We are excited for the best fest in the west!

As a naturalist, a love of and fascination for our natural surroundings has always been a deep vein in my personality.

As a child, I would watch nature shows like Wild Discoveries, Going Wild with Jeff Corwin, and my personal favorite, Steve Irwin - the Crocodile Hunter.

Though I struggled with many subjects in school, when I was at home and finished with my homework I would sit and watch those shows, or read books about nature, and wildlife and found I could easily retain the information I was hearing and reading.

I always thought it was amazing that birds could fly to and from wherever they wanted to go... no obstacles. I took a shine to them. Although I have a love and passion for all animals, birds hold a special place in my heart. I began reading more and more about each species, sub species, how they were able to defy gravity; how could they fly, and so easily, even through nature's most severe storms?

My favorite group of birds have always been birds of prey. As a young child, I was always fascinated at how majestic and powerful they looked. I couldn't help but be aw-inspired by their hunting techniques and skills. As I got older my knowledge base of these raptors grew, and I came to find just how important they are to the natural community.

I invested a lot of my time in going to festivals and events centered around raptors and have had the pleasure to facilitate lectures and presentations at a few.

Through our business, we've come to find quite an interest in our community about wildlife and specifically, birds.

More recently, we've had several request from clients asking us if we would ever consider putting on a birding festival, to which, at the time, we hadn't fully considered. Though, after some thought and conversations, we decided what a great way to reach out to our community and provide a free, educational event based on some of the most incredible, skilled and diverse predators around? Raptors.

And thus, we began planning the 1st Annual Raptor Festival!

We decided to reach out to our local wildlife rehabilitation foundation (which, in my spare time, would volunteer at) and see if the organization would be interested in partnering for the event. Both the Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation and the Town of Silt (where we will be hosting the event) obliged and honored us with their support. We are so grateful to both these organizations for their contributions and excitement for our efforts. We had a few, amazing businesses who have sponsored this event and make it a reality. We are very grateful to our local Alpine Bank, B&Y Drilling, Somethin' Sweet Candy Plus and Cayton Ranger Station for their financial support.

As the day nears closer, my excitement to bring the event to fruition builds. We look forward to seeing our community on October 21st as we showcase the 27 raptor species of the Western Slope!