Early Registration

An early registration form for the 2012 Ute Mountain-Mesa Verde Birding Festival is now available. The festival will be taking place May 9-13, 2012. To register for the festival, use the online form below (online credit card transaction through PayPal).

For additional information on the tours and tour leaders, please visit the festival’s official site. Additional information will be posted here as it becomes available, so please check back!

Keynote Speaker

Professor Thomas Dunlap, author of the recently published In the Field, Among the Feathered: A History of Birders and Their Guides (this book will be available for purchase in the Cortez Cultural Center gift shop), is a professor in the history department at Texas A & M University. He is the author of numerous articles in the areas of environmental history and values, an expert witness on DDT, long-time birder and conservationist.

Dunlap’s brilliant environmental history of birders and the ubiquitous guides reveals new insights about a critical convergence of science, art, recreation, and conservation. His engaging and enlightening narrative demonstrates antecedents of our current enthusiasms for sustainability and clearly shows the critical role of citizen science and popular recreation in establishing the foundations for modern environmentalism.

Online Registration

Please use the / buttons to specify the number of tickets you want. Mouse over the buttons to find out more about the tours and activities.

Festival Registration:			Qty	Price
	Registration Fee (per person) Festival Registration Fee $45 Includes admission to all lectures and Saturday’s keynote dinner and silent auction. Please include one registration fee for each person in attendance.		0	$0.00
Tours and other activities:
Time	Event		Qty	Price
Wednesday (May 9) activities:
12:00pm – 7:00pm	Registration at Cortez Cultural Center Please stop by to pick up your t-shirts and swag bags and complete the registration process.
4:00pm – 11:00pm	Raptor/Owl Hoot Raptor/Owl Hoot $30 Owl surveyors Glenn Dunmire and Alexis Watts, Ecosphere Environmental Services. Observe and identify raptors soaring in afternoon or on the nest; stop for supper or reception at Center, then the “night owls” among us will go out hooting for owls.		0	$0.00
5:30pm – 7:00pm	Welcome/Bird Art Show Reception Details to be announced. Admission to event included with registration fee.
7:00pm	Lecture: Water Birds and Shorebirds… Water Birds and Shorebirds of the Four Corners Professor Tim Reeves, San Juan College. Details to be announced. Admission to event included with registration fee.
Thursday (May 10) activities:
6:30am	Birding Four Corners Lakes New! Birding Four Corners Lakes $35 Professor Tim Reeves, San Juan College. This new tour will explore birding hotspots of the northwestern corner of New Mexico, including Farmington Lake, Lake Luther, Morgan Lake, San Juan Nature Center, Animas and Brooks Parks. An opportunity to bird in a slightly warmer zone. Lunch is provided.		0	$0.00
6:45am	La Plata Mountain Birding La Plata Mountain Birding $35 Jim Beatty, President, Colorado Field Ornithologists. Bird your way east from Cortez toward the La Plata Mountains and Durango area, stopping at campgrounds, lakes, and mountainous areas offering various habitats and great birding.Lunch is provided.		0	$0.00
7:00am	Birding Among the Ancients Birding Among the Ancients $35 Brenda Wright and Coen Dexter, Regional Director, Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II. Explore the Dove Creek area, which includes agricultural, piñon-juniper, riparian and cultural sites. Good raptor country, as well as being part of the Southwest Birding Trail. Includes a stop for pinto bean products and souvenirs. Lunch is provided.		0	$0.00
8:00am	Condors of Arizona (Overnight) Returning! Condors of Arizona $80 Dr. Donald Bruning, Retired Chairman and Curator, Department of Ornithology, Wildlife Conservation Society; Paul Morey, Wildlife Biologist, Mesa Verde National Park; and Chris Parish, Condor Field Project Supervisor, Peregrine Fund. On this overnight tour, you will caravan five hours to the Vermillion Cliffs of the Colorado River in search of California Condors reintroduced into the western Colorado Plateau. Lunch on Thursday provided, remaining meals and lodging on your own at Marble Canyon Lodge: (800) 726-1789. Return to Cortez by about 6:00pm Friday.		0	$0.00
