From May 11th to the 15th, birdwatchers from as far away as Massachusetts, North Carolina and Montana will migrate to the unlikely town of Cortez for one of the region’s friendliest birding festivals. But most of the 100 or so people who register for the 7th annual Ute Mountain/Mesa Verde Birding Festival will be Four Corners regulars who return year after year for their favorite tours and tour leaders.

“We have developed a reputation as a small, friendly birding festival that welcomes beginners and more advanced birders alike,” says this year’s coordinator, Linda Raczek. “Our faithful tour leaders are what really makes it happen. Well-known Western Slope birders like Coen Dexter, Brenda Wright, and Jim Beatty have lead tours every year. All of our leaders volunteer. They do it because they love birding, and their passion comes through.”
The Ute Mountain/Mesa Verde Birding Festival started in 2005 as a fundraiser for the Cortez Cultural Center--a small museum, gift shop and nonprofit that highlights the diverse culture, arts, and natural features of the Four Corners. The City of Cortez has embraced the festival, producing award-winning posters and brochures, and organizations throughout the community donate their vans for the tours.

Each year the festival brings back its most popular tours, with names like the Owl Hoot, Bradfield Bridge Tour, Winetasting in McElmo Canyon, and Horses of Disappointment Valley. A strenuous hike into Yellow Jacket Canyon to see the only nesting Lucy’s Warbler in Colorado is always a big draw for birders keeping Colorado lists. Tours that feature the archaeological features of the area, like Mesa Verde National Park and the Ute Mountain Tribal Park, give participants an opportunity to see them from a different perspective.

2011 brings several new tours, such as Birds and Brews, a tour of Montezuma County breweries while birding along the way. “Our thinking was, all these tours have ‘designated drivers’—why not take advantage of that and showcase an emerging local industry?” says Raczek, who recruited 3 breweries, a distillery, and a popular bakery to serve locally roasted coffee with the distillery’s kahlua or rum. A local outfitter is offering a Birding by Horseback outing into the lower Dolores Canyon, where nesting falcons on the cliff walls and early warblers along the river will entice birders and horse fans alike.

Each year the Colorado Division of Wildlife sponsors the festival, allowing the offering of a free beginning birding tour and lecture. This gives people an opportunity to “try out” the festival, or to gain confidence before going on one of the regular tours, not realizing that all tours encourage learning from one another.
The high point of the festival is the Saturday night keynote speaker, banquet, and silent auction where birders have vied for anything from a birding bed and breakfast near Bosque del Apache to field guides or bird art and collectibles. This year’s keynote speaker is Tony Apa, a specialist in sage grouse recovery from the Colorado Division of Wildlife in Grand Junction.

One annual custom has been to offer an overnight trip. “We’ve seen screech owls in Bluff with Utah birder Lu Giddings, condors near Vermillion Cliffs, and cranes in Bosque del Apache. This year a night at Far View Lodge, located in Mesa Verde National Park, a gourmet dinner at the renowned Metate Room, and an early morning bird walk in MVNP will round out the week with a little high-end birding!” jokes Raczek. “Who knows, maybe Moab is next!”
To register or for more registration, go to utemountainmesaverdebirdingfestival.com or call (970)565-1151.