2023 Theme:
Riverside Residents

Registration is Limited

Each field trip has a limited participant capacity, so we recommend signing up for a trip you are interested in as soon as registration opens.

Early Bird Registration Opens: January 29th - 31st, 2023

When you donate $50 or more to Friends of the Verde River, you qualify for Early Bird Registration.
Click Here to donate to Friends and secure your spot for Early Bird Registration!

Regular Registration Opens: February 1st, 2023

Anna's Hummingbird
Photo By Doug Von Gausig

Event Details

Trips

Field trips are available each day of the festival and range from beginner to advanced. Our experienced guides have extensive knowledge of the birds and habitat that make this region so unique.

Workshops

Workshops are a great way to learn new skills or advance your current knowledge. Each afternoon of the festival will offer numerous workshop options led by experts in the field.

Guides

We have a fantastic lineup of local guides ready to show you some of their favorite spots in Central Arizona. The Verde River and its surrounding watershed is a prime destination for birdwatching.

Keynote Speaker

Rick Taylor | Author, Birds of Arizona

A lifelong resident of Arizona, Rick conducted an eight year study of the Elegant Trogon that led to the publication of Trogons of the Arizona Borderlands in 1994. During the course of his research he reported the first Eared Quetzal seen in the U.S. In 1980 he founded Borderland Tours, a birding travel company dedicated to responsible ecotourism as a means of providing an economic platform for the preservation of the world's wildlife communities. His love of guiding resulted in lifelong friendships with people on six continents, as well as the opportunity to see and study all of the trogons and quetzals in the new world. In 1995 the American Birding Association published his A Birder's Guide to Southeastern Arizona, which he revised in 2005. Birds of Arizona, his new book, was just was released in 2022 by the R.W. Morse Company.