Photo by CHARLOTTE GANSKOPP

This female oriole is one of the many birds that can be spotted in Harney County.

The Harney County Migratory Bird Festival is upon us! Tours, activities, programs, and other happenings will soon commence. Open your schedule and plan for some fun!

Tours: Event organizers are offering the full gamut of tours — van-guided; you-drive-we-lead caravans; and self-guided — and you can enjoy touring by a variety of means, like walking, hiking, biking, riding, or driving! Many tours are sold out, but there are still opportunities for experiences like the Downtown History Walking Tour, Double O Birding and Photography hike with llamas, Birding by Bicycle along the east canal of the Donner und Blitzen River, a trip to Diamond Craters, and our Urban Birding Feeder Tour.

Activities and other programs: There are dozens of non-tour activities to enjoy throughout festival weekend. Some highlights include a presentation on Celestial Migration from Sunriver Nature Center and Oregon Observatory; a Beginners Leathercraft Lab at the Harney County Library; a presentation and book signing on the History of Ornithology; Wetlands Happy Hour; a Pop and Paint workshop at The Soda District; the festival dinner banquet, keynote speaker, and silent auction; and the ever-popular Songbird Serenade with Sparkbird!

Specifics for kids and families: Enjoy free-family-Saturday with a day out and about in Harney County. Stop by the Harney County Library for the StoryWalk experience. Next, come to the Chamber of Commerce for the Kids’ Nature Fun Fair! Across the street, you’ll find the Kids’ Birdhouse Building Workshop, sponsored by the local Lions Club. And don’t forget to participate in the glass egg hunt in downtown businesses! While you’re hunting, make sure to notice over 600 pieces of student artwork displayed in business windows. This art is the product of our festival Artist in Residence program! Lastly, come down to the festival Art Show & Sale where our youth art contest submissions will be on display and ready for your winning public vote!

Art show and sale: This year, the Art Show and Sale features more than 25 artists. Their unique works are available for your shopping experience. We’ve got everything from fine art, glass, ceramics, and cartography to photography, woodworks, jewelry, gemstones, and optics. There are new and returning creators, youth entrepreneurs, and affordable, one-of-a-kind works for everyone to enjoy. Come and see us!

Did you know?
The Bird Festival began in 1981 as a Kiwanis-sponsored event to highlight spring birding in Harney County. The Harney Basin is very-nearly the halfway point for birds from Coastal Texas, the Mexican Highlands, and Central California traveling to their breeding grounds in Canada, Alaska, and even Eastern Siberia. The annual spring migration along the Pacific Flyway passes right through our area, bringing more than 100 migrant bird species for the watchful eye!

During the past 40 years, the Bird Festival has evolved to include organized, expert-led tours; family and youth activities in and out of the classroom; virtual programs and workshops; and numerous commerce opportunities.

The festival is orchestrated by multiple partners with the main purposes of:
1) bringing people to Harney County; and
2) supporting opportunities for people to connect with natural resources.

We hope to see you out and about during festival weekend. And rest assured…we’re working hard to educate visitors on birding from the curb — not from the middle of the highway!

For all the event details, go online to www.migratorybirdfestival.com.