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| Verde River Valley Birding Trail |
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Are you a migrant or are you a year-round visitor? Actually, that’s a bird question and if you are a birding enthusiast you understand it. Birds just love our Verde River Valley and it seems not to matter whether they spend their entire lives here or if they are passing through or if they are here to raise a bird family.
The fact is that, at some time in their lives, approximately 300 species have been seen here. That’s a lot of feathers.
Viewing and listing birds here in the Verde River Valley isn’t a problem at all. What can be a bit of a challenge is finding your way to the documented birding hotspots where you can fix your binoculars on our fabulous assemblage of avifauna. For the most part, the best birding occurs, not surprisingly, in the abundant riparian zones in the Valley. The Verde River itself is one of the last great free-flowing rivers in the American Southwest and its many tributaries provide a great network of green strips. The problem is that much of the Verde itself is set in a patchwork of private, state, and federal lands. The River itself can be a little daunting to access if you are visiting or are new here and lack a guide. The Verde Birding Trail provides all the guide you need.
At present there 13 major sites listed on the Trail website; each site (hot spot) has an entire page devoted to it and you can learn about access, driving directions, weather, facilities, management and more. Each site page also has a link which will take to you a form on which you can add your own sightings and become part of the Trail. More sites will be added in the very near future so it is unlikely that you will ever “see it all”.
There is more here than just bird sites. You will also find a page devoted to places to stay if you come from out of town. Bed and Breakfast venues are especially popular with birders and many of these inn keepers can give you tips about local birding. There is also a page which will show you other non-bird attractions in our Valley. We highly recommend paring the Birding Trail with the Wine Trail and spending a week with us. Like the old song says, you can “make the world go away.”
The Verde canyon/valley is actually a 65 mile long tunnel through high country and forms a funnel for species moving up from the low desert which is one reason we have such a great variety of birds. Another is, of course, the huge riparian zone that borders the River itself. Not only that, but the Verde is large enough that it has a number of permanent streams and creeks that empty into it. That simply amplifies the size and variety of riparian habitat that is presented to birds – and you. The birds are all there. All you have to do is get here and follow a guide to the hotspots. Click on the Verde Birding Trail link and get your free guide.
VerdeBirdingTrail.com
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