Description
Flock in for some great family fun! So says the Whidbey Audubon Society which is holding its first ever bird festival, Wings over Whidbey, May 18 to 20 — and it’s free. Based in Coupeville there are lectures, classes and lots of outdoor field trips. A full schedule is on the society’s website: whidbeyaudubonsociety.org/wings-over-whidbey-festival. Please visit to learn details and to register for lectures and field trips (birding walks.)
More info on this event here:
At the heart of the festival is the Bird in the Hand event featuring dozens of exhibits of preserved birds allowing visitors to hold and examine closely all the parts of a particular bird. It is at the Coupeville High School Commons from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 20. The society has developed the collection of specimens mostly from birds that have been brought in from community members who find birds in their yards that have met an untimely demise. A team of trained bird preparers under the watchful eye of Matt Klope, a local taxidermist, prepare the birds as specimens to be used as educational bird ambassadors at many community events held throughout the year by Whidbey Audubon Society. The society has a federal permit to keep and display birds that have met an accidental demise as long as it’s done for educational purposes. The Migratory Bird Act makes it illegal for anyone to possess bird parts including feathers.
Families are encouraged to bring youngsters to the Bird in the Hand event on Saturday, and to get up close to the normally elusive winged ones. No preregistration is necessary. There will be microscopes to discover the details of such parts as bird feet, wings and even the contents of owl scat. Steve Ellis will be the "Answer Man," bringing his knowledge from a lifetime of experience observing the natural world.
Robin Llewellyn is one of the guiding forces working with the bird specimen library. She has organized at least three previous Bird in the Hand events.
"We took a hiatus during the pandemic and we’re excited to be bringing this vital collection to our community again,” she enthused.
The Wings over Whidbey Bird Festival kicks off at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 18 in the Coupeville Recreation Hall, 901 NW Alexander Street, with "The Secrets of Bird Flight,” by keynote speaker Peter Cavanagh. His lecture is hybrid, in person and projected via Zoom.
Eleven guided bird walks are available Friday and Saturday mornings. Most are limited to 10 or 12, so please register on line. The walks include South Whidbey, Fort Ebey and Deception Pass State Parks, Pacific Rim Institute, Deer Lagoon, Price Sculpture Park and Greenbank Farm Forest Trail. Nathan Pieplow, bird call expert, leads the Greenbank Farm walk.
"Diving into Bird Photography" with Bill Ray is 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon. In addition to tips on the ways and means of getting the best photograph of a bird, Ray is judging the photos submitted to the Youth Photography Contest. The young winners will be introduced and awarded prizes. This lecture is live only in the Coupeville Recreation Hall.
“The Joy of Spring and Summer Birds” with Thomas Bancroft, Ph.D. is 7 p.m. Friday evening. It may be attended in person at the Coupeville Recreation Hall or via Zoom, attenders must register for either in person or to receive the Zoom link.
The Saturday, May 20 series of lectures begins at 11 a.m. with “Puget Sound Energy’s Bird Protection Program – Eagles, Swans, and Ospreys” with Haley Olson, Senior Resource Scientist. "The Language of Birds” and book signing with Nathan Pieplow begins at 1 p.m. “Bird Banding — An Important Tool for Supporting Avian Conservation” by Puget Sound Bird Observatory is at 4 p.m. All Saturday lectures are held in the Coupeville High School Performing Arts Center, 501 S. Main Street, and are live only. Preregistration is helpful.
There will be passports for children to collect bird images as they visit displays in the high school, if they fill their card, they receive a prize. Several businesses have provided prizes to be raffled also.
This event is free thanks to the generous support of local businesses and individuals, including major donors Whidbey Island Bank, Whidbey Telecom, Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association, The Goose Community Grocer, Puget Sound Energy, Whidbey Weekly and Printing and Rick Matsen, in memory of his late wife, Anne.
The poster design for the first bird festival was by Oak Harbor High School Student, June Braunstein. She won $100 for the poster design, launched in late February. Oak Harbor High School graphic arts instructor Jana Jansen embraced the idea and provided entries from all of her students.
