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.

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 hawks and grebes to sparrows, grosbeaks, and finches. Overnight tours offer different environs and the prospect of encountering species not found within the Cortez area.

Visit their website for information and tour registrations.  Events fill quickly!

https://utemountainmesaverdebirdingfestival.com/