Thursday April 7, 2022
| 8am-4pm | Festival Check-in at the Robert Fowler Building | |
| 9am-10am | Leave No Trace Seminar in Robert Fowler Building | Free |
| 10am-11am | Leave No Trace Seminar in Robert Fowler Building | Free |
| 11am-12noon | Leave No Trace Seminar in Robert Fowler Building | Free |
| 2pm-3pm | Rafting the Mighty Colorado. Adventurer and storyteller Jay Meierdierck will entertain you with awesome photos and funny stories about his more than a dozen rafting trips through the Grand Canyon. You will learn about the Canyon from the bottom to the top and what it takes to be a rafting guide. He will share such secrets as what you use an ammunition box for besides ammunition. | Free |
| 5pm-7pm | Bird Trivia | Free |
4pm-6pm Birds and Beer: Meet at the Yuma Territorial Prison State Park parking lot. Nancy Meister will set up a scope to view flocks of birds coming back to the river for roost. Then we will caravan back to Prison Hill Brewery on Main Street to try the new IPA brewed especially for the event. No Host. Remember to drink responsibly and have a designated driver for the trip home.
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Friday April 8, 2022
9-10am Moody Garden Demonstration Garden: Janine Lane, a horticulturist with the University of Arizona, will be your guide in the garden which is planted in native and desert-adapted plants. Janine will help you with suggestions on plants for your garden and answer questions about water and fertilizing issues in the desert southwest. Meet at Robert Fowler Building, 139 S. 4th Ave. to caravan to the area. Free.
No Transportation or meals.
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10:30am-1pm Yuma Proving Grounds Museum: Daniel Steward, YPG biologist, and Bill Heidner, Museum Curator on the Yuma Proving Grounds Military Museum, will greet you at the museum. Daniel will talk about the birds of the area. Mr. Heidner will present “Birds of the Army.” There will be a guided tour of the facility and a time for you to peruse the museum exhibits on your own. Meet at the Fowler building 139 S 4th Ave.
Transportation and snacks will be provided. 10:30am-1pm
Cost $30 per person
(Limit 12 people)
1:30pm -2:30pm. Wings Over Yuma: Yvonne Peach, owner of the Yuma Landing, will entertain you with stories of the first plane to land in Arizona, right here in Yuma, and Yuma’s role in training pilots for WWII and of course the extraordinary flight of Bob Woodhouse and Woody Jongeward that began August 24, 1949, and ended Oct 10, 1949. Meet at the Fowler Building 139 4th Ave. 1:30pm.-2:30pm.
Cost per person $6.00
Pie & ice cream included.
2pm-3pm. Colorado River History: Tammy Snook, City Historian, will present the story of the past, present, and future of the Lower Colorado River, and Yuma’s unique role in the settlement and development of the Southwest. Held from 2pm-3pm Meet at the Robert Fowler Building, 139 S 4th Ave. Meal not included.
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6pm-9pm Dinner Under the Stars: Dinner served outdoors at the Yuma Civic Terrance, 1440 West Desert Drive (off Avenue A)
Cost $40 per person
(Limit 100 people).
No transportation.
Saturday April 9, 2022
7am-1:30pm Imperial National Wildlife Refuge: Al Borgardt, will give you a behind-the-scenes tour of the refuge. Expect to see ducks, shorebirds and listen to the rails. At the refuge, headquarters is a viewing tower, desert tortoise enclosure, and several hummingbird feeders. Meet at the Robert Fowler Building.
Lunch and transportation included.
Cost $40 per person
(Maximum 10 people).
7am-10am East Wetlands Birding: Carla van Traa, will lead a bird and nature tour in East Wetland Park. Expect to see Abert’s Towhees, Spotted Sandpipers, hummingbirds, flycatchers, woodpeckers, Verdins, and perhaps some warblers. Meet at the Robert Fowler Building, 139 S. 4th Ave. to caravan to the area.
Free.
No transportation or meals are provided.
