2nd Annual Roger Tory Peterson Institute Birding Festival

Written for The Villager

   Like to hear great songs? Like to be outside? Well this summer fall in love with a different kind of “song.” This year the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, N.Y. will be holding its third Birding Festival this June 9 through June 12 exploring the wonderful world of warblers, a songbird living right in our local area.

   For its third annual Birding Festival, the Roger Tory Peterson Institute (RTPI) has switched things up for this year’s birding days.

   Instead of just having activities for ornithology enthusiasts, RTPI has planned activities for families and beginners in the study of ornithology, said Jim Berry, 15-year president of RTPI.

   Berry said that for this year’s festival, the Institute is preparing for 200 people, the most the Institute would have ever had at the festival.

   Even though the entire festival is family-friendly, the events especially targeted at families will take place on Friday, June 10. Most of that day’s activities are free except for the field trip to Allegany State Park and the trip to the Allegany National Forest. Each trip is $45 and will be for the whole day (lunch will be included). The half-day trips are only $15 per person.

   Throughout the festival there will be many field trips available to people. Places to be visited are: the Watts Flats Wildlife Management Area, the Akeley Wetlands, the Woodchuck Hill and Niagara Falls. Or attendees can even stay at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute and go on a 100-Acre Lot bird walk.

   Also on Friday, Berry pointed out, will be a special Birds of Prey workshop and a live bird-banding workshop. The workshop shows the 150-year-old technique of bird banding with modern technology. Bird banding is when scientists put a band or ring around the leg of a bird and then lets the bird free again. These bands then record migration patterns and gives information about their habitats.

   The many different workshops available include: Jeff Gordon of the American Birding Association, Sara Morris on Making Sense Out of all Those Brown Birds, Vickie McDonald: Warbler Deviants & Devils and Scott Stoleson: Habitat Guide to Warblers.

   The festival will go on no matter rain or shine. The entire schedule of events for the weekend and the summer at RTPI is online at rtpi.org.

   RTPI has many other fun and educational activities occurring during the birding festival, but fun for the summer doesn’t stop there. For instance, everyday at RTPI there are nature art and photographs on display and throughout the summer there will be different workshops and receptions scheduled.

   For more information on the Birding Festival or any other event, check out rtpi.org and/or join their mailing list by signing up on the Roger Tory Peterson Institute website.

   But don’t wait too long! Find out about the birding festival today and all that western New York has to offer.

   “Few people realize the diversity of bird life on the Allegany plateau,” Berry said. “There are hundreds of species of birds and June is the best time to see them all. Just grab a pair of binoculars and go! You can discover a whole new world just by looking up.”