Family Fun Day
Saturday June 9, 2012
Licensed bird-banders will demonstrate how wild birds are caught, measured, banded and released unharmed to advance scientific knowledge of birds. Experts will be on hand to show live birds of prey and explain their natural history. A variety of learning games and activities will be offered for kids. Instructors will present workshops on how to attract American Kestrels and other cavity nesting birds, how to observe and sketch birds, and other topics. A unique auto tour will take participants to where Roger Tory Peterson first discovered his love of birds and to the birding haunts that he frequented as a youth. No preregistration is necessary.
Keynote Speaker
Greg Miller will be the keynote speaker at the Roger Tory Peterson Birding Festival Banquet on Saturday June 9, 2012 at 7:00 PM.
Greg's exploits in attempting to break the world's record for the most bird sightings in North America in one year were recorded in the feature film The Big Year,
based on the book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession by Mark Obmascik. Greg's character in the movie was played by Jack Black.
Greg will also co-lead the Piney Tract field trip on Friday, June 8. Contact mbaldwin@rtpi.org for more information.
Reception at RTPI
with Dr. David Bird and RTPI Education Director Mark Baldwin
Dr. David M. Bird presents: "How Birds Do It: The Nefarious Sex Lives of Birds"
David is a regular contributor to Bird Watchers Digest, and professor of wildlife biology and Director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.
Also: RTPI Education Director Mark Baldwin will share information behind some of the most rare objects from the Peterson Collection. Come and meet other festival-goers, view our exhibits, and enjoy an hors d'oeuvre and cocktail buffet.
Featured Trips
The 2012 Festival includes three featured trips along with several shorter trips. Birding the Piney Tract (Friday, June 8) focuses on grassland nesting birds (including Henslow's and Grasshopper Sparrows) on reclaimed strip mine sites in Clarion County, Pennslylvania. Warblers of Allegheny National Forest (Saturday, June 9) promises to be a warbler Big Day (16 warbler species recorded on this same trip in 2011 including Cerulean, Black-throated Blue, Mourning and Blackburnian) and Birds of Allegany State Park (Saturday, June 9) will explore the varied breeding habitats of New York's largest State Park. See all trips...
Register Online for the Birding Festival
Click Here for Printable Registration Form
About the 2012 Festival
The Fourth Annual Roger Tory Peterson Festival, June 8-9, 2012, will include new events designed to appeal to novice birders and to those who simply wish to enjoy and learn more about nature with like-minded folk. While some of the Festival’s field trips and sessions are planned for serious intermediate and hard-core birders, on Saturday June 9 young people and their parents are invited to participate in hands-on experiences and beginner field trips at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History's Family Fun Day. These will provide an easy introduction and a great environment for helping young and old alike find the pleasures of engaging with nature. Learn about binoculars, backyard bird feeding and other bird related interests . A live raptor exhibit and a bird-banding demonstration will enable all to get up close and personal with these creatures usually seen only in the distance.
As a boy growing up in Jamestown, Roger Tory Peterson began to know and appreciate birds from a teacher - Miss Blanche Hornbeck - who took the time to share her own sense of wonder about the natural world with Roger. The Fourth Annual RTP Birding Festival offers some of the same kind of instructive and inspiring experiences that helped young Roger Tory Peterson grow into the great naturalist of the 20th century. We hope you will join us.