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IMPORTANT: Festival Updates

We are thrilled to be heading to Tawas in the next 24 hours. Before we go, we want to let all of the registered birders know about a few last-minute changes (sorry, these are hard to avoid!):

• Thursday, May 17 Charity Island boat tour.  Michigan Audubon staff will meet you at the East Tawas Boat Dock parking lot at 6:45 am.  The parking lot for the dock is just south of the event headquarters (Tawas Bay Beach Resort).  We will have your event registration packets for you; we recommend taking what you need from the packet before getting on the boat and leave the packet in your vehicle.  If you have questions or need to talk to staff, please call: 517-599-3925.

• Thursday, May 17, Scenic River Byway Bus Tour. Due to on-going construction in Oscodoa, the NEW meeting location for the bus tour is the Woodland Pines Resort south of Oscoda. The resort’s address is 3111 N US 23 – it is on the west side of the road.  Peggy Ridgway will be at the Woodland Pines Resort to check-in tour participants.  If you get lost or won’t be able to make it in time to participate, please call Peggy at 989-820-9339.Woodland Pines has a restaurant, if you want to catch lunch before the bus leaves.  Two FESTIVAL SPONSOR restaurants are located in Oscoda, Subway (5121 N US-23) and G’s Pizzeria (5226 N US-23), but be aware that you will need to go through the construction zone to get to these restaurants.Registration packets can be picked up after the bus trip.  The check-in table at the event headquarters, the Tawas Bay Beach Resort (300 E. Bay St., also known as US-23 in East Tawas), will be closed between 5 – 8:30, but will re-open from 8:30 – 10:00.  If you are attending the evening social, your packet will be there waiting for you.  The social will be located at the Tawas Bay Yacht Club, which is located right outside of the gate to the State Park.  You access the Yacht Club through the same drive that accesses the Coast Guard Station.
• Thursday, May 17, evening program with Jon Dunn. The program takes place at the Tawas Bay Yacht Club, which is located just a short distance before reaching Tawas Point State Park. From the event headquarters, go north on US23 to the Big Boy  restaurant and turn right. Please observe the speed limits.Please remember that it will be much colder out on the water than on shore and dress accordingly.  I would encourage you to bring gloves and winter-type hats.

Resources for self-guided birding

For those visiting Iosco County during festival weekend, we are providing the following maps for self-guided birding in the area. There is great and varied birding throughout the area, and we encourage festival attendees to explore on their own. Enjoy the world-class birding and visit some of the many hospitable communities along the way. You won’t be disappointed!

• Clark’s Marsh and Grassland Birding Sites
• Foote Dam Swan Nest and Spring Wildflower Area
• Scenic Parks in the Au Sable and Oscoda Area

Jon Dunn to Headline Tawas ’12

Michigan Audubon is pleased to announce that Jon Dunn will be the Thursday evening, May 17, keynote speaker at the Tawas Point Birding Festival.

Jon has lived much of his life in California, where he became a birder at age eight, an event triggered, he says, by the life-altering appearance of a bright male Hooded Oriole in his garden. Jon has extensive knowledge of the identification and distribution of North American birds, and has published numerous papers in a wide variety of journals. Jon has been Chief Consultant/Editor for all six editions of the National Geographic Society’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America, the most recent published in 2011 (excerpted with permission from the Wings Birding Tours website.

Author, New Book Highlight Friday Keynote

On Friday, May 18, Michigan author, Bill Rapai, will give a keynote presentation on his new book.

The story of the Kirtland’s Warbler is unquestionably dramatic as it came close to extinction as recently as 25 years ago. But the people who preserved the Kirtland’s Warbler are every bit as compelling. In “The Kirtland’s Warbler: An Extraordinary Bird, Extraordinary People,” William Rapai tells the story of how a physician, a dentist, a business executive, an anatomy instructor, a penguin biologist and a notorious murderer all played important roles in preventing the warbler from going extinct.

William Rapai is president of Grosse Pointe Audubon Society and has traveled across North America and to Cuba, Iceland, and Thailand to view and research birds. He was an award-winning reporter and editor for the Grand Forks Herald, the Detroit Free Press, and the Boston Globe. This is his first book.

2011 Festival Sets New Records

Over 250 registered participants enjoyed four days of guided birding, workshops, seminars, and birder camaraderie during the 2011 Tawas Point Birding Festival.  The attendance is a record for the festival, and we expect even more birders to experience the world-class birding on Lake Huron in 2012.

Another record that was broken was the species list for the weekend.  A combined total of 174 species were recorded by birders at sights throughout Iosco County, including Tawas Point, Clark’s Marsh, Tuttle Marsh, and the old Air Force base.  Many thanks to all of the volunteers who helped make the weekend possible.

Download a .PDF file with the complete species list for the 2011 TPBF