Join Cody’s 20-Year Bird Migration Survey – No Experience Required!

For the past twenty years, local birders turned community scientists have met about an hour after sunrise for the spring and fall bird migrations to document the species of waterfowl seen at the Beck Lake Complex (Beck Lake, Alkali Lake, Buchanan Lake, and the Cody and Markham Reservoirs). This complex of bodies of water attracts migrating waterfowl, making it an ideal birding spot.

You can join the survey that continues this fall on Monday mornings, starting September 15, that runs through mid-November. No matter where you are on the birding learning curve, anyone interested is invited to join.

Dates and Times for the Fall 2025 Bird Survey

The dates for the Fall 2025 Survey will occur every Monday, September 15 through November 10, and surveys will officially start at the following times. Please show up a bit early, if possible, to get ready to start the survey. However, you can join at any point in the survey, just look for the group of cars around the complex.

• September 15: 7:56 AM
• September 21: 8:03 AM
• September 29: 8:12 AM
• October 6: 8:21 AM
• October 13: 8:29 AM
• October 20: 8:38 AM
• October 27: 8:48 AM
• November 3: 7:57 AM
• November 10: 8:07 AM

Birders will always meet and begin at the same place each week. The SW corner of the Taco Johns parking lot, located at 44.514652, -109.053565

Surveys are conducted roadside, and participants conduct a stationary point count for approximately 10 minutes at each stop.

No prior birding experience is necessary, and people can participate in as many or as few surveys as they wish.

Surveys usually take 1-2 hours to complete. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars if they have them, water, and to dress for changing weather conditions.

What happens with the data collected?

Initially started by the now-closed Meadowlark Audubon Chapter in Cody, the Beck Lake Complex Survey information was turned over to the Draper Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West as a repository for the dataset. Dedicated birders have continued to gather data and submit it to the Draper for safekeeping.

Citizen science projects like this one represents a significant contribution enabling researchers to examine species trends, first arrival and last departure dates and much more. When talking with Corey Anco, the curator for the Draper Museum, he expressed a deep appreciation for the years of dedication, commitment, and participation. He said, “Many people have participated in the survey since its initiation in 2005. Long-term datasets like this, wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the sacrifice and devotion of observers and recorders who faithfully showed up each spring and fall to count birds.”

Work has already begun to digitize the data. Volunteers are needed to help move this forward more quickly. It could also be a project for students. If you are interested in helping to input data, contact Corey Anco, curator of the Draper Natural History Museum, at 307-578-4093 or email him.

Five of the 80 species have been entered so far, with some interesting results showing that 2015 may have been an unusual year. This analysis will also reveal if birds shift their migration patterns over time.

“We hope to create a welcoming community of birders of all interests and abilities while building upon and maintaining a strong dataset.”   – Corey Anco

At a recent meeting, Sue Consolo-Murphy invited anyone interested in continuing the surveys to meet at Beck Lake for a brief meet-and-greet and a short talk by Dr. Charles Preston on the survey’s history. The 20-year observations are a valuable tool that should be continued. If there is enough interest from the Cody birding community, the dataset will continue to grow. Another Audubon chapter might be formed if there is enough support and interest.

If you are interested in learning more about birding in the area, email Sue Consolo-Murphy. She will add you to the email list for programs and

This article is proudly sponsored by Cody Calendar advertisers