The 10th Annual Ute Mountain Mesa Verde Birding Festival is pleased to announce that Richard Cachor Taylor, author of the popular photo field guide, Birds of Southeastern Arizona and other Borderland guidebooks, is the festival’s 2014 keynote speaker.
Every serious birder dreams of someday adding an Elegant Trogon to a birding life-list. In 1977, while Taylor was studying trogons in the Chiracahua and Huachuca mountains of southern Arizona, he logged the only known encounter in the U.S. with an Eared Quetzal, Central America’s beautiful Bird of Paradise. Taylor’s Saturday- evening topic focuses on Six Seasons of the ApacheYear. The 2014 poster features a regional cavity nester – the stunning Lewis’ Woodpecker.
The 2014 Birding Festival schedule includes an overnight trip to Moab, an overnight trip to Telluride, two pontoon boat tours on McPhee Reservoir, plus several new day tours and an extra evening tour for Owling. Tours that have garnered high species counts in past years are offered again.
Some tours are scheduled more than once to maximize participation opportunities. All tours rely on qualified birding guides who volunteer their time and expertise. Several community entities provide use of vans to transport festival participants to the birding sites. Donations from individuals and businesses, in the form of cash or items for the Silent Auction, help make the Birding Festival an annual event that benefits not only Cortez and the Cultural Center but also surrounding communities in the Four Corners area. The festival attracts participants from as far away as Florida and the Pacific Coast.
The UMMV Birding Festival’s volunteer planning committee meets regularly at the Cortez Cultural Center, every other Thursday at 10:30 a.m. Anyone interested in assisting with the festival, including one-time activities such as addressing promotional mailings, is invited to attend Birding Festival meetings. Contact Debbie or Anne at the Cortez Cultural Center, 970-565-1151 for more information. Details about the 10th Annual Ute Mountain-Mesa Verde Birding Festival are available at www.utemountainmesaverdebirdingfestival.org.
