The Ute Mountain-Mesa Verde Birding Festival again will tour an area from Old Fort Lewis at Hesperus to Blue Lake Ranch along the La Plata River.
The first birding records for the Four Corners area came from C.F. Morrison, who tallied numerous avian species in the area during the 1870s. Variations in elevation and habitat – aspen, cottonwood, oak, and Ponderosa forests, natural springs, hay meadows, irrigated fields, lush flower gardens and ponds – attract a wide variety of bird families to the La Plata River corridor.
Participants travel by van and receive a catered lunch at Blue Lake Ranch.
All festival tours are filled on a first-come, pre-registration basis.
Visit www.utemountainmesaverdebirdingfestival.com to register or call the Cortez Cultural Center, 970-565-1151, for more information.
A focus on waterfowl and wadersThe annual Ute Mountain-Mesa Verde Birding Festival focuses this year on waterfowl, waders and shorebirds during its Local Lakes Tour on Thursday, May 12.
The tour on incorporates bodies of water ranging from Denny Lake to McPhee Reservoir and lakes on Summit Ridge and holds potential for observing flotillas of grebes and ducks, mergansers, Common Loons, avocets, Black-necked Stilts, herons, egrets, terns and gulls, sandpipers, and American White Pelicans. Eagles, hawks, and even Osprey also frequent the lakes while shoreline habitats entice smaller species like jays, finches, sparrows, towhees, and warblers.
Full registration for the festival includes daily lectures by well-qualified regional birding experts as well as the Saturday evening banquet and presentation by keynote speaker Chris Parish. Daily festival and tour registrations are available too.
Pre-registration is required for tours and the Saturday banquet. For a nominal fee, the general public may attend lectures and Saturday’s keynote presentation. Online registration is recommended, but walk-in registrations are accepted at the Cortez Cultural Center.
Details about festival activities are available at www.utemountainmesaverdebirdingfestival.com. For additional information, contact the Cortez Cultural Center, 970-565-1151.
Dolores, Summit Ridge on the scheduleSeveral tours offered during the annual Ute Mountain-Mesa Verde Birding Festival focus on various habitats within the Dolores and Summit Ridge areas.
Records indicate that the Dolores River Canyon tour (Friday, May 13) and the Bradfield Bridge tour (Sunday, May 15) provide outstanding opportunities for spotting raptors, owls, herons, waders, and waterfowl plus many spring migrants. The Bradfield tour usually garners the highest species tally during the festival.
Last year brought a Colorado record for Four Corners birds with confirmation of a Harris’ Sparrow. A free family outing tour on Saturday, May 14, visits the Butler Bluebird Trail.
Tours are filled on a first-come pre-registration basis. Information and on-line registration are available at www.utemountainmesverdebirdingfestival.com and the Cortez Cultural Center, 970-565-1151.
The Ute Mountain-Mesa Verde Birding Festival offers a tour of the RSL Ranch on Summit Ridge between Mancos and Dolores on Saturday, May 14.
The RSL Ranch, a Colorado Centennial Farm, provides a variety of wildlife habitats including irrigated agricultural land, Lost Canyon Creek, Ponderosa forests, and Gambel oak woodlands.
Protected by a Montezuma Land Conservancy conservation easement, the RSL Ranch is home to several species on the State Wildlife Action Plan such as Olive-sided Flycatcher, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Lazuli Bunting, and Pygmy Nuthatch.
The 2015 RSL Ranch tour recorded 65 species. Tour participants travel by van with seating filled on a first-come, pre-registration basis.
Visit www.utemountainmesaverdebirdingfestival.com to register for the tour or call the Cortez Cultural Center, 970-565-1151, for more information.