If you are looking for new ways to
discover nature and get outdoors, get to "Hawk Fest 2014" at Holiday Beach
Conservation Area, Amherstburg, Ontario Sept 13/14 and 20 /22 from 9 am to 3 pm.
Each September,
Holiday Beach becomes a migration hot spot as fall winds carry migrating hawks,
songbirds, hummingbirds, dragonflies and butterflies across the skies and hawk
tower. Climb the tower to watch the amazing flight of hawks in migration
and discover amazing facts about them from experts from the Holiday Beach
Migration Observatory (HBMO). Have your picture taken with a banded hawk,
and release it back up into the sky with HBMO’s Adopt-a-hawk program and watch
them being banded and measured for migration research. Let your adopted
songbird fly out of your hand and learn more exciting facts from HBMO Songbird
and Hummingbird Banders.
Visit with a live
Great-horned owl and Peregrine falcons at the Canadian Peregrine Falcon
Foundation tent. Shop at Pelee Wings Nature Store booth for binoculars,
books and other nature items. Buy or learn about native trees or flowers
at the Native Tree and Wildflower’s booth, and visit the other nature themed
booths as well. Make a free nature craft, go on a scavenger hunt and see
water insects up close and through the microscope in the Kids Zone. On
Saturday, September 13 from 10:30 am – 12 noon, visit with animals from around
the world with Zoo to You!
Plan your day with
a visit to www.erca.org for the schedule of nature talks and
walks. Discover the art of digiscoping, and the Blue Sky Photography Workshop
and a Dark Sky Night of Star Gazing. Walk the trails with dragonfly,
butterfly and amphibian experts. Find out how to attract birds, butterflies and
pollinators to your yard with native trees and plants. Explore the world
of bird and hawk watching and identification. All hikes and workshops are
offered free of charge with your admission of just $10 per car.
The best raptor
viewing time is from 9 a.m. until noon when the hawks fly low. The Holiday
Beach Conservation Area is located on County Road 50, on Lake Erie near Malden
Centre approximately 15km southeast of historic Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada, a
half hour drive from Highway 401 and only 40 minutes from the Ambassador Bridge
for those coming from Detroit.
As the popularity
of birding continues to grow, the Essex Region Conservation Authority is introducing
two new events to complement their always popular HawkFest 2014.
Holiday Beach is renowned for the hundreds of egrets come in
to roost at Holiday Beach Conservation Area each fall. On Saturday,
September 13 at 5:30 pm, ERCA will also host an Egret Evening, where outdoors at
Holiday Beach, guests can enjoy a locally sourced meal of Lake Erie Perch and
chicken from Black
Jack's Gastrovan and a glass of wine from
Cooper's Hawk Vineyards. Dr. Chip Weseloh, retired from the
Canadian Wildlife Service, has conducted significant research on this amazing
egret roost and will share his expertise with our guests atop the Hawk Town as
the egrets come in to roost. Advance tickets must be purchased for this
event and are available at www.egretevening.eventbrite.ca. Please note: like with all wildlife
viewing in natural settings, there can be no guarantee of these
sightings.
As well, on
Thursday, September 18 at 6:30pm, the Essex Region Conservation Authority
presents An Evening with Joel Greenberg, author of A Feathered River Across
the Sky: The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction. This book has been
called "a parable for our time" by Dr. David Suzuki. Mr. Greenberg
has been a leader in Project Passenger Pigeon to commemorate the anniversary of
the species' extinction. The Passenger Pigeon was unlike any other bird. It
probably numbered in the billions, making it the most abundant bird in North
America, and possibly the world. In September, 1914 - exactly 100 years
ago, the last of the species died, marking the extinction of this unique
bird.
The Essex Region
Conservation Authority is proud to present this special evening as part of our
HawkFest 2014. A delicious selection of h'or doerves will be served, as
well as a complimentary glass of wine for guests of age, and a cash wine bar.
Mr. Greenberg's talk will highlight the life and legacy of the Passenger
Pigeon, and relate it to modern day conservation efforts. Mr. Greenberg's
book will be available for purchase at the event. There will also be an
opportunity for book signing by the author. A limited number of tickets
at just $40 per person are available but must be purchased in advance at https://joelgreenbergevening.eventbrite.ca.
by Richard Rosenthal