4:00pm	Lecture: Goshawks… Goshawks: Their Habitat and Management in the San Juans Eric Freels, Wildlife Biologist, Bureau of Land Management. Details to be announced. Admission to event included with registration fee.
7:00pm	Lecture: Golden Eagles… Golden Eagles in the Southwest: What We Have Learned, What We Need to Learn Dale Stahlecker, President, Eagle Environmental, Inc. Raptor enthusiast and field researcher monitoring golden eagles in New Mexico and the Four Corners area. Admission to event included with registration fee.
Friday (May 11) activities:
6:00am	Lucy’s Warbler Lucy’s Warbler in Yellow Jacket Canyon $40 John Bregar, native plant botanist & birder. Hike into Yellow Jacket Canyon’s cottonwood riparian environment. Only known Colorado nesting site of the Lucy’s warbler. Lunch is provided.		0	$0.00
6:15am	Bradfield Bridge Bradfield Bridge $35 Glenn Dunmire, field biologist consultant and Neil Perry, Wildlife Technician, Mesa Verde National Park. Bird along miles of the Dolores River below McPhee Dam, a river corridor rich with birds and other wildlife due to a mixture of riparian, wetland, upland, and canyon wall habitats. Possible sightings: black phoebe, peregrine falcon, and yellow-breasted chat. Lunch is provided.		0	$0.00
6:30am	Ute Tribal Park and Pottery Ute Mountain Tribal Park and Ute Mountain Pottery $65 Brenda Wright and Coen Dexter, Regional Director, Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II. Enjoy birding in this unique riparian area of Mancos Canyon, among ancient ruins managed by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. Seek blue grosbeak, western tanager, yellow-breasted chat, raptors, and quail. Shop at the Ute Pottery. Lunch is provided.		0	$0.00
6:45am	Totten Lake and Thomas Preserve Totten Lake and Thomas Preserve $25 Donna Thatcher, Director of Farmington Museum’s Riverside Nature Center. A large number of species may be seen as you wander by lakeshore, ponds, marsh, willow thickets, cottonwoods, and piñon-juniper areas. An easy walk of about a mile.		0	$0.00
9:00am-11:00am	Kids’ Birding Outing Kids’ Birding Outing $5 Gabi Morey, San Juan Mountains Association and Judi and Scott Aeschlimann. Kids ages 6 and older are welcome to join educators at Denny Lake for an enjoyable outing with birdwatching, crafts, and other activities. Parents encouraged. No registration fee required for this tour.		0	$0.00
4:00pm	Lecture: Black Swift… Black Swift: Secrets Revealed Carolyn Gunn, fisheries biologist, CO Parks & Wildlife. Author and team researcher monitoring black swift colonies. Admission to event included with registration fee.
5:00pm	Reading and Book Signing Reading and Book Signing Professor Thomas Dunlap, author of In the Field, Among the Feathered: A History of Birders and Their Guides, at the Cortez Cultural Center gift shop. Meet the keynote speaker, listen to selected readings, and possibly add this book to your collection. Books available to buy from the gift shop. Admission to event included with registration fee.
7:00pm	Lecture: Nature Photography Beginning Nature Photography Lauren Buchholz, Colorado Parks & Wildlife. Want to take a bit of southwest Colorado home with you? Learn tips and techniques to improve your photography so that you can capture wildlife and landscapes for yourself! Class will include a sunset field shooting component, with own equipment, so dress accordingly. Admission to event included with registration fee.
Saturday (May 12) activities:
6:00am	Weber Canyon New! Weber Canyon $50 Andrew Mackie, Executive Director, Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas. Tour to benefit Montezuma Land Conservancy. Hike Weber and East Canyons in Mancos. Experience transitional habitat from piñon-juniper to sheltered cliffs and lush riparian areas.Species observed in the past include Mexican spotted owl, willow flycatcher, loggerhead shrike, peregrine falcon, eagles, blue grosbeaks and even bighorn sheep. Lunch is provided.		0	$0.00
6:10am	Newspaper Rock Loop New! Newspaper Rock Loop $40 Donna Thatcher, Director of Farmington Museum’s Riverside Nature Center and Judi and Scott Aeschlimann. Rock art and birding among the red rock country of Canyonlands and, road conditions permitting, into the Abajo Mountains. Cottonwood habitat along stream and pond close to Dug-Out Ranch, montane habitat and Foy Lake in the Abajos. Lunch is provided.		0	$0.00
