Cortez, Colorado – The rich and diverse natural habitats of Southwestern Colorado’s Mesa Verde Country® are home to a fascinating variety of raptors, seasonal migrants, and year-round residents. Each year the region’s natural diversity is celebrated during the Ute Mountain – Mesa Verde Birding Festival. The 2010 festival will run from Wednesday, May 12 through Sunday, May 16.
The festival opens on May 12, with a reception for participants and a free Beginning Birding lecture. Registration also begins Wednesday afternoon and is available throughout the festival. Saturday’s keynote event is a silent auction and dinner, with keynote speaker Brian Fox Ellis, who portrays John James Audubon. Since 1980, Ellis had been touring the world collecting and telling stories. He has been a keynote speaker and/or featured workshop presenter at hundreds of conferences, has published eight books, written 20 musical theatre productions, and contributed articles to a wide range of magazines.
Throughout the festival guided tours will be taken to such diverse ecosystems as McElmo Canyon, Mesa Verde National Park, Ute Mountain Tribal Park, Upper Dolores River, and the Mancos River Valley. Participants may expect to see a wide variety of native and migratory species. During the 2009 festival birders spotted over 124 species of owls, hawks, hummingbirds, bluebirds, swallows, nuthatches, orioles, finches, geese, ducks, woodpeckers and others. This year’s field trips include a tour to the only place in Colorado where nesting Lucy’s Warblers have been documented, and a special tour to view the wild horses in Disappointment Valley, about 90 minutes outside of Cortez. Unique birding tours via raft and horseback are also scheduled, as well as a birding and rock art trip into San Juan County, New Mexico.
The town of Cortez sits in the archaeological center of the United States, making it easy to combine festival attendance with side trips to important cultural and historical sites like Mesa Verde National Park and the Ute Tribal Park. Festival registration is $45, which includes the Wednesday reception, daily lectures and Saturday night’s keynote dinner. Daily tours are priced separately. The festival’s webpage at www.utemountainmesaverdebirdingfestival.com has registration forms, tour prices, schedules, and lodging information. The Mesa Verde Country® website at www.mesaverdecountry.com also has links to festival information, archaeological sites and other Mesa Verde Country® destinations and activities. Early registration is recommended, as trips fill quickly.
Mesa Verde Country® (www.mesaverdecountry.com)
Mesa Verde Country is the southwest Colorado travel destination surrounding Mesa Verde National Park. The towns of Cortez, Dolores, Mancos and Towaoc, and the entire Mesa Verde Country area, comprise the archaeological center of America.
Tags: birding, colorado, festival, Mesa Verde Country