The Kirtland’s Warbler Festival, sponsored by Kirtland Community College, is scheduled for May 21, 2010. This festival, a celebration of nature, offers numerous birding tours, seminars, and activities for the entire family. There is NO pre-registration required to attend the festival. If you wish to attend the festival, just come to the Kirtland Community College campus on the day of the festival. A fee of $5 for the purchase of a Kirtland’s Warbler Wildlife Festival button is required for everyone 15 years old or older for entry to presentations and for the guided bus tour. Buttons can be purchased on the festival grounds the day of the festival.
Guided Bus Trips
Saturday – 7 a.m.
Roscommon Area Birding Tour – $10 fee
Hey, there are a lot more birds than the Kirtland’s warbler here! You’ll stop at a variety of habitats to check off as many bird species as possible that are found in the Roscommon area. You’ll visit sites that are known to harbor Common Loon, Bald Eagle, Upland Sandpiper, Clay-colored sparrow, Brewer’s Blackbird, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Pileated Woodpecker, and a slew of other warblers, vireos, thrushes, sparrows, swallows and more. Each participant will receive a Michigan Birds checklist to tally the day’s finds. Allow 3 to 3-1/2 hours. Bus leaves from in front of festival headquarters tent on campus.
Saturday – 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Field Trips to See Kirtland’s Warblers – $10 fee
Buses leave promptly as scheduled. There is NO pre-registration for the field trips.
Saturday – 2 p.m.
NEW! Meridian Jack Pine Wildfire tour – $10 fee
How does a wildfire affect animal and plant life? What will happen to all of the dead trees? Come on this two hour field trip and find out; visit the 8,000-acre Meridian Fire area to see the effects 2010 fire has had on the jack pine ecosystem. Led by U.S. Forest Service personnel.
Festival Presentations
Chart indicates beginning times. Presentations run from 45 minutes to 1 hour. A registration fee of $6 for the purchase of a Kirtland’s Warbler Wildlife Festival button is required for entry to presentations.
10 a.m.
The Fight Against Invasive Species in Northeast Michigan – presented by Huron Pines
Instructional Center Room 11
What birds can tell us: conservation successes and new insights into remarkable bird behavior – presented by Dr. Jeff Hoover
Instructional Center Room 108
My Life with Ospreys (1976 to the present) – presented by Dr. Paul Spitzer
Instructional Center Room 123
_______________________
11 a.m.
Michigan Native Plants and Pollinator Gardens – presented by Pat Ruta-McGhan
Instructional Center Room 11
What birds can tell us: conservation successes and new insights into remarkable bird behavior – presented by Dr. Jeff Hoover
Instructional Center Room Room 108
My Life with Ospreys (1976 to the present) – presented by Dr. Paul Spitzer
Instructional Center Room 123
________________________
1 p.m.
Featured Presentation – Howling in Michigan! The Real Story of Wolves – presented by Beth Duman
Beth Duman, otherwise known as “The Wolf Lady”, will share the real story of wolves, their fascinating lives, and their remarkable recovery in Michigan, in an energetic presentation suitable for all ages with the help of her talented canine assistants; Charlie, Lacey, Reggie, & Kaddi.
Performing Arts Center (PAC)
_____________________
2:30 p.m.
Frogging by Ear – presented by Jim McGrath
Instructional Center Room 11
Michigan Native Plants and Pollinator Gardens – presented by Pat Ruta-McGhan
Instructional Center Room Room 108
Michigan Eagle Update – presented by Jerry Weinrich
Instructional Center Room 123
______________________
4 p.m.
Frogging by Ear – presented by Jim McGrath
Instructional Center Room 11
Michigan Eagle Update – presented by Jerry Weinrich
all day View the Young Artists Calendar Contest entries
Student Center
6-11 a.m. Early Bird Breakfast in the Kirtland Grill
6 a.m.-4 p.m. Grill will be open
9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Bookstore will be open
Other events & activities:
Featured Photographer – Jim Mundy
Co-Featured Artists – Nancy Faust and Scott Rice
Michigan Turtle Exhibit
Mikenauk Rock and Gem Society
Mio Post Office – Get your mail stamped with special festival cancellation
Displays by: DNRE, US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Huron Pines RC&D
Other displays by a Biodiversity of Conservation Organizations
Off-Campus Nature and Birding Field Trips (meet at site)
Friday 7 a.m. Wakeley Lake Wildlife Walk – no charge
Friday 5 p.m. Gahagan Nature Preserve – no charge
Saturday 7 a.m. Roscommon Area Birding Tour – $10 fee
Saturday 2-4 p.m. Meridian Fire: One Year Later – $10 fee
How does a wildfire affect animal and plant life? What will happen to all of the dead trees? Come on this two hour field trip and find out; visit the 8,000-acre Meridian Fire area to see the effects 2010 fire has had on the jack pine ecosystem. Led by U.S. Forest Service personnel.
Saturday 6 p.m. Houghton Lake Flats Field Trip – no charge
