have a safe passage.

Sign the pledge

Yellow Warbler. Photo: Simon d'Entremont/Audubon Photography Awards

Get Involved

Don’t see an opportunity near you? Visit our Get Involved page to find ways you can help birds in your area.

CONNECT WITH US

Audubon Rockies
320 E. Vine Dr., Suite 312, Ft. Collins, CO 80524 USA
(970) 416 6931 | www.audubon.org/rockies

© 2025 National Audubon Society, Inc.

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