The Journal

The 2018 Ute Mountain/Mesa Verde Birding Festival offers several half-day tours for birders who want to participate but cannot devote a full day to birding from May 10-23.

Participants travel by van with expert birders as guides to Fozzie’s Farm, a new birding site for the festival that combines habitats of fields, pastures, ponds, wetlands and windbreak trees. The Summit Ridge and Lake Tour tallied 75 species during the 2017 festival.

The Sunday outing is designed for birders including preteens and adults.

The Mother’s Day Birding Brunch offers a gourmet brunch at a scenic private home. A few hours of birding in and near Mancos for cavity nesters and new arrivals of migrant species make this a significant tour.

For more information, visit www.utemountainmesaverdebirdingfestival.com or call the Cortez Cultural Center, 970-565-1151.