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 22
Ismay's Yellow Jacket Canyon & Mcelmo Canyon
Melissa May, M.S., Mountain Studies Institute, Executive Director

6:00 Am – 3:00 Pm; $55
Yellow Jacket Canyon In The Canyons Of The Ancients National Monument Cradles Permanent Riparian Corridors With Big Cottonwoods And An Understory Unique To Southwest Colorado – The Only Known Location In Colorado For Nesting Lucy's Warbler. Additionally, There Will Be A Visit To A Private Property Within Mcelmo Canyon's Red Bluffs. Summer Tanager, Gray Flycatcher, Gray Vireo, Black-Headed Grosbeak, Bullock's Oriole, Hummingbirds, A Variety Of Warblers And Cooper's Hawk Are Possibilities. Easy With Up To A Mile Hiking; Warm Temps Likely (80s). Lunch Provided. Approximately 80 Miles Round Trip.

Tour 23
Mancos: An Old West Habitat
Diane Cherbak, Citizen Scientist And Festival Chairman, Ummv Birding Festival

6:15 Am – 3:00 Pm; $55
A Trip Through The Mancos Valley Is Like A Journey Into The Past. Many Historic Ranches That Have Existed For Over 150 Years Continue To Operate. Cattle Drives Still Pass Through The Streets Of Mancos. Mining, Logging And A Railroad Also Have Left Their Marks To Provide A Variety Of Birding Habitats. Waterfowl Nest Or Feed In The Numerous Stock Ponds And Reservoirs. Red-Winged & Yellow-Headed Blackbirds, Brown-Headed Cowbird, Sora, Virginia Rail And Common Yellowthroat Can Be Expected In The Associated Cattail/Bulrush Marshes. The Riparian Woodland Characterized By Cottonwood, Willow And Buffalo Berry Could Add Western Screech-Owl, Western Kingbird, Bullock's Oriole, Great Blue Heron, Spotted Towhee And Magpie. The Agricultural Lands Add Habitat For Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Mourning Dove And Horned Lark. The Pastures And Meadows Are Prime Hunting Grounds For American Kestrel, Red-Tailed Hawk, Common Nighthawk And Northern Harrier. Easy. Box Lunch At Mancos Brewery Provided. Approximately 40 Miles Round Trip.
Scrub Jay, Photo By Erik Hendrickson
Photo Courtesy Of Erik Hendrickson

Tour 24
Montezuma Land Conservancy

Trail Canyon
Mike Thompson, Professional Geologist And Ebird Reviewer For Southwest Colorado

6:30 Am – 3:00 Pm; $55
Trail Canyon, An Isolated Oasis, Features Historic Homesteader Ranches Now In Conservancy. Located North Of Mcelmo Creek, The Dramatic Geography Includes Sheer Canyon Walls And A Beautiful Waterfall. The Riparian, Juniper, Cottonwood And Sage Prairie Habitats Lie Within A Migratory Path And Provide Opportunities To See A Variety Of Flycatchers, Vireos, Yellow, Wilson's, Orange-Crowned & Maybe Macgillivray's Warblers, Yellow-Breasted Chat, Lazuli Bunting, Blue Grosbeak, American Kestrel, Accipiters And The Occasional Golden Eagle. Strenuous Hiking Of Five To Seven Miles Round Trip. Lunch Provided. Approximately 30 Miles Round Trip.

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