6:30am	Breeding Birds Breeding Birds $25 Lynn Wickersham, Project Manager, Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II. Explore a whole new level of birding during this look at breeding bird behavior, identifying birds and their courtship behaviors, territoriality, nest building, caring for young in and out of the nest. Learn to do breeding bird surveys in last year of bird atlas.		0	$0.00
6:40am	Mesa Verde National Park Mesa Verde National Park $40 Linda Martin, Retired Supervisory Interpretive Park Ranger, Mesa Verde National Park. Explore the best birding sites in this National Park, well-known for its archaeology and pristine, varied habitats. Lunch is provided.		0	$0.00
6:50am	Birds of the Ponderosa Forest Birds of the Ponderosa Forest $30 Brenda Wright and Coen Dexter, Regional Director, Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II. Take the back roads from Dolores to Mancos, stopping at a local bluebird trail on the edge of the ponderosa forest, McPhee Park: a remnant of century-old pines with Williamson’s sapsuckers, and other stops.		0	$0.00
7:30am	Beginning Birding Beginning Birding at Denny Lake and Hawkins Preserve $0 John Koshak, Watchable Wildlife Coordinator, SE Region, Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Known for his fun approach to learning birdwatching, enjoy an indoor program on bird identification, then on to Denny Lake, a local birding “hot spot.” Abundant lake and shore birds, and more! No registration fee required for this FREE tour.		0	$0.00
3:00pm	Lecture: Birding Optics… Birding Optics: Choosing and Using Binocs and Scopes Andrew Mackie, Executive Director, Land Trust of the Upper Arkansas. Join us for a hands-on workshop about how to get the most out of your birding optics. Learn secrets to shopping for new optics. Bring your existing binoculars and scope for help in understanding your individual optics. Admission to event included with registration fee.
5:30pm – 7:30pm	Dinner/Silent Auction Admission to event included with registration fee.
7:00pm	Keynote Speaker Keynote Speaker Professor Thomas Dunlap, author of In the Field, Among the Feathered: A History of Birders and Their Guides, is a professor in the history department at Texas A & M University. He is the author of numerous articles in the areas of environmental history and values, an expert witness on DDT, long-time birder and conservationist. Admission to event included with registration fee.
Sunday (May 13) activities:
6:30am	Lower Dolores Canyon New! Lower Dolores Canyon $35 Aimee Way, Biologist, Ecosphere Environmental Services. This new tour explores the dramatic lower canyon of the Dolores, which promises a slightly warmer micro-climate. Raptors, early migrants such as warblers likely. May include extensive walking.		0	$0.00
6:45am	McElmo Canyon and Wine Tasting McElmo Canyon and Wine Tasting $30 Riley and Heather Morris, Colorado Parks & Wildlife. Situated between redrock sandstone and Sleeping Ute Mountain, McElmo Creek winds through cottonwoods, hayfields and sage, providing rich bird habitat. End with a winery tour and lunch, and a chance to taste and purchase Guy Drew wines.		0	$0.00
7:00am	Mancos Birding and Brunch Mancos Birding and Brunch $30 John Koshak, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Jan Wright, artist. An easy-going visit to Cottonwood Park and lakes en route to artist Jan Wright’s bird-rich rural property on Summit Ridge, for a light meal together amid feeders and spectacular views. Hike her 35 acres of old growth juniper for other sightings.		0	$0.00
T-Shirts: 2012 Birding Festival Commemorative T-Shirts $18 Full color screen print of this year’s Birding Festival poster on the front of each shirt. Sizes small (S) through double-extra-large (XXL). Double-extra large costs $25.			Qty	Price
	Small (S)		0	$0.00
	Medium (M)		0	$0.00
	Large (L)		0	$0.00
	Extra-large (XL)		0	$0.00
	Double-extra-large (XXL)		0	$0.00
Other options:
	Please type the name(s) of the person(s) attending.
	John Smith, Mary Smith
	Will you be attending the dinner?			Yes
				No
	Do you need vegetarian lunches?			Yes
				No
	Would you like to include a donation to the Cortez Cultural Center?			$0.00
				$5.00
				$10.00
				$20.00
				$50.00
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Total				$0.00