The Annual Ute Mountain Mesa Verde Birding Festival provides a popular venue for visiting southwestern Colorado during the second weekend in May. Nestled between alpine and mesa forests and scenic desert canyons, the Four Corner’s intriguingly diverse landscapes, and mild climate, have drawn people to the region for generations. Ancestral Pueblo farmers dwelled in places now known as Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, and Canyon of the Ancients. Today’s meadows, pastures, cultivated fields, historic orchards, stock ponds and reservoirs establish habitat for a wide-spectrum of migratory and resident birds. Some species, such as Lucy’s Warbler, are found no place else in Colorado.

Hosted by the Cortez Cultural Center, the UMMV Birding Festival draws upon the expertise of regional wildlife specialists who volunteer as tour guides and guest lecturers. Each year new tours, and repeat favorites, explore an array of birding hotspots that attract avian species from loons and grebes to sparrows, grosbeaks, and finches. Overnight tours within easy driving distance offer different environs and the prospect of encountering species not found within the Cortez area.

Southwest Colorado’s first birding records date to the 1880s. Tours that combine birding with regional archaeology, ecology, and history take UMMV birders into the realms of gulls, shorebirds, waterfowl, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Bald and Golden eagles, elusive owls, woodpeckers, flycatchers and phoebes, American Dipper, towhees, crossbills, and colorful bluebirds, tanagers, and warblers. The festival’s birding tally has climbed to 180 species.

The UMMV Birding Festival designs activities and tours to fit a gamut of abilities, ages, and interests. Early evening lectures, social hours, a bird-themed art show, and banquet add to the festival’s five days of enjoyment — learning, socializing, and most importantly birding.

Schedule of Events:

Tour 3
Mancos River In Mesa Verde National Park
Paul Morey, Chief Of Natural Resources, Mesa Verde National Park

6:00 Am – 3:00 Pm; $55
Explore This Secluded, Pristine Terrain Along The Mancos River With Mesa Verde's Wildlife Biologist. Besides Learning The History Of This Part Of Mvnp, Discuss Future Restoration And Management Of The Area. Travel Mostly Off-Trail On Flat To Uneven Terrain Through Grass, Big Sage & Juniper Uplands And Riparian Areas Dominated By Willow And Cottonwoods. Past Species: Wild Turkey, Raptors, Flycatchers, Swallows, Black-Chinned & Broad-Tailed Hummingbirds, Plumbeous Vireo, Yellow-Breasted Chat, Yellow-Rumped & Black-Throated Gray Warblers And Lazuli Bunting. Moderate Hike, Up To Three Miles Round Trip. Lunch Provided. Approximately 55 Miles Round Trip.
Black Phoebe, Photo By Carla Fox
Photo Courtesy Of Carla Fox

Tour 4
Bradfield Bridge
Linda Raczek, Biologist, Retired

6:15 Am – 3:00 Pm; $55
Situated On The Dolores River In A Migratory Corridor Below Mcphee Dam, The Bradfield Bridge Area Offers River Habitats That Entice A Broad Array Of Species Including Black Phoebe, Peregrine Falcon, White-Throated Swifts, Yellow-Breasted Chat, Canyon Wren, Lazuli Bunting, Wild Turkey And Belted Kingfisher. Swallows, Warblers, Raptors, Woodpeckers, Waterfowl And Shorebirds Add To The Mix. The Scenic Sandstone Canyon May Even Offer A Sighting Of River Otters. Tours Within This Region Historically Have Brought Some Of The Ummv Birding Festival's Highest Species Tallies. Swa Pass Included. Easy. Lunch Provided. Easy. Lunch Provided. Approximately 60 Miles Round Trip.

