CELEBRATE BIRDSONG AND EXPLORE THE NATURAL WORLD

10th Annual Festival Dates: May 17-20, 2012

Come bird with us the third weekend in May, and discover the natural beauty of North Central Washington state. The Leavenworth area features spectacular habitats ranging from snow-capped mountains to sunny ponderosa pine forests, to lush riparian zones, to shrub-steppe. All our field trips are led by experts and professionals in their field. Learn about the wide variety of migratory birds that come here for a brief, but important part of their year: the breeding season. Hear the songs sung only during the breeding season while you stroll, bike, boat, or van during the height of wildflower season. While birding is the heart of the weekend, activities also include wildflower walks, arts events, and family activities to ensure fun and learning for everyone, and for birders of all skill levels, with enough built-in "down time" to explore the friendly Bavarian village that we call home.

This will be our 10th Annual Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest, and we are planning some special events!

Please click our EVENTS tab for a PDF of the 2012 Program of Events. Checking what is offered, along with the species lists below, which are divided by area and field trip, will give you a good place to start planning your Bird Fest weekend.

For a quick look at a list of Bird Fest events, or to check and see if an event still has room for you, please look here: At A Glance. This page will be updated frequently until the weekend of the festival.

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Species observed during the past five Bird Fests. The top part of these lists is the total bird species observed, but if you scroll further down, they are broken up by field trip for your planning purposes:

Bird Fest T-Shirts!

T-Shirts Help Support Free Events. At Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest, our mission is to provide education about birds, thus we try to keep fees low to enable more people to participate. You can help us support that effort and get a beautiful shirt to wear, too. The artwork, a bright and cheerful yellow warbler, created by a local middle school student, is silkscreened on the front of the shirt for long-lasting, beautiful color on a dark blue, 100% cotton, preshrunk t-shirt. Adult sizes: S, M, L, XL. Price $22, includes shipping to US addresses. Mail order available via PayPal:

Sizes

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David Craig Ph.D.-- 2012 Keynote Speaker

Our Keynote Address for 2012 will be delivered by Dr. David Craig of Willamette University, where he is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Biology Deparrtment.

His field research focuses on response of avian predators to human modified ecosystems and subsequent impact on community structure. This work combines life-history, physiological and ecological information to address questions related to predation on endangered fishes by colonial nesters, such as Caspian terns. This research grew out of earlier research on behavioral and population ecology of corvids, such as crows, ravens and jays.

Mission Statement:
The Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest provides educational and recreational activities focusing on birds, wildlife, and their environments. This annual event promotes the awareness of environmental and conservation issues surrounding the area's birds, while providing an economic and educational benefit to the community. This event connects with International Migratory Bird Day and includes a multi-cultural aspect linked to Latin American countries. The heart of the festival is to have fun through bird education with-and-for families, locals and visitors, yet the event also has a scientific quality of gathering important birding data.

All photos and content copyright of Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest 2011-12. Do not use without permission. This page was updated on March 31, 2012.