World Migratory Bird Day & Open House

The Refuge will celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (formerly known as International Migratory Bird Day) on Saturday, May 19, 2018.  The WMBD theme this year is “Year of the Bird,” marking 2018 as the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

We will start the day with an “Early Bird” bird walk at 5:30 AM at the Maquam/Black Creek Trail.  Meet at the parking area on Rte 78, about 2.5 miles west of Swanton village.

The main activities of the day will begin at 7:30 AM with an orientation at the refuge Visitor Center.  Participants will split up into several boat trips and bird walks, during which we will record all bird species and count as many individuals within those species as we can identify.  All birding participants will return to the Visitor Center by 11:30 AM to tally results over a light lunch provided by the Friends.

At approximately 1:00 PM, Maeve Kim will give a presentation titled Birding When Nature Throws Curve Balls – A light-hearted look at the tricky things nature does to make it hard for us birders to see and identify the creatures we love, along with some strategies for getting around the “curve balls.” For beginning and intermediate birders as well as anyone who just likes the wonders of nature.

Throughout the day, an exhibit of artworks from local artists will be on display at the Visitor Center.  The exhibit will run through mid-July.  Further information on entering works in the exhibit will be available on the Friends website www.friendsofmissisquoi.org in the near future.

Please call 802-868-4781 to register for this activity.  Also please check back closer to the event date for any changes/additions to the schedule.