History of DFO

History of the Denver Field Ornithologists 1935-2002

by Warren I. Finch

"The Colorado Bird Club" received its State Documentation of Incorporation (not for pecuniary profit) on the twentieth day of March AD 1935 at the hour of 11:30 o'clock, A.M. Forty-eight charter members are listed, including Robert J. Niedrach and Ruth Wheeler; interestingly, there were only six men in the list. Mrs. Helena Wosnuk Huron was the first President in 1935, followed by Miss Robina Storrie in 1936, Miss Clara C. Tate in 1937 and 1938, and Mr. Ferd Kleinschnitz, Jr. in 1938-39. Officers included President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer, and Club Directors (four in 1935). Standing committees included Field Trips: Miss Ruth Wheeler, Miss Clara Tate, and Mr. George Ise in 1938-39; Program: Mr. Ferd Kleinschnitz, Jr., Mrs. Clyde T. Hunt, and Miss Berness Bunger; Membership; Books; Press; Conservation; Librarian (apparently for the Museum); and Historian. Regular meetings were held on the third Tuesday of each month except June, July, and August at 8:00 P.M. in the Colorado Museum of Natural History, City Park, Denver. Dues were $1 per year.

A Few Recollections of the Beginning of the Colorado Bird Club

by Margaret E. Pritchett

The Colorado Bird Club was started January 27th, 1935, when some students in Mr. Robert J. Niedrach’s Denver University Extension Class in Ornithology wished to continue their interest in bird study in a group or club where the necessary preliminaries were accomplished to form an incorporated organization here in Denver in this State of Colorado.

Mr. Niedrach oversaw our beginning and continued to be our guide and counsellor for several years after which we gradually learned to function more by ourselves.

Mrs. Helena K. Wosnuk, one of the class, was also taking a college course in administrative work and welcomed actual experience in a project for her class, so she agreed to initiate whatever was necessary to get a club started and I helped as her secretary to call a meeting at this museum for the purpose of organizing the club.

The Beginnings of DFO

by Carol Cochran

Recently I spent a few hours in the Archives at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, reading the early history of DFO. As a DFO member and former employee of DMNS, I was interested to learn that the close relationship between the two organizations has been there from the beginning. Neither organization had its current name back in 1935, when on January 27 the as-yet unnamed bird club met at the Colorado Museum of Natural History. Twenty-two people came together then; most or all were students in Mr. Robert J. Niedrach’s ornithology class at the University of Denver who wanted to continue their study of birds in a group or club.

DFO - Watching Birds Since 1935

by Warren I. Finch

Bird watching has been the primary endeavor of the Denver Field Ornithologists (DFO), originally the Colorado Bird Club (CBC), since its inception in March of 1935 (Finch, 2002). To facilitate the formation of the Colorado Field Ornithologists that would cover all of Colorado, the Board met and voted March 18, 1964 to change the "Colorado Bird Club" name to "Denver Field Ornithologists" (Colorado Bird Notes, 1964). This premier Colorado birding organization has been in continuous existence for 68 years, and has always been associated with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (previously the Denver Museum of Natural History). The Museum's support and DFO involvement in their Bird Exhibit and Colorado bird collections has been mutually beneficial. Many DFO members over the years have volunteered at the Museum (Echelmeyer et al, 2003). From 1961, and perhaps as early as 1957 and as late as 1964, the Colorado Bird Club was affiliated with the National Audubon Society, but never as an Audubon Chapter. In 1965, the Denver Field Ornithologists was offered Chapter status, but DFO members voted to follow its original bird watching mission and not the broader mission of the Audubon Society.