Tour 5
Middle Mcelmo Creek Corridor
Diane Cherbak, Citizen Scientist And Festival Chairman, Ummv Birding Festival

6:30 Am – 3:00 Pm; $55
Perennial Mcelmo Creek Courses Often Overlooked Prime Birding Areas Near The Heart Of Cortez. A Meandering Stream, Oxbow Ponds, Wetlands, Clay Bank Gullies, Arroyos And A Narrow Floodplain Offer Diverse Habitats For Raptors, Owls, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Greater Roadrunner, Bullock's Oriole, Wilson's Snipe, Black Phoebe, Lazuli Bunting, Bluebirds, Jays, Swallows, Wrens, Warblers And Sparrows. Easy With Some Hiking. Lunch Provided. Approximately 30 Miles Round Trip/
Black-Backed Gull, Photo By Tim Reeves
Photo Courtesy Of Tim Reeves

Revised
Tour 6
Where There Is Water: Simon Draw And Totten Reservoir
Erik Hendrickson, Engineer, National Park Service, Retired

6:45 Am – 3:00 Pm; $55
We'll Start Our Day At Simon Draw Wildlife Area, Approximately 120 Acres Managed By The Bureau Of Reclamation With Constructed Wetlands Surrounded By Ag Fields, Sagebrush, And A Smattering Of Pinyon-Juniper Woodland.  Simon Draw Is Normally Closed In Spring For Waterfowl Nesting, But The Ummv Birding Festival Has Special Permission To Visit And Help Document Birds We Find.  The Wetlands Attract Ducks, Possible Migrating Shorebirds, Rails, Herons, And Blackbirds; Sparrows, Orioles, Swallows, Warblers And Maybe Sage Thrasher Or Shrikes Are Found In The Scrub Surrounding The Constructed Ponds. Bald Eagles And Other Raptors Nest At Simon Draw.  Totten Reservoir Is One Of The Best Places To Bird In Montezuma County (Ebird Hotspot 1). Constructed In 1907, Totten Holds Some Of The Oldest Bird Records In The County. Look For Ducks, Grebes, Herons, Ibis And Marsh Birds Such As Yellow-Headed Blackbird And Sora.  After Lunch At Totten Reservoir, We'll Pass Through Cortez On Our Way To A Nearby Birding Hotspot To Be Decided By The Group: Probably Mcphee Or Summit Reservoir, Depending On What Birds Have Been Seen Recently.  Anywhere There Is Water, We're Likely To Find Birds. Swa Pass Included. Easy. Lunch Provided. Approximately 30 Miles Round Trip.
A Blue Grosbeak Spotted At The Birding Festival, Photo By Carla Fox
Photo Courtesy Of Carla Fox

Tour 7
Happy Valley Draw & Hawkins Preserve ½ Day
Eric Moore, Owner, The Lookout, Prescott, Az

7:00 Am – 11:30 Am; $30
On The South Edge Of Cortez Is Public Access Via A Gravel Drive To An Old Wastewater Treatment Plant, A Surprisingly Pleasant And Productive Spot For Birding. Orioles And Finches Can Be Found In The Residential Cottonwoods At The Top Of The Drive; And There Is Pj And Rocky Outcrops Walking Down The Drive Towards Mcelmo Creek Where We Might Find Wrens, Gnatcatchers, Or Bushtits. The Broad Base Of Mcelmo Canyon At This Location Is A Sagebrush And Saltbush Plain, With Sparrows, Finches, Corvids, Small To Large Raptors And Vultures. The Abandoned Buildings And Fences Serve As Perches For Say's Phoebe And Other Flycatchers. There Is A Smattering Of Wetland, And The Narrow Riparian Corridor Along The Creek Might Hold Warblers, Black-Headed & Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Bunting, Swallows, Yellow-Breasted Chat And Maybe Other Surprises. Moderate, Up To Two Miles Walking. Approximately 4 Miles Round Trip.
 
Lecture
"Raptor Id"
Dr. Catherine P. Ortega, President, Durango Bird Club

5:30 Pm – 6:30 Pm; Free
Do You Ever Wonder How Someone Identifies Raptors From Inside A Car Going 60 Mph? You Can Do It Too. Catherine Ortega Will Show You Some Quick And Dirty Tricks That Will Allow You To Identify Raptors, Either Perched Or In Flight. An Occasional Raptor Gets Away Before You Can Confidently Identify It, And Some Raptors Just Seem To Defy Identification. There Is No Shame In This; The 5% Mystery Birds That Get Away Keep Raptor Identification Challenging And Fun.

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