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Lake Erie Wing Watch Weekend Scheduled |
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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
The fifteenth annual Lake Erie Wing Watch Weekend returns to BGSU Firelands College in Huron April 11 - 13. This weekend of educational and entertaining activities for birding enthusiasts is a cooperative effort sponsored by the Erie and Ottawa counties' visitor and convention bureaus, and county, state and private conservation organizations.
The weekend kicks off with a Woodcock Walk on Friday, April 11th. This night hike will take place at the Edison Woods Reserve, on SR 61 near Berlin Heights. As with all outdoor activities, plan on dressing for the weather.
Saturday, April 12th activities include "Breakfast with the Birds," a series of educational workshops, lunch with keynote address and evening wildlife rehabilitation center open house. "Breakfast with the Birds" is a 7 a.m. bird walk at Old Woman Creek Reserve, near Huron, followed by a breakfast hosted by the Friends of Old Woman Creek Association. ($5 Pre-registration is required to participate in the breakfast; this fee is in addition to the weekend registration.) The educational workshops will take place at BGSU Firelands from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Seminar topics range from beginning birding to birdscaping your yard, great birding spots, bird songs, species ID and more. Lunch will be served, with many items to choose from, and will be followed by an address by guest speaker, Bill Thompson, III. Bill Thompson, III, is the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest and the author of numerous books about birds and bird watching. He is a regular keynote speaker and field trip leader on the birding festival circuit. Bill also writes the daily birding blog "Bill of the Birds" and hosts the popular podcast "This Birding Life." Bill's topic for Lake Erie Wing Watch will be "No Child Left Inside: Getting Kids into Birds." He makes his home in Whipple, OH. Throughout the day there will be opportunities to purchase tickets for many raffle items and winners will be drawn when the workshops end at 5 p.m.
At 6 p.m. there will be an open house with light refreshments at the Back to the Wild facility in Castalia. Back to the Wild is a volunteer, non-profit wildlife rehabilitation and nature education center. Its primary mission is to rehabilitate and ultimately release into their natural habitat, injured, orphaned and displaced wildlife. Back to the Wild also presents educational programs to schools and to members of youth groups and community organizations. Visitors to the open house will be able to see various Birds of Prey, including Eagles, along with numerous reptiles, amphibians, insects and mammals.
On Sunday, April 13th, there will be a number of bird hikes to choose to participate in. Guided hikes will take place at 9 a.m. at Sheldon Marsh in Erie County, Magee Marsh in Ottawa County and Sandy Ridge Reservation in Lorain County.
Registration fee for the entire weekend is $35 if pre-registered, or $40 at the door. The registration fee includes lunch if pre-registered. Lunch may be available, but cannot be guaranteed with on-site registrations. BGSU Firelands College is located 1/2 mile south of St. Rt. 2 (exit Rye Beach Rd.) in Huron, just east of Sandusky. Hotel discounts are available. For more information or to request a complete schedule and registration form call 1-800-255-3743 or log on to www.LakeErieWingWatch.com
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