25th Festival Events are Filling Quickly

After only 1 day of registration many events are already full with people on the waiting lists. There must be many of us (myself included) looking forward to some warm spring birding events! As the snow blows by the window today a sunny spring walk through MacGregor Park or a drive along some local grasslands seeing some of the migrating or resident birds has a wonderful ring to it. Although there are several events full, there are still some with the same leaders that have spaces left for more of you to join in the fun. Imagine catching sight of an Upland sandpiper perched on a fencepost.

Upland Sandpiper

Warblers are always a favourite in May and June as their bright colours really catch your eye. Some are still migrating through at this time and others are on territory getting ready to start a 2023 family. As the leaves come out the settings are even better for photographing your favourite warbler as it peeks out from behind the leafy cover of forests or grasses.

Pine warbler

No matter where you go in the MacGregor Park area there are birds to see, trees to identify, wild plants to become familiar with and basically lots to see and learn about. The leaders we have at the Festival to guide you have a wonderful knowledge of the natural world and are happy to answer any questions you have. For each of the events you can select the leaders name and a bio will pop up so you can see the varied backgrounds of each of our knowledgeable leaders.

Over the length of the festival up to 199 species have been seen each year with the average being about 180. That should be more than enough fun for the birders in the crowd and with just a bit more help from all of you maybe this year we can get to 200 species. That would be a great milestone for the 25^th Huron Fringe Birding Festival to attain.

Canada Warbler

As well as seeing birds, plants, trees and insects capturing them in photos is something most of us now try to do for memories in years to come. Several of our events will help you with your photography as well as identifying what you are taking photos of. These days it doesn’t matter what you use to capture these photos as everything from phones to mirrorless cameras can be used. A festival event is a good place to learn techniques and settings.

Canada Columbine

If you missed the first day of registration for some reason there is still time to pick some interesting event or events to attend and enjoy the outdoors in this area, I hope more of you can join in and share the fun of our celebration of the 25^th Huron Fringe Birding Festival.

Red-headed Woodpecker

Spring is Arriving as the Days Lengthen!

Eastern Bluebirds

The countdown is on as we’ve finally reached March so get ready for March 17th when the registration opens up for the 25th Huron Fringe Birding Festival. The days are getting a bit longer and some of them are even brighter with a bit of sunshine trying hard to find a way through the clouds. Although it appears it will stay relatively cool for the first part of March the spring migrants will be trying their best to make their first appearances of 2023. Along the sides of the roads Horned Larks and Snow Buntings can often be seen as they get ready to head north to their spring breeding grounds. Some of the larks will stay in the area as their breeding grounds extend from Bruce County to the islands far to the north of us but the buntings will all disappear until later in the year when they make their return trip south.

Snow Bunting

Common Ravens, Great Horned owls as well as other owl species will be pairing up now and getting ready to raise new families for 2023. Buds are appearing now on some trees and bushes and the birds we do have here presently are starting to sing more as the days get longer. Once we get warmer weather for bugs to start appearing the bird migration will start to accelerate with the May time period being one of the busiest as the bright warblers flit through the trees.

Blackburnian Warbler

If you haven’t already, check out the festival program, read up on the leaders bios, and decide which events would best suit you for a wonderful time of birding the Grey/Bruce area. There are also a variety of interesting programs on other aspects of nature as well, so take a few minutes and become familiar with what we are offering this special year.

If you don’t already have a bookmark, here’s a link to the Huron Fringe Birding Festival website where all the information is available to you:

https://huronfringebirdingfestival.ca/

Looking forward to seeing you in May and June for interesting outdoor activities and renewals of friendships as the 25th Huron Fringe Birding Festival welcomes everyone to our area. Join in with the fun!

Yellow Lady’s Slipper Orchid