Click HERE to view the 2024-2025 Community Report
  • Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: Paint a Yellow-breasted Chat in watercolors with Sandy

    Verde Villages Community Connection 4855 Broken Saddle Dr., Cottonwood, AZ, United States

    Learn to paint the Yellow-breasted Chat in watercolors with Sedona artist Sandy Beck. In this two-hour class you’ll learn the basics of painting with watercolors and you’ll take home your own masterpiece—a vivid painting of the Yellow-breasted Chat. Supplies included. Location: TBD Cost: $35 Rating: 1 Capacity: 15 Transportation: Self-Drive         Part of the Verde Valley Birding...

    $35
  • Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: Birding by Ear

    Dead Horse Ranch State Park Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, AZ, United States

    Birding by ear is a great way to help with species identification. Sometimes it's the call of a bird that clinches that final ID. You'll want to attend this workshop to prepare for the Sunday field trip but even if you don't get on his trip, this will be a worthwhile workshop for all birders....

    $30
  • Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: Deer and Coyotes of Arizona: Living Opposite Lives in the Same Landscape

    Cottonwood Recreation Center 150 S. 6th St., Cottonwood, AZ, United States

    Arizona’s deserts, forests, and grasslands are home to two familiar yet often misunderstood animals—deer and coyotes. Though they share the same environments, these species live strikingly different and often polarizing lives, shaped by their roles as prey and predator. This educational talk explores the daily challenges faced by Arizona’s deer species and the highly adaptable...

    $25
  • Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: Dusk Birding: Jail Trail & Dinner at Belfry Brewery

    Dead Horse Ranch State Park Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, AZ, United States

    We'll be walking and birding along the riparian corridor of the Jail Trail that ends up in Old Town Cottonwood where we'll have a special meal at Belfry Brewery. This historic downtown restaurant is known for Chef Bobby D’s legendary wood-fired cuisine. Bring along a flashlight, as well as your binoculars, and maybe some extra...

    $95
  • Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: Sedona – Dusk Birding at Bubbling Ponds & Dinner at “Up the Creek”

    Dead Horse Ranch State Park Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, AZ, United States

    One of our favorite birding spots, a great guide, and dinner at the "Up the Creek Restaurant" in Page Springs. There will be dusk birding along the ponds and trails in this Important Birding Area. As darkness falls owls may be spotted so bring your flashlights. Species might include: lesser nighthawk, osprey, common black-hawk, bald...

    $125
  • Verde Valley Birding and Nature Festival: Rockin’ River Ranch State Park Field Trip

    Dead Horse Ranch State Park Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, AZ, United States

    Rockin’ River Ranch State Park was recently dedicated in 2024 and lies within the Clear Creek Important Bird Area. The former ranch now provides bountiful habitat - mesquite bosque, grasslands, marsh and a lush riparian corridor with towering cottonwood and sycamore trees along the banks of the Verde River. Gentle trails with wide open spaces for birds of prey...

    $110