Watch the Birdy

Bird enthusiast Lynn Willcockson has been going out in the woods with a pair of binoculars since he was twelve years old. “And I’m not going to tell you how long ago that was,” he says with a wink. But rest assured that his cred as a birdwatcher is cast-iron, and that’s why he’s one of the go-to guys at the Denver Botanic Gardens when a knowledgeable bird-walk leader is needed. Willcockson leads several such walks throughout the year, including this morning’s Summer Birds at Chatfield, which takes nature lovers off the beaten path to the DBG’s foothills outpost for a weekday country ramble through a variety of bird-friendly habitats guaranteed to yield many species.

“It’s almost like a private-land experience,” Willcockson notes. “There’s not too many people out there at this time of the week.” But there are birds, and he says one can expect to see such feathered friends as herons, hawks, ducks, hummingbirds and jays, as well as a possible — but not promised — rarity or two. “I’m looking forward to really seeing what’s there myself,” Willcockson adds.

Today’s two-hour hike sets out bright and early at 8 a.m. at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, 8500 Deer Creek Canyon Road in Littleton; admission is $18 to $21. Willcockson also joins gardens plant expert Panayoti Kelaidis to lead nature walks at Cherokee Ranch near Sedalia; register or learn more about other walking events offered throughout the year at botanicgardens.org.

Wed., July 16, 8-10 a.m., 2014