|
By: Ali Chaney
Lahontan Audubon Society
Spring Wings is a celebration of bird migration through Lahontan Valley. It is a festival for the nature enthusiast and people of all ages where we seek to highlight the wonderful natural resources of the Lahontan Valley.
As we kick off our second decade, this year’s event is shaping up to be one of the best yet. Our Friday night keynote speaker will be author and naturalist Scott Weidensaul. Scott appears at Audubon/Nature Centers and Festivals all across the country. He is a much sought-after speaker on the festival circuit across the nation. He lectures widely on wildlife and environmental topics, and is an active field researcher, specializing in birds of prey and hummingbirds.
In addition, we’ve decided to shake things up a bit and base the festival out of Oats Park and the beautifully restored Barkley Theater. Having it at the park will offer a real festive atmosphere for the whole family complete with vendor booths, exhibitors, and nature related hands-on activities.
Each year we strive to add new and exciting tours to the list of already high quality tours we provide during the festival. Last year we added a new “wood duck conservation tour” which turned out to be a real hit and will be back again this year.
Chris Nicolai and UNR graduate students lead a group of festival participants along one of the many routes where they have been installing wood duck nest boxes.
Last year, participants got to see first hand-- and up close and personal--conservation efforts being made to increase the wood duck population in the Lahontan Valley. Learning about nesting habits, egg development, banding, research techniques and equipment made for an enjoyable day that also afforded the opportunity to bird watch for additional species along portions of the Carson River.
This is just one of the ways Spring Wings continues to reach out and explore the many opportunities there might be to bring new faces to the festival and expand our reach into the local community. We are always seeking new ideas for the festival, as well as, volunteers.
Those interested in helping with the festival or having a great idea, please contact Janet Schmidt, 428-6452. And, if you’d like to take part in the festival, you can view additional information and register online (in March) at www.springwings.org.
The Nevada Waterfowl Association has been a long time sponsor of this event, and as always, we look forward to continuing a strong partnership dedicated to promoting conservation through education and awareness of the natural resources available in the Lahontan Valley.
|
 |
