The High Plains Snow Goose Festival is an annual event held around the last full weekend in February.

Don't Miss Colorado's Famous and Magnificent Snow Goose Migration

Annual Snow Goose Festival in Lamar, Colorado in the month of February. Tours, presentations, and a guest Keynote person in the field of Birding.

Friday, February 3, 2023
1:00pm-6:00pm Trade Show & Crafts Fair This year we will have the vendors up for both Friday and Saturday.  Come see artisans displaying their creations, including artwork, and crafts. Ask questions and see the talent through people’s creations. Information booths from all around southeast Colorado will be here as well. A must see at Lamar High School, 1900 S. 11th Street in the gymnasium.

4:00-6:00pm Hospitality Gathering, Unwind after your adventurous day and pick up information if you haven’t yet.  Come meet folks, ask questions, and enjoy some food and friends. This will be held at Lamar High School, 1900 S. 11th Street.

Tours:
10:30am-12:00pm Colorado Mills Tour - Free. Take a Tour of this unique local manufacturer of Sunflower Oil. See how it all works. This Tour is free, but space is limited. Sign up to take advantage of this opportunity. Tour will be at Colorado Mills 505 Hickory Street, Lamar. Meet your Tour guide there.

1:00pm-5:00pm John Martin Dam Tour - Free with Colorado Parks and Wildlife Join U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rangers for an interpretive Tour of the historic John Martin Reservoir! Learn about the history and importance of the dam as you explore the dam inside and out. There is no cost for this Tour, reservations are required as there is a limit on the number of individuals that can go. Transportation is on your own. You will meet at the Dam.

2:00-6:00pm Snow Goose Tour- $30 Join Eric DeFonso on a Tour to see the snow geese. Tour includes a school bus, snacks, water, and a Tour guide. Meet at Lamar High School, 1900 S. 11th Street.

3:00pm-4:30pm Colorado Mills Tour - Free. Take a Tour of this unique local manufacturer of Sunflower Oil. See how it all works. This Tour is free, but space is limited. Sign up to take advantage of this opportunity. Tour will be at Colorado Mills 505 Hickory Street, Lamar. Meet your Tour guide there.

4:00-5:30pm Birding Tour with David Leatherman - Free Lamar’s Willow Creek is renowned for exciting and unusual birds, year round. Join us for a tramp through the riparian area looking for these avian gems. Meet behind the Lamar Community College at the north end of the nature area.

Programs:
All programs on Friday will be at Lamar High School in the auditorium. 1900 South 11th Street.  All programs are free to the public.

1:00pm Colorado Mills The local manufacturer of Sunflower Oil is going to tell you about the operation of their heart-healthy oil. Learn about the environmentally-friendly, zero-waste, full-cycle company that is dedicated to connecting farmers and customers to their sunflower products. Learn about the innovators in the sunflower industry and their harvesting of the oil while using all byproducts in their feed and grain. Sign up for a Tour of the facilities for Free.

2:00pm Debbie Barnes- Puff Up Your Feathers for Winter Birding. Don’t let cold or bad weather stop you from searching out our feathered friends. Come share adventures in winter birding round Colorado and elsewhere.

Saturday, February 4, 2023
8:00am-4:00pm Trade Show & Crafts Fair This year we will have the vendors up for both Friday and Saturday. Come see artisans displaying their creations, including artworks, and crafts. Ask questions and see the talent through people’s creations. Information booths from all around southeast Colorado will be here as well. A must see at Lamar High School, 1900 S.  11th Street in the gymnasium.

8:00am-4:00pm Silent Auction Come check out the Silent Auction. Place your bid on local items and goods as well as awesome items from around Colorado. For years, this Silent Auction has been rocking our participant’s worlds! This will be set up in the gymnasium at Lamar High School, 1900 S. 11th Street in the gymnasium.

Tours:
5:45am-10:30am Raptor and Snow Goose Tour - $30.00 Join Debbie Barnes as we Tour the grasslands in an area known for several species of raptors, and then the Arkansas River bottom for ducks and passerines. Bus included. Indoors and outdoors with minimal walking. Meet the bus at Lamar High School, 1900 S. 11th Street.

7:00-8:00am Birding Tour with David Leatherman - Free Lamar’s Willow Creek is renowned for exciting and unusual birds, year round. Join us for a tramp through the riparian area looking for these avian gems. Meet behind the Lamar Community College at the north end of the nature area.

9:00am-10:30am Colorado Mills Tour - Free. Take a Tour of this unique local manufacturer of Sunflower Oil. See how it all works. This Tour is free, but space is limited. Sign up to take advantage of this opportunity. Tour will be at Colorado Mills 505 Hickory Street, Lamar. Meet your Tour guide there.