(Maximum 20 guests)
7am.-1:30pm Betty’s Kitchen/Pratt Forest: Mark Keuchel will lead the group to an area that historically was a shanty town complete with restaurant and the spillway of the first dam on the Colorado River. Now the area includes a cotton/willow restoration area, desert trail, and views of the Colorado River. Expect to see towhees, thrashers sparrow, ducks, shorebirds, and perhaps some pelicans. Meet at the Robert Fowler Building, 139 S. 4th Ave. to caravan to the area.
Free.
No meals or transportation provided.
7am-10am Bird and Nature Walk at Sunrise Park: Chase Choate, Environme4nt Director for the Quechan Tribe, will lead a bird and nature walk along the bank of the Colorado River. Learn more about the uses of native plants and the importance of the river to the original inhabitants of the area. Meet at Robert Fowler Building, 139 S 4th Ave.
Free.
No meals or transportation provided.
(Maximum 15 guests).
10am-11am Casa de Coronado Museum (Yuma History Museum): Yvonne will provide a free tour of the Casa de Coronado Museum, located by the office at the Coronado Motor Hotel, from 10am.-11am. The museum showcases the history of tourism in Yuma, the growth of Yuma as a city, and the development of the Best Western Brand and the historic Coronado Motor Hotel over the last 80 years. It features historic tourism pamphlets and brochures about Arizona and Yuma, travel guides, furniture, aviation history, and appliances from the early 1900s, plus historic items of Yuma’s history. No charge
11am-12 noon Birds & Plants Walk: Deirdre MacDonald and Karen Reichardt will lead a walk in the West Wetlands. Expect to learn the common and scientific names of the native and desert adapted plants. Birds that might be seen are hummingbirds, towhees, hawks, thrashers, verdins, and warblers. Meet at the Robert Fowler Building, 139 S. 4th Ave. to caravan to the area. No meals or transportation provided.
1pm-2pm Edible Native Plants: Val Morrill will take you on a garden walk through the Yuma Conservation Garden. You may sample some of the native plants that sustain indigenous people in this area before the Spanish arrived. Meet at the Robert Fowler Building, 139 S. 4th Ave.to caravan to the area.
Free.
No meals or transportation included.
2pm-4:30pm Cocopah Museum & Fry Bread Tasting: A tour of the Cocopah Tribe Museum and Cultural Center of the west Reservation, led by tribal members will be followed by a cooking demonstration where participants will make their own Cocopah style fry-bread. You may also get to try the ancient recipe for screwbean mesquite tea and learn the names of various birds in the Cocopah language. Meet at the Robert Fowler Building Tour lasts until 4:30pm.
Transportation, and Fry Bread included.
Cost $40 per person.
(Maximum 20 guests).
4pm.-9pm. Bat Viewing: Bea Vicarra will lead the group to see hundreds of bats soar overhead as they begin their evening feast in the winter sky. Meet at Robert Fowler Building, 139 S. 4th Ave. Transportation is provided but you will need a flashlight, comfortable shoes for a short climb over gravel, and a folding chair. Return 9:00pm
Cost $30 per person.
Meal not included.
Sunday April 10, 2022
6am-3pm Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge: Wayne Bowers and Chris Schoneman, Manager of this California Refuge, will meet your van at Unit 1. There expect to see thousands of snow geese, sandhill cranes, pelicans, ducks, shorebirds, and hawks. The next stop will be at the Refuge Headquarters where Chris will lead an easy one-mile walk along with ponds full of ducks and geese. On the way expect to see desert birds such as quail, verdins, and flycatchers. At the shoreline of the sea, enjoy the peeps, stilts, avocets, and other shorebirds probing in the mud. At the e3nd of the trail, there is a hill providing a great overlook of the area and its interesting geology. Meet at the Fowler Building at 6am. Finishes at 3pm.
Transportation provided.
Cost $40 per person.
(Maximum guests 12)
7am-2pm Senator’s Wash: 7am-2pm. Biologist Daniel Steward will lead the tour to Senator’s Wash in hopes of spotting a loon. Stops along the way include Imperial Dam and West Pond. Birds to be expected are ducks, grebes, egrets, herons, vermilion flycatcher, and shrike. Meet at the Fowler Building,
Transportation provided.
Cost $40 per person
(Maximum guests 12).
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