Join us for the third year of our annual festival, Wings over Whidbey Bird Festival. 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.

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 concessionaires at food booths.

Touch and Feel Birds — Whidbey Audubon Society’s own bird specimen library will have a collection of preserved birds for visitors to look at closely and touch. Some fun new attractions have been added to our event this year. Whidbey Audubon will have more specimens on display this year in the Roost building. Matt Klope, professional taxidermist, will be demonstrating how he prepares birds for specimens.

Birding Pacific Rim — Patrick Layton, an experienced bird watcher, has offered to take families on short birding trips throughout Pacific Rim Institute with loaner Whidbey Audubon binoculars and his spotting scope. The times of these field trips will be listed on the Wings over Whidbey program.

Birding Field Trips:

free of charge

Friday, May 16: Greenbank Farm. Forest and Trails.
Leader: Sarah Schmidt
Time: 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Length of trip: 1-2 miles
Description of trip: See what birds are active in the forest at Greenbank Farm with a focus on birding by ear, listening for songs and calls of the birds to reveal their presence and help with identification. We can expect flycatchers and warblers to be back from winter in the neotropics.
Where to meet: By the north entrance to the Off-lease Dog area at Greenbank Farm, off of SR 525 in the Old Hwy 525 pullout north of Smugglers Cove Road. 
Maximum number of participants: 10. Please register here.

Friday, May 16: Fort Casey State Park & Crockett Lake
Leader: Steve Ellis
Time: 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Description: We'll assemble near the Fort Casey lighthouse and walk to the bluff for seabirds, marine mammals, and prairie wildflowers. The trip then continues with a walk in the woods section of the park to look for forest bird species. We'll  finish with a caravan to Crockett Lake for Purple Martins, ducks and raptors. All vehicles will need a Discover Pass.
Maximum number of participants: 10. Please register here.

Friday, May 16: Fort Ebey State Park
Leader: Dave Parent
Time: 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.
Description: We will be birding at Fort Ebey State Park. We will first look and listen for birds in the forest around Pondilla Lake. We will then proceed to the beach and look for seabirds and raptors. Bring binoculars and spotting scopes if you have them.
Meeting Place: Follow the signs to Beach/Lake Pondilla and park by the beach in the lower parking lot. Discover Pass needed for each vehicle.
Maximum number of participants: 12. Please register here.

Friday, May 16: Deer Lagoon Preserve
Leader: Carlos Andersen
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Length of trip: 1 to 2 miles
Meeting Place: Meet at the Deer Lagoon Road Trailhead
Description: Deer Lagoon Preserve is a Whidbey Island treasure offering unique habitats that local and migratory birds call home for the summer. Over 217 bird species have been identified at the Preserve and our visit will be at the peak of spring migration. We will first quietly walk through forest habitat, birding by ear listening for songs and calls. After a short walk on dirt and gravel we reach the dikes, where the views and habitats open up to freshwater marsh, saltwater tidelands and in the distance Useless Bay. With the help of scopes and binoculars (please bring them if you have them) we should be able to hear and see almost 50 different bird species. 
Maximum number of participants: 10. Please register here.

The festival is a FREE event.  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.