Burrowing owl monitoring training with Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado
Learn to survey Western Burrowing Owls on the open prairie near Greeley — a community science program with the Butterfly Pavilion.
Why we picked this
Community science you can do solo after one training session — learn to identify burrowing owls and conduct surveys that feed real conservation data.
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado and the Butterfly Pavilion run a community science program monitoring the Western Burrowing Owl, and the March 1 session at Arroyos del Sol Natural Area in Greeley is your training day. From 9:00 AM to noon, you’ll learn to identify burrowing owls, recognize signs of activity, collect accurate observations, and conduct the simple monitoring protocol.
After the training, you conduct brief surveys at assigned sites independently throughout the season — no group coordination required. The data feeds into local conservation efforts for a species that’s declining across the Front Range.
Arroyos del Sol is one of Greeley’s newest open spaces, shaped by open prairie and dry arroyos. Wear sturdy shoes for walking on undeveloped terrain. No prior birding or science experience needed. Note: this is about 50 miles north of Denver, but we’re including it because VOC’s project season opens March 2 and this is one of the first hands-on opportunities available.