Tour Leader Bios
- AIMEE WAY
Aimee Way has spent the last 20 years conducting environmental work in Colorado, the last 17 years in the Four Corners Area. She is currently an Environmental Specialist with CDOT, and tries to escape from her computer whenever she can to be outside! Her bird experience ranges across all of Colorado’s habitats, from high mountains to western deserts. Her “spark” bird was the Chestnut-sided warbler at the age of 14 growing up in rural Connecticut, but she is most comfortable birding at home in Colorado with the diversity of birds the state offers. Aimee has led several tours for the festival in the past and is returning after a hiatus. - BRIAN DEVINE
Brian Devine has been birding in the southwest since 2020. Coming from a water quality and water resources background, he worked to protect our watersheds and communities as an environmental public health professional until 2025. After more than a few twists and turns, he now works to build more affordable housing in Durango. You can also see him on stage in Durango’s community theatre companies. - CATHERINE ORTEGA
Catherine Ortega, Ph.D. received a B.A. degree in 1987 and a Ph.D. in 1991, both from the Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. As a faculty member at Fort Lewis College from 1997-2009, she taught numerous courses, including, but not limited to, ornithology, wildlife management, and wetland and stream ecology. Dr. Ortega is currently a consultant and writer and has contributed her expertise and energy, in volunteer capacities, to many agencies, organizations, and tribes. She has over 100 publications and is committed to reaching both scientific and general audiences. Currently a consultant, she can be reached at Catherine.P.Ortega@gmail.com. - CHARLES “CHUCK” HASPELS
Charles “Chuck” Haspels, in his early career, was a Biology/Science teacher in American schools in S. Korea and Ethiopia. Presently, he is a retired Cortez Dentist enjoying life hiking/camping/photographing nearby canyons, archaeology sites, birds, animals, bugs, wildflowers, Milky Way, etc. He has been a bird watcher since 9th grade. - COEN DEXTER & BRENDA WRIGHT
Coen Dexter & Brenda Wright – as a coauthor of “Birds of Western Colorado Plateau and Mesa Country” (2004), Coen Dexter knows his birds. Coen and his wife Brenda Wright have seen and recorded more of the birds in this area than just about anyone, being long-time teachers and residents of the Colorado Plateau. They have also birded most of North America and in more than 30 foreign countries. - DIANE CHERBAK
Diane Cherbak has a background in food science and engineering, but has been birdwatching for more than 25 years. Her passion grew after moving to Mancos in 2010 and joining the Birding Festival planning committee. She was chairman of the committee for over 10 years, but is trying to step back into a support role. She has been involved with Cornell’s Project FeederWatch as a citizen scientist for more than 15 years. She became part of the NestWatch network in 2016 and monitors nine nest boxes on her property during breeding season. She has had Western & Mountain Bluebirds, Ash-throated Flycatchers, Violet-green Swallows and Mountain Chickadees use the boxes. - DON MARSH
Don Marsh has a degree in Wildlife Management, but spent most of his working career in Information Technology in California. Don is on the board of the Black Canyon Audubon Society, and leads many trips for them. In addition to those activities, he stays busy leading other birding field trips, conducting breeding bird surveys and volunteering at Ridgway State Park. He is an eBird reviewer for five western Colorado counties and one California county. He enjoys the fact that there is always more to learn about our avian neighbors. His birding highlight for Colorado (so far) is finding the first state record for Varied Bunting. - EMILEE AND STEVE TARNOWSKI
Emilee and Steve Tarnowski are local birders in Montezuma County who like to bird all throughout the Four Corners area. Emilee has a graduate degree in Biology and has been a park ranger at Grand Teton and Grand Canyon National Parks, as well as Aztec Ruins National Monument. Stephen is an attorney who shares Emilee’s passion for the natural world, particularly birds. - ERIC MOORE
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout and Arizona Field Optics located in beautiful Prescott, Arizona. Eric has been an avid bird watcher for over 50 years and enjoys teaching classes on bird identification, leading bird walks to help individuals create a connection to nature and equipping individuals with birding gear including quality optics and field guides. Birding is more than a hobby, it is a passion, perhaps even an obsession! - ERIK HENDRICKSON
Erik Hendrickson is a retired National Park Service engineer, and is pleased to call Cortez and Montezuma County his home. His Park Service assignments included Crater Lake, Gateway (in New York and New Jersey), Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone and Denali. He has birded from Unalaska to the Everglades, from the Rachel Carson NWR in Maine to San Diego. He enjoys searching for Black Swift at waterfalls in southwest Colorado and for Ivory-billed Woodpecker in the southeast United States. - FRED BLACKBURN
Fred Blackburn is a local author, historian, naturalist, guide, and rancher/farmer. He was born in the miners’ hospital in Telluride, graduated with a Biology degree from Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, and began his career as a ranger in Natural Bridges National Monument and Grand Gulch in Utah. His books Cowboys and Cave Dwellers and The Wetherills: Friends of Mesa Verde reflect his life-long work in prehistoric and historic research in the Four Corners Area, including several inscription surveys. He was an early coordinator for the Christmas Bird Count in Montezuma County, a founding member of the Ute Mountain Mesa Birding Festival, and has led many tours over the years, including a memorable overnight at the Ute Tribal Park. - JOHN BREGAR
John Bregar retired, worked as a geologist and geophysicist in oil and gas exploration for 32 years. In autumn of 2006, he and his wife Dorothy moved from Calgary, Alberta to Durango, CO, where he enjoys leading wildflower trips, birding trips, and hiking and mountain-climbing trips. John is a past Chairman of the Southwest Chapter of the Colorado Native Plant Society and a past Chairman of the now defunct Southwest Chapter of the Colorado Mountain Club. He currently organizes field trips for the SW Chapter of CONPS and for the Durango Bird Club. - JOHN CAHILL
