[BCNnet] announcement - Miss. River birding festival

[bobolnk at ix.netcom.com]

This invitation is from Ric Zarwell in Iowa... a great birding event for a good cause.

You’re Invited to Explore and Enjoy Three States: at the Rivers & Bluffs Fall Birding Festival
 
The popular 4th Annual Rivers & Bluffs Fall Birding Festival will be take place from Friday through Sunday, November 11-13, along the Upper Mississippi River at Lansing, IA. 

 The festival weekend is scheduled for the peak time to get close-up views of enormous concentrations of Tundra Swans and ducks and geese amid the gorgeous bluffs and Mississippi River where Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa meet. Participants are likely to observe fifteen to twenty thousand elegant and vocal Tundra Swans, and several hundred thousands ducks and geese! They will also see numerous Bald Eagles, hawks and other interesting species. Every year the rivers and bluffs country provides a few surprises. Last year five Golden Eagles and a total of 91 different species were enjoyed during festival field trips.

 Highlights of the 2005 Rivers & Bluffs Fall Birding Festival will include: Half-day car caravan field trips led by knowledgeable birder/naturalists on Sat. and Sun. to explore habitats in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa; Heated river boat excursion trips out on the big river Sat. and Sun. with Captain Jack of Mississippi Explorer Cruises for closest views (extra charge); a kick-off Live Trumpeter Swan Program on Friday evening by Ron Andrews, Iowa DNR; an introduction to wildlife on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge by Tim Loose, McGregor District office; a talk on local swans and other waterfowl populations by Kevin Kenow, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Onalaska, WI; and as a grande finale, a Live Great Horned Owl Program by owl expert Karla Kinstler, of the Houston Nature Center in Minnesota.

 Live music Saturday night will be by the highly popular Joe & Vicki Price (Joe is an Iowa Blues Hall of Fame performer and winner of the 2005 Iowa Blue Challenge). The festival will also feature several artists and vendors – including Eagle Optics, the nation’s largest optics outfitter. There will be door-prizes, gift certificates and both silent and live auctions on Saturday night to aid bird conservation efforts. Visitors will enjoy local restaurants and pubs; and on both mornings – a made-from-scratch Sourdough Pancake Breakfast – at the adjacent United Methodist Sunday School (from 7am to 1pm).

 The festival drew 257 birdwatchers from nine states in 2004. In three previous years attendance averaged well over 200 birders and visitors have come from a total of 19 states and Canada. The President of the Iowa City Bird Club recently opined that this event just might be the top birding vacation destination in Iowa. Come see if he is right!

 Festival headquarters is Kee High School, 569 Center Street, Lansing, IA. Registration is on-site, beginning 5 PM Friday, Nov. 11. $10 Adults; $2 age 7-17: age 6 or younger Free! Proceeds support the Iowa IBA program. Additional details are available at this link: www.lansingiowa.com/birdfest2005.html, or from Ric.Zarwell at mchsi.com .

 We hope to see you in lovely, lively Lansing – always the second weekend of November.

______________________

Judy Pollock Evanston (Cook ) IL
bobolnk at ix.netcom.com