10:30am-12:00pm Colorado Mills Tour - Free. Take a Tour of this unique local manufacturer of Sunflower Oil. See how it all works. This Tour is free, but space is limited. Sign up to take advantage of this opportunity. Tour will be at Colorado Mills 505 Hickory Street, Lamar. Meet your Tour guide there.

11:00am Camp Amache with John Hopper. After hearing all about the historical Camp Amache, drive down and join us for a Tour of the museum. County Road 23 5/10, Granada, CO 81041.

1:30pm-3:00pm Colorado Mills Tour - Free. Take a Tour of this unique local manufacturer of Sunflower Oil. See how it all works. This Tour is free, but space is limited. Sign up to take advantage of this opportunity. Tour will be at Colorado Mills 505 Hickory Street, Lamar. Meet your Tour guide there.

2:00-6:00pm Snow Goose Tour- $30 Join local birder, Dotti Russell and our Keynote speaker Alison Kondler on a Tour to see the snow geese. Tour includes a school bus, snacks, water, and Tour guides. Meet at Lamar High School, 1900 S. 11th Street.

3:00pm-4:30pm Colorado Mills Tour - Free. Take a Tour of this unique local manufacturer of Sunflower Oil. See how it all works. This Tour is free, but space is limited. Sign up to take advantage of this opportunity. Tour will be at Colorado Mills 505 Hickory Street, Lamar. Meet your Tour guide there.

4:00-5:30pm Birding Tour with Jill Smith - Free Lamar’s Willow Creek is renowned for exciting and unusual birds, year round. Join us for a tramp through the riparian area looking for these avian gems. Meet behind the Lamar Community College at the north end of the nature area.

Programs:
All programs on Saturday will be at Lamar High School in the auditorium. 1900 South 11th Street.  All programs are free to the public.

9:30 John Hopper - Camp Amache Come watch this unique presentation on the historic Japanese internment camp, Camp Amache. Learn about the history of this area and then drive down and take a Tour of the site. Event starts at Lamar High School.

11:00am David Leatherman - The Living Wonders Of Southeastern Colorado Birds are perhaps what excite nature lovers the most about southeastern Colorado.  But this underrated corner of the state can boast of much more.  Its prairies, canyons and water features provide habitat for a unique set of plants and animals.  They are adorned with fur, scales, leaves, spines, shells and bark.  They are worth watching and protecting. We will highlight the most fascinating in this presentation.

1:00pm Birds of Prey Diana Miller from the Raptor Center will present lots of great information with all the wonderful raptors to see. She will be here with hawks, eagles, and owls. See the big predators in the bird world!  See the live birds from the Pueblo Raptor Center and hear of the efforts to rehabilitate injured or orphaned raptors.  

3:00pm Eric DeFonso - Snow Geese. The reason we have a festival is the abundance of the snow geese that are in the area. Join us as we hear from Eric DeFonso and learn all about the snow geese as well as other geese like the Ross’s.

4:00pm Pat Craig - Wildlife Sanctuary Pat began saving captive wildlife when he was 19, becoming the youngest state and federally licensed person in the country as well as the first person to build a sanctuary dedicated to saving large carnivores. the oldest and largest nonprofit sanctuary in the world dedicated exclusively to the rescue of captive exotic and endangered large carnivores that have been abused, abandoned, exploited or illegally kept. He has also pioneered the art of building large acreage species-specific habitats, giving rescued animals the opportunity to live together and roam freely within large natural spaces.

7:00-9:00pm Evening Keynote presentation- $15 per person or $25 per couple for just the keynote presentation. Cost for the banquet and presentation is $30 per person or $50 per couple.  Children under 12 FREE with a paid adult. Flock together with us for a delicious meal and a presentation from our Keynote speaker- Alison Kondler of Birdingbyear.com. Alison will take you through her mnemonic-based learning techniques to help you build brain-bridges from the bird’s sound to your memory. A dynamic speaker on an excellent topic. The meal will offer 3 different meat options. No vegetarian options will be served. This will be held at the Lamar Resource and Senior Center at 407 East Olive Street in Lamar, Colorado.

Sunday, February 5, 2023
5:15-10:30am Sunrise Tour - $30 Watch the snow geese wake up and fly off to their feeding grounds. Tour State Wildlife Areas and farm fields to see a variety of waterfowl including, Sandhill Cranes, ducks and shorebirds, and some Bald Eagles. Tour includes a school bus and Tour guide. Meet at Lamar High School, 1900 S. 11th Street.

Extra Treat Birders, while you are in town, visit 304 Woodland Drive. You may experience the best in backyard birding. On a good morning, you can view birds in riparian woodland (deciduous and coniferous) and plains habitats. Many mornings more than 20 species will visit the numerous feeders. There are no guarantees, but you might see Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, Downy Woodpeckers, three kinds of doves, Pine Siskins, finches, juncos, and a variety of sparrows, hawks, vultures, and waterfowl.

Date: February 3 - 5, 2023

Location: Various Venues In Lamar, CO

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