Save the Date

Wings over Whidbey Bird Festival

May 11, 2024

Join us for the second year of our annual festival, Wings over Whidbey Bird Festival, Saturday, May 11, 2024. This year it will be a full one-day all ages community bird and nature festival with a well-rounded variety of fun to include educational and informational presentations, live birds, three children’s book authors doing readings and signings, plus one author will hold two bird drawing workshops one for youth (ages 6-14) and one for adults (ages 14 and up). We are bringing back the guided bird and prairie walks for both Friday May 10th and Saturday May 11th. Additionally, this year’s festival will include a scavenger hunt with lots of exciting things to discover! Please see the schedule below for times and registration links, if applicable.

We expect about a dozen Washington affiliate nonprofit organizations who will have booths that focus on birds, nature, conservation, and climate change. There will also be local artists whose work involves birds and the natural world. No one will go hungry as there will also be local vendor food booths.

The festival is a FREE event except for a $5 materials fee for the drawing workshops. It will be held at the Pacific Rim Institute (PRI) amongst the forest and prairie vistas of central Whidbey Island. There will be plenty of free parking and handicap parking available. Note that the terrain will be mostly gravel/dirt and uneven in some places.

Make this happen! As per usual, this amazing free event can only happen with your support. We have two ways for you to contribute:

1. Become a Sponsor! A sponsorship form is available at the top right of this page.

2. Become a Micro-volunteer! We’re looking for volunteers who can donate an hour or two on festival day. Tasks include:

·       Parking
·       Program room chairs set-up/takedown/cleanup
·       Assist vendors with location and setup
·       Festival greeting table
·       Program equipment set-up/takedown
·       Program door greeter
·       Raffle table set-up
·       Raffle table ticket sales
·       Workshop greeters/assistants
·       General grounds cleanup.

For more information or to sign up, contact Stephanie Neis.

Schedule of Events:

Guided Bird Walks - wear trail grade walking shoes, dress for weather, bring binoculars if you have them.

Friday - May 10th

Carlos Andersen (Guide) - Deer Lagoon trailhead off Millman Rd - 9:00-11:00 am, registration required, limit 12. Plan 1.5 - 2.0 hours, Flat gravel and dirt covered walking areas. Gravel might be a little challenging for people with disabilities or kids in strollers but doable. We'll take a pretty slow pace and listen a lot. Bring a scope if you have one. Register here!

Dave Parent (Guide) - Fort Ebey - meet at 8:00 am at the beach parking lot near Pondilla Lake. Plan about 3 hours; registration required; limit 8. All cars will need a current Discover Pass if parking in the lot. Carpool if possible. We will be looking for forest birds as well as seabirds, shorebirds and raptors. Bring a scope if you have one. Register here!

Sarah Schmidt (Guide) - Pacific Rim Institute, 180 Parker Rd, Coupeville - 9:00-10:30 am; meet at the main parking lot at 9:00 am. Registration required; limit 12. We'll use eyes and ears to discover meadow and forest birds of Pacific Rim Institute while enjoying the prairie flowers. Flat dirt trails, some root tripping hazards in the forest. Please, bring binoculars if you have them. Register here!

Jay Adams and Ruth Richards (Guides) - Fort Casey State Park, 9:00-11:00 am. Registration required; limit 10. Meet at the picnic grounds parking lot, first right after starting up the main entrance road. Discovery Pass required. Register here!

Saturday - May 11th

Steve Ellis (Guide) - Fort Casey State Park - 9:00-11:00 am, registration required, limit 10. This state park offers a nice mix of forest and seabirds plus the bonus of spring wildflowers. There will be some walking. Meet at the picnic area parking lot (1st road on the right after entering the park). All vehicles entering the park must have a Discover Pass. Register here!

Dave Parent (Guide) - Fort Ebey - meet at 8:00 am, at the beach parking lot near Pondilla Lake. Plan about 3 hours; registration required; limit 8. All cars will need a current Discover Pass if parking in the lot. Carpool if possible. We will be looking for forest birds as well as seabirds, shorebirds and raptors. Bring a scope if you have one. Register here!

Guided Pacific Rim Institute Prairie Walks and Greenhouse Tours - Go to https://forms.gle/5iKwH5BKV5iGpYSj7 to register.

Friday - May 10th

Prairie Tour - 10:00-11:30 am
Greenhouse Tour - 11:45 am-12:45pm
Prairie Tour - 4:00-5:00 pm

Saturday - May 11th

Prairie Tour - 10:00-11:30 am
Greenhouse Tour - 11:45 am-12:45pm
Prairie Tour - 1:00 - 2:30 pm
Prairie Tour - 4:00-5:00 pm

Saturday Bird Festival Presentations 11:00 am - 3:00 pm at Pacific Rim Institute

Location: in the Granary at Pacific Rim Institute. Presentations are free and no registration is required. There is free and ample parking.

11:00 - Aidan Hersh of WA State Native Bee Society. Aidan showcases the beautiful bees and pollinators of Washington. Details here . He will follow up with a Bee Walk on the Prairie, limit 15 participants for the walk. Register here for the bee walk. Anticipated start time 12:15 pm.

12:30 - David Droppers on Birds and Butterflys … Which do I Choose? Not only do you not have to choose - they are surprisingly complimentary! A fun speaker, David will introduce you to the world of butterflies, and how they relate to birds. Details here.

2:00 pm - Cindy Daily & Joseph Molosky of Discovery Bay Wildbird Rescue will discuss what they do at Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue as a rehab facility to help wild birds get back to the wild after being orphaned or injured. They will also bring some live birds as part of their presentation. Details here .

Children’s Authors Readings and Signings

In the Children’s Activity Tent. Free and no registration is required.

11:00 am - Susanne Ohrvik - author of "Blue and the Battle of the Bird Seed". Details here.

12:00 pm - Karen DeWitz - author of "Look at that Bird!' and "Let's Explore the Beach!" Details here.

Art Workshop with a focus on Birds and Nature by Susanne Ohrvik

Workshops will be held in the Roost Library Building at Pacific Rim Institute. Registration is required; a $5 material fee will be collected at the door; limited to 20 participants.

11:30 am - Youth workshop, ages 6-14. Register here!

1:00 pm - Young adult and adult workshop, ages 15 and up. Register here!

Other fun things at the festival:

Children's activity tent
Scavenger Hunt!
Raffle tickets $2 each
Affiliate nonprofit booths to explore
Artist booths
Food vendors

For more information about Wings over Whidbey, contact Stef Neis, programs@whidbeyaudubonsociety.org.

This festival is open to the public. We are able to do this through the support of our wonderful sponsors. To see how you can become a sponsor download this form. Fill it out by hand or by computer.