John Cahill is a park ranger at Mesa Verde National Park, specializing in education and interpretation. He has led monthly bird walks at Mesa Verde for the 2024 and 2025 summer season. Ranger John has four years of experience with the National Park Service, including two years at Mesa Verde. Prior to this, he worked at zoos and aquariums as an interpreter. His favorite bird is the Black-capped Chickadee! - KRISTINA KLINE
Kristina Kline, a Colorado native, received her B.S. in Environmental Biology from Fort Lewis College in 2010. Shortly after, she worked as a biologist for a private company conducting avian surveys and threatened and endangered species surveys in SW Colorado. Along the way, she assisted with the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II, volunteered with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) working on black bear-human conflicts and became a naturalist, leading students on nature hikes. Kristina finished her M.S. in Wildlife Ecology at Oregon State University in 2016 and for the next 6 years worked as a private lands’ wildlife biologist for Bird Conservancy of the Rockies where she partnered with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, CPW and landowners to design and implement wildlife habitat restoration projects. Kristina is now a lead biologist for SWCA Environmental Consultants working to ensure threatened and endangered species, bald and golden eagles, and their habitats are not impacted by renewable energy projects in the four corners region. - LINDA RACZEK
Linda Raczek is a retired naturalist, children’s author and attorney. She trained as a raptor/bird rehabilitator with the National Audubon Society and obtained a wildlife rehabilitation permit when she moved to Cortez in 1988. She managed the Hawkins Preserve for the Cortez Cultural Center for several years and has been involved in the Ute Mountain Mesa Verde Birding Festival since it began in 2005. The Festival is what makes living in Cortez great! - LISA WILK
Lisa Wilk leads Wednesday bird walks for the Durango Bird Club and serves as a volunteer observer for the CPW Raptor Survey Project at Navajo State Park. She has always had a keen interest in birds and spends as much time as possible observing and listening to the various bird species throughout the southwest corner of Colorado where she calls home. - MELISSA MAY
Melissa May is an enthusiastic birder who has been living and birding in the Four Corners region since 2011. She has an MS in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Penn State, where she ironically did not take a single ornithology class despite it being her main passion. In her professional life, Melissa educates communities on how to collaboratively care for our shared natural resources. She and her husband Brian love exploring new ecosystems and she is excited for this opportunity to connect more people with the beautiful habitats and birds of southwest Colorado. - PAUL MOREY
Paul Morey has worked in the natural resources field for 30 years researching and managing a wide array of animals including songbirds, raptors, coyotes, and wolves. He is currently the Chief of Natural Resources at Mesa Verde National Park where he oversees the wildlife, vegetation, and physical sciences program. - RYAN VOTTA
Ryan Votta, originally from northwest New Jersey, became fascinated with birds at a young age. On his seventh birthday he received his first pair of binoculars and his first bird book, Peterson’s Field Guide to Eastern Birds. After this, he was hooked and has been passionate about birds and the outdoors ever since! Career wise, Ryan started with New Jersey Fish & Wildlife as a fisheries technician at a warm and cool water aquaculture facility. While with NJ Fish & Wildlife he had the opportunity to assist with breeding migratory bird surveys, waterfowl observations and banding, and black bear den work. In April of 2015, he accepted a job offer from Colorado Parks & Wildlife where he currently serves as the Assistant Manager of the Durango Fish Hatchery. Ryan is an active member of the Durango Bird Club, and is the compiler for the Durango and Cortez Christmas Bird Counts. He is an avid eBirder and is also one of our local eBird reviewers. In his spare time, he also enjoys fishing, camping, boating, hiking, and traveling. Ryan enjoys meeting folks that share his enthusiasm for birding and the outdoors.
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Birding Festival General Information
- The Ute Mountain Mesa Verde Birding Festival is the major fundraiser for the Cortez Cultural Center. All proceeds benefit the Center.
- All tours require pre-registration. We recommend that you read tour descriptions and plan which trips you want prior to the opening of registration.
- A registration fee is required for all tours. Full registration includes all daily tours. Daily registration includes a single tour. Full registration is required in order to qualify for the free early bird t-shirt.
- All lunches are an extra cost and are provided by Sifted Catering unless otherwise noted.
- Unless otherwise noted, tours will return to the Center at approximately 3:00 pm.
- Carpools/caravanning will be used for all tours. Drivers will be reimbursed for gas by passengers at the rate of 70 cents per mile, divided among all participants in the vehicle.
- Tour size is generally 13 or less.
- Tours take place in varied habitats with altitudes ranging from 5000 - 9500'.
- Most tours are rated Easy to Moderate. Easy is usually driving with short to no walking at each stop. Tours with a Moderate rating list the approximate number of miles. If miles aren't listed but it is rated Moderate, that would indicate somewhat strenuous for a short distance.
- Cancellations considered on a case-by-case basis up to 21 days prior to start of Festival. All cancellations are subject to a processing fee.
- Availability of restrooms depends on the tour. Nearly all guides scout out restroom locations as well as bird species. Some tours are in parks or other facilities that have established restrooms. Some have outhouses. Others, the only option are bushes. The leader will usually mention the restroom plan at the beginning of the tour.
- All tours depart from and return to the Cortez Cultural Center.
- Tour times listed are the DEPARTURE time. Please arrive 15 minutes prior.
For Birding Festival information email diane.cherbak@gmail.com
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