Peter Moore: Some of the rare birds of Colorado even have feathers

A piratic flycatcher was spotted in Yuma County at the end of September and birders flocked (har!) to catch a glimpse. This bird ordinarily hangs out in Central and South America, hence all the binoculars focused on the twig where it rested. You can’t blame the flycatcher. Who wouldn’t want to live here? Well, actually, lots of people. Our state’s reputation as U-Haul Heaven has lately taken a beating. In the early ’90s, the population was growing at a robust 3.4%, according to the State Demography Office. Last year we had a negligible uptick of 0.5% and our birthrate dropped from 34.67 live births per thousand women in 2004 to just 24.26 in 2024. Colorado-born babies are kind of a piratic flycatcher phenomenon as well: Spot one if you can! Also bad: here’s a reason why schools are closing: There’s a shortage of Colorado students to walk the hallways . In fact, once you start looking at the demographic trends, you suddenly realize that there are a lot of rare birds in Colorado. ...