This past Saturday was a little cloudy in Cottonwood, but it didn’t keep the birds away.
Crowds of people turned out April 25 at Dead Horse Ranch State Park for the Family Nature Fair, a showcase of sorts to mark the 15th annual Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival.
Organized in large part by the Verde River Valley Nature Organization, the festival lasted the better part of the week and involved birding excursions, keynote speakers and other activities to celebrate the wide variety of avian life that either calls this section of Arizona home or at least stops by on their way to somewhere else.
The birding trips stretched from Flagstaff to Prescott but the majority were centered in the Verde Valley.
Saturday’s event was largely focused on children, with numbers games and things for younger folks to do and older folks to sit back and learn.
From building bird feeders to seeing a variety of life birds on hand, there was plenty to keep one occupied.
Festival organizer Barbie Hart has been with the program since the beginning.
Ultimately, the goal of the festival is to get people interested in preserving the natural resources that make the Verde Valley special.
People come from all around for the festival, including many from neighboring California, Hart said.
“The birders bring money into the economy but it’s more than that,” Hart said. “What better way to make it part of our culture to preserve our resources and wildlife? We want to instill a message.”
To read the full story, see the Wednesday, April 29, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
