St. Croix Flyway Bird Migration Celebration – May 8 and 9

 Learn more about the waves of migratory birds passing through the St. Croix Valley each spring by joining in the International Bird Migration Celebration May 8 and 9.  Events are planned at a variety of locations along the St. Croix Flyway the 8th and 9th, and throughout the summer.  A lead up event “Poets on the Wild Side” will be held at the Watershed Cafe in Osceola on Wednesday evening, May 6.

 Friday May 8

 The Bird Migration Celebration kick-offs at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson with a reception and program.  The program featuring Ben Thwaits begins at 7 p.m.  Ben is a nature photographer who developed a nature photographer program, “In a New Light” at Northwest Passage, a resident facility for emotionally troubled teens. He traveled to Costa Rica this January with two alumni from NWP.

 Saturday, May 9

 Hands-on, family friendly activities providing information and education about migratory birds are planned at a number of locations in the St. Croix Valley.  Many activities will be held in the morning and all locations will include a variety of activities.  At Wild River State Park, an entire day's worth of activities are planned! 

7:30 am – Dayle DeClercq Memorial Bird Hike led by Sue Leaf (meet at Boat Landing)

8:30 am – Sister Park Initiative: Exploring the Osa Peninsula with Bob Walz

9:30 am – Introduction to Birding, Field Guides, and Resources

10:30 am – “Restore Habitat, Restore Birds”: The impact of prairie restoration on bird populations

11:30 am – Introduction to Nature Photography

7 pm – Program on warblers (Amphitheater)

All day – View the Costa Rican photo exhibit

taken by youth in Northwest Passage’s

In a New Light program

 The reception and program on Friday and The St. Croix Flyway Bird Migration Celebration activities are sponsored by Tropical Wings, a group of citizens supporting the Sister Park partnership between 14 US national parks of the Upper Midwest and 7 parks and protected areas of Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula.  The Costa Rican parks and partners held the 2nd annual bird celebration in March, as birds were beginning their migration north.  This is Tropical Wings’ 2nd bird celebration in the St. Croix Valley. 

 Watch for more details and visit www.artbenchtrail.org/events/tropicalwings as information becomes available.