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2011 Urban Bird Festival

Editor — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:17:48 +0000

The Urban Bird Festival is a four-day event that will appeal to adults and children alike. This is an opportunity for new and experienced birders to gather and discover the many birds in the Twin Cities. Hosted by the Saint Paul Audubon, the festival includes day and evening bird walks, as well as other events to be held at Fridley’s Spingbrook Nature Center.

Date: 12 to 15 May 2011
Venue: Fridley’s Springbrook Nature Center
City: Fridley
State: Minnesota
Country: United States of America

Festival of Birds in Detroit Lakes

Editor — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:28:20 +0000

Every year thousands of serious bird watchers head out to Detroit Lakes in Minnesota to make the most of this fabulous birder’s paradise. The Festival of Birds in Detroit Lakes allows bird watchers the opportunity of getting to see and learn more about the many enchanting bird species that live here.

The reason that the Detroit Lakes area is the perfect location for such a festival is because it part of a vegetation transition zone. Here tall grass prairie meets with coniferous and northern hardwood forests while ample water also helps to lure birds to the area. This wonderfully diverse ecosystem provides a suitable habitat for more than 250 species of birds and it is this excellent selection of feathered creatures that lures more and more bird lovers to the Festival of Birds with every passing year.

Last year marked the tenth annual celebration of the Festival of Birds and the event proved to be most memorable, with a record sighting of 190 different species of birds being seen. Special guest David Sibley was also a treat for those in the know. Some of the more unusual sightings were Eared Grebe, Willet, Long-billed Dowitcher and Bonaparte’s Gull. Perhaps the rarest sighting was that of a Red Knot. All in all, the four-day festival was a massive success and it was widely enjoyed by those in attendance.

This year’s festival will take place from 15 to 18 May. The special guest for the year will be author and naturalist Scott Weidensaul. As a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Weidensaul is sure to provide a most enjoyable keynote address on Saturday. The title of his speech will be “Return to Wild America: a Yearlong Search for the Continent’s Natural Soul”. Weidensaul is widely know and well-respected for both his literary works and his love of nature. He will be one of the field trip leaders taking people to the new birding site at Glendalough State Park on Saturday.

Two other aspects of the festival to look forward to are a new birding site at Red Lake WMA/Beltrami Forest and numerous presentations on the changing environment, which will be given in the evening. The field trips to Agassiz, Glendalough and Red Lake are nearly completely booked so you should register soon to ensure that you don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity.

International Festival of Owls in Houston, Minnesota

Editor — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:50:24 +0000

The International Festival of Owls came about as a result of the popularity of Alice, a Great Horned Owl. Alice is a well-known and much-loved resident at the Houston Nature Center in Houston, Minnesota. The Festival of Owls started out as a fun event celebrating Alice’s “hatch-day”. The festival was a huge success and soon developed into an international event. The 6th annual International Festival of Owls is set to take place on the weekend of 29 February to 2 March 2008 and has a host of activities lined up to educate and entertain each member of the family.

Alice fell out of her nest early in life and broke her left wing which, despite the best efforts of wildlife rehabilitator Marge Gibson, didn’t heal well enough to allow for flight. Alice was raised in the Gibson’s home and is used as an education bird. As such she is comfortable around people and there is little doubt that Alice lives a privileged life. She commutes to work perched on the backseat of a car, eats her favorite food every day and enjoys the freedom of an entire house. She even likes the air conditioning set to her comfort level and lets her people know when it is not just right. Most owls, however, are not as fortunate as Alice and sometimes become victims of man’s encroachment on their habitat. The International Festival of Owls invites visitors to get to know these enigmatic creatures and the role they play in the environment.

The schedule for the weekend starts off on the Friday at 5:30 with some time for visitors to socialize before the banquet begins. After an introduction to Alice and the banquet meal, multi-award winning ornithologist Dr. C. Stuart Houston will deliver his keynote address “Adventures with 7,000 nestling Great Horned Owls: Eaters of Snowshoe Hares”. The evening finishes off with the World Owl Hall of Fame awards and an auction of owl-related items.

The rest of the weekend is packed with interesting activities and events. Children’s activities include owl face painting, being banded like an owl with a wristband, owl origami and other owl crafts. Carefully supervised owl nest box building is a popular activity and participants get to take their box home with instructions on correct placement to attract owls.

Owl pellet dissection is a surprisingly popular activity which is handled by author and radio show producer Laura Erickson. It is an interesting, educational and entertaining activity as participants attempt to identify what the owls have eaten by dissecting the pellet of indigestible matter that they throw up. Alice’s “mother” Marge Gibson will present live owl programs during which spectators get to interact with the owls. Other interesting activities include the Saturday night Owl Prowl and the Hooting Contest, as well as an owl photography session.

Owls are often misunderstood and are even sometimes looked upon as a bad omen. Visitors to the International Festival of Owls will gain a clear understanding of these fascinating birds of prey.