[soliloquy id=”10508″]

Via Friends of Wild River State Park:

Friends of Wild River State Park are pleased to announce their participation in the 2015 St. Croix Flyway Migratory Bird Celebration on May 9th, International Migratory Bird Day. The Bird Celebration is the American counterpart to the International Birding Festival held on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica that was held last month there. There are birding events throughout the St. Croix valley.

The events at Wild River State Park will kick off with a bird hike at 7:30 am from the boat landing. The bird hike will be led by Sue Leaf and Joe Sausen, members of the Wild River Audubon society. At 8:30 am in the Visitors Center there will be a presentation on the Costa Rican International Birding Festival and the Sister Park relationship between the two countries. Bob Walz who attended this year’s festival in Costa Rica will be the presenter. At 9:30 am there will be an Introduction to Birding and Birding resources given by members of Minnesota Ornithological Union. At 10:30 am Dave Crawford, former naturalist at the Park, will give a talk on “Restore Habitat, Restore Birds: prairie restoration.” And at 11:30 am, the St. Croix Camera Club will offer classes on nature photography (from SRL cameras to smart phones), there will be a photography display by nature photographer Ben Thwaits, and it will be the kickoff a summer-long photography contest of migratory birds and their habitat. And at 7 pm, there will be a program on Migratory Birds in the Amphitheatre.

To learn more about Migratory Bird Celebration at Wild River State Park or other locations, contact Bob Walz, Friends of Wild River State Park at (651) 674-2587.

All events are free, but you do need to have or purchase a park admission pass.

Photos via Wild River State Park’s Facebook page, many credited to “Rubin S.” Curated by Greg Seitz.