Join us at the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival in May 2023
Birders on a field trip to Great Marsh Trail with the Yoergers during the 2022 Indiana Dunes Birding Festival. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳
This post isn’t a blog post in the traditional sense, but it's a friendly heads-up to readers. Want to learn more about Indiana birding or get a taste of bike-birding and mindful birding approaches? Jonathan and I are co-leading some field trips and workshops at the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival in May 2023. Sign up for one of our field trips, or say hello.
Our schedule is as follows. You can view the complete festival schedule online via CVENT. Registration opens on March 1. Save the date on your calendar and set