Bringing Wild Birds to Your Backyard!

Eric Moore, the owner of Jay's Bird Barn, publishes an article about bringing wild birds to your backyard in The Daily Courier every Saturday. Sign up to receive our weekly article in your email.

Now Is The Time To Register For The Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival

Registration for the 2008 Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival starts on Friday, February 1st. This year's event will be April 24-27 at Dead Horse Ranch State Park in Cottonwood, Arizona.

The popularity of this event has grown each year and hundreds of out of state birders come to the festival to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Verde Valley and to see the abundance of birds Arizona has to offer.

Each year over two hundred different bird species are seen during the four-day event! Some of the species are truly spectacular, such as male Vermillion Flycatchers and male Blue Grosbeaks.

The easiest way to register for the workshops, seminars and fieldtrips is to go online at www.birdyverde.org. If you do not have access to the Internet, call 1-928-282-2202 to register over the phone.

So what are some of the field trips which are being offered? There will be trips to places like Tavasci Marsh, Lower Oak Creek, Fossil Creek, West Fork of Oak Creek, Montezuma Well, Page Springs, Verde River Headwaters, and the Agua Fria National Monument-just to name a few.

There are also several non-birding oriented field trips. Some of these trips will focus on geology, others on butterflies, and there will also be botanical walks. There are also active field trips where you can participate in mountain biking and canoeing activities as part of the birding and nature festival.

In addition to the field trips there are also a series of workshops and seminars such as Landscaping for Wildlife, Binocular Basics, Wildlife Photography, and a Beginning Birding Seminar.

If you are new to birding there is an 'Arm-Chair Birding' area where there are several bird feeders set up surrounded by a seating area. This setting provides a comfortable way to get introduced to the hobby of bird watching, and the basics of bird identification.

Saturday April 26th is Family Fun Day with a variety of activities geared towards children. This is a great time to grab the kids (or grandkids) and come for the many educational exhibits and hands-on activities for children.

Birding Festivals are growing in popularity across the nation as more and more communities understand the economic value of eco-tourism- tourism with an emphasis on ecology based activities. There are now seven other birding and nature festivals in Arizona alone.

Since the Verde Valley Festival is so close to home, I strongly encourage you to participate. It is a great opportunity to take part in a first-class event with knowledgeable, experienced field trip leaders who will both educate and entertain.

Registration for all field trips, workshops, and seminars is handled on a first come-first served basis, and many of the trips fill up quickly. I recommend that you register as soon as possible so that you can secure your spot for each of the events that you want to attend.

Unless noted otherwise, all field trips start and end at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, and most field trips include transportation. Each of the field trips is rated as to its difficulty-some require more hiking and are more strenuous than others.

This will be the fourth year that Jay's Bird will be at the festival-we sponsor the Welcome Reception, have a booth in the vendor tent-where we sell optics (binoculars, scopes, and accessories) and field guides-and I will be leading an 'Owl Prowl' field trip. I hope to see you at the Verde!

My interest in birds began when I was very young. By the time I was five years old I was fascinated with birds and watched them at feeders in my parents' yard in Massachusetts.

At the age of 13 I joined the Tucson chapter of the National Audubon Society. When I lived in Utah I participated in the Utah County Birders Club (there was not an Audubon chapter in Provo). I have been associated with the Prescott chapter of the National Audubon Society for the past eleven years and have served on the board of directors and as the publicity chair.

I have led bird walks, been in charge of the Spring Migratory Bird Count, and I have participated in the Christmas Bird Count in Tucson, Provo, and Prescott for a time period spanning 30 years. I consider myself to be an excellent birder. Birding is more than a hobby for me--it is a passion.

-- Eric Moore
Owner, Jay's Bird Barn