Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: Bubbling Ponds IBA Field Trip

This trip features the Keynote Speakers Melissa Fratello & Steven Prager and premier local guide, Lisa Grubbs. The Page Springs area is a favorite hangout for birds and birders alike. This trip will take you to one of the locals’ favorite hot spots on the banks of Oak Creek. Bubbling Ponds has been a project of the Northern Arizona Audubon with trails, invasive plant species eradication and habitat restoration and is part of the Lower Oak Creek Important Birding Area. The Audubon Society identified habitat at the Page Springs Fish Hatchery and riparian area along lower Oak Creek as an Important Bird Area (IBA), and it draws thousands of wildlife watching enthusiasts each year. We will end with lunch at the Red Rooster in Old Town Cottonwood. E-Bird link: https://ebird.org/hotspots?hs=L2714898&yr=all&m= Transportation: Vans Meal: Provided Difficulty: 3 Cost: $150       PPart of the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival Join us 100 miles North of Phoenix in North Central Arizona’s Verde Valley for the Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival. Experience birding during the peak Spring migration season at Dead Horse Ranch State Park on the banks of the Verde River. Close proximity to the Verde, Oak Creek, Sycamore Creek, and other perennial waters offers a wide selection of guided tours, hikes, and workshops in one of Arizona’s richest birding habitats. Our experienced guides have extensive knowledge of birds and the unique habitat that makes this region special. The festival, presented each April by Friends of the Verde River, is a purpose-driven community benefit organization and 501© 3 non-profit working to preserve one of the last perennial flowing rivers in the American Southwest. Festival site is at Dead Horse Ranch State Park.