OCT 10-12: 22nd Annual Birding & Wildlife Festival Celebrates Fall Migration

There is no better place to experience the spectacular phenomenon of fall migration than the Eastern Shore of Virginia.  During the fall months, millions of songbirds, hawks, shorebirds, butterflies, and dragonflies migrate through the narrow Delmarva Peninsula on their long journey south to warmer wintering grounds.  The Eastern Shore Birding & Wildlife Festival brings you closer to nature and closer to the birds with guided hikes, family activities and boat trips throughout much of the Eastern Shore’s flyway.

Festival headquarters and vendors are located at the Cape Charles Fire Station, 501 Mason Avenue.  Free activities for children and families are located at Kiptopeke State Park, 3540 Kiptopeke Drive, Cape Charles.  Free bus transportation between Cape Charles Fire Station and Kiptopeke State Park is available.  Field trips and activities are held in various Eastern Shore locations beginning Friday, October 10, at 7:30 a.m., through Sunday, October 12, at 4 p.m.

The festival kicks off with a fun and informative Friday night program with this year’s keynote speaker, Brian Sullivan, at 7 p.m. at the Palace Theatre, 305 Mason Avenue.  Mr. Sullivan has conducted fieldwork on birds throughout North America for the past 20 years.  Birding travels, photography, and field projects have taken him to Central and South America, to Antarctica, the Arctic and across North America.  He has written and consulted on various books, popular, and scientific literature on North American birds, and is a co-author on The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors, and the forthcoming Princeton Guide to North American Birds. He is currently project leader for eBird and photographic editor for the Birds of North America Online at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. He also served as photographic editor for the American Birding Association’s journal North American Birds from 2005-2013.  The Friday night program is free and open to the public.

The Eastern Shore of Virginia Birding and Wildlife Festival is sponsored by Eastern Shore Eventacular, Inc., the Eastern Shore Soil and Water Conservation District, the Virginia DEQ Coastal Zone Management Program, Virginia State Parks, and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. For a complete schedule of events and to register for field trips, please visit the Birding Festival website at:  http://www.esbirdingfestival.com/.