Bird Fest for the Non-Believer

Bird Fest for the Non-Believer

 --From Guest Blogger, Kate Waring, Undergraduate Student from Michigan Tech University

I’ve got to say right off the bat: my knowledge of birds on the trip down to the Discovery Center’s 8^th Annual Bird Festival didn’t extend past what had stuck with me since 2^nd grade; i.e. how they all have feathers and a penchant for sunflower seeds. You know, the basics. Fortunately there was no bouncer at the Discovery Center door to cast out the bird-ignorant. What I found instead was a welcoming bunch of bird lovers that were eager to share their vast cumulative knowledge with me and their peers at the festival. While a lot of great things went down during the weekend, I’d like to share with you five specific highlights that particularly stuck with me.

1.   I got to spend some quality time with Bruce Bacon helping to set-up several mistnets around the Discovery Center, and in the process learned he’s netted and banded some 30,000+ birds in his lifetime. This would be equivalent to a bird a day for an 82 year lifespan. Thus, I was not surprised when one of the first birds we caught, a chickadee, turned out to be a recapture of his from a past year. What did surprise me was the unbridled ferocity with which the 10 gram bird bit my finger when Bruce let me try to remove it from the net.
2. Mariette Nowak, author of Birdscaping in the Midwest, shattered my all-birds-eat-sunflower-seeds misconception by informing the reception night audience that only 11% of the approximately 900 North American bird species come to feeders. And that’s not just counting sunflower seed feeders! Despite this statistic, by employing the techniques described in her book, Ms. Nowak reports that she was able to attract over 80 species of birds to her ¼ acre yard. Truly impressive. While she covered actual habitat features and plants that should one may use to maximize bird traffic during her talk, her most adamant advice was simply to use plants native to one’s area.
3. While I was not able to attend Azael Meza’s photography session, my bird expert/photographer friend Natasha came back from it as excited as I’d seen her all weekend. She said Mr. Meza emphasized the importance of not just the equipment one has, but also how to present oneself to the bird subject. The photographer needs to consider how the target species reacts to human presence, and adjust behavior accordingly. In fact, one’s car was suggested as an ideal blind for shy bird photography.
4. My fourth highlight was participating in one of the several available birding field trips, “Bogs and Backwoods of the Discovery Center.” While listening to people discuss birds and even seeing them up close during mistnetting was great, hearing and spotting the birds out in action while being lead by knowledgeable guides Donna Roche and Ben Betterly was fascinating. The trip even included an expedition into a bog, during which everyone switched to rubber boots and followed a winding deer trail through the bizarre and beautiful habitat.
5. The keynote speaker, Bill Volkert, recounted Horicon Marsh’s tumultuous history with development and human intervention. The 32,000 acre site located in southern Wisconsin is now a designated Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and major birding hotspot, home to a huge variety and number of avian friends. Mr. Volkert also gave an informational talk on differentiating warbler species, which to the untrained eye (mine) can all appear as the same little yellow bird. Apparently this is a problem across the board, as Jim Krakowski gave a comparable talk focusing on distinguishing Northern WI sparrows, aka “little brown jockeys.”

Two other interesting and educational talks were given during the day, including Colleen Matula’s alarming and highly informational discussion of “Lyme Disease: What Every Birder Should Know,” and Troy Walters’ “Owls-Adaptations, Biology and Ecology,” which featured a visit from Orion, a great horned owl.

I was fortunate enough to spend the weekend with Amber Roth, a PhD student focusing on birds for her dissertation and regular at the Discovery Center’s Bird Festival, and Natasha Fetzer, a fellow student at Michigan Tech and bird guru. From listening to birdcall CDs during car rides, mistnetting golden wing warblers, and discussing bird antics in general with these two, as well as from the festival activities, I’ve developed a serious respect for ornithology that I expect will extend well beyond Bird Festival weekend.

The great thing about this annual event is that it will be happening again next year! Be sure to check it out, along with the Discovery Center’s variety of additional outdoor programs.