This past week I had the opportunity to participate in the Ute Mountain Mesa Verde Birding and Nature Festival in Cortez, Colorado. The last time we attended this festival was in 2019, as it was cancelled the last three years due to Covid. It was really nice to be back.
We drove up Wednesday morning, arriving mid-afternoon. After setting up our vendor booth, I gave a presentation on birding optics (binoculars and spotting scopes) during the Birds and Bites Welcome Reception. Later that evening, I went and scouted the area where I would be leading a bird walk the next morning.
Early Thursday morning I met my group and we did a bird walk at the Geer Natural Area. I like this location as it has a variety of habitats, including a small lake, a stream, a marshy area, a pasture, and sage brush habitat. The key to seeing a wide variety of bird species is to bird in an area with multiple habitats in close proximity to one another.
We had a lovely morning! It was not as birdy as I would have liked it to have been, but the group was very happy with our morning outing. When I guide, I feel pressure to find as many bird species as possible to make sure the participants have a good experience. This is not a realistic expectation, as I have no way of controlling what birds we will see—or not!
For example, when I was scouting my area Wednesday night, I saw several beautiful male blue grosbeaks. I was confident that we would see this species the next day during our bird walk. However, as luck would have it, we didn’t see a single one. I also had a black-billed magpie and a Wilson’s snipe Wednesday evening; we didn’t see either of these species on our bird walk the next morning!
When I wasn’t staffing our vendor booth, I was out birding on my own each morning and evening. I entered all of my birding trips into eBird, and ended up with 15 checklists and a total of 96 species over the course of the four days we were in Colorado. Needless to say, I had a good time birding!
The day after we returned, my wife and I were doing our weekly Sunday morning walk on the Peavine Trail when I discovered a single Wilson’s phalarope swimming in Watson Lake. This is a relatively uncommon species in the Prescott area. Ironically, I ran into another avid (rabid?) birder on the trail who had binoculars and a camera, as I had neither. I borrowed her binoculars to look at the phalarope to confirm the identification—the picture with my column today was taken by her.
Tonight, Thursday, May 25th, is the last Prescott Audubon Meeting of the season. There is a social hour at 6:30 p.m., prior to the 7:00 p.m. meeting. The speaker is Rich Armstrong, from Sedona. The meeting should be entertaining and informative. Prescott Audubon meetings are held at the First Presbyterian Church located at 630 Park Avenue. The meeting is free and open to the public.
On a personal note, for the second year in a row, I have a male cardinal that has discovered my bird feeding area. I suspect it is the same male that hung around last year for several months. He comes in and out of the yard several times a day, singing up a storm. I suspect it’s his effort to attract a mate—no luck yet!
Be on “The Lookout” for baby quail. I haven’t received any reports yet, but I suspect that individuals in the Prescott area will start seeing baby quail this week!
Until next week, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Vortex and Swarovski optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
