Outdoors

Staunton State Park is on track to open to the public in October, as volunteer recruitment, partner development and construction progress.

A firm date for the opening of Colorado’s newest state park — on 3,500 acres north of Shaffers Crossing — will be set sometime in August, said park manager Jennifer Marten.

Community partners and volunteers

The Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife hosted two open houses in April to recruit volunteers to help build and maintain the park and partners to raise money for it.

Snowy February has fairly well lived up to its name. We have not had deep snow here, but frequent light snow and cold weather have kept the ground carpeted in white. Of course, more lies ahead for us for spring snows are usually deeper although less frequent.

March snows are usually deep, wet and heavy. Even April, our second snowiest month, brings this same kind of snow with nice spring days in between. Spring can’t come too soon for me for I have cabin fever and just can’t wait to get outside.

A phone call from a reader of this column on Thursday, July 12, brought some exciting news. The call was from Susan Pellegrini, who lives out Brook Forest Drive. She was calling to tell me she had seen her first rose-breasted grosbeak at her feeder. It was an adult male, not all that unusual in itself, but it was the date that excited me.

The questions I am most frequently asked are, “What is the best bird book for this area?” or “What is the best bird book for identification? or “What book do you use?” Actually, I use three books most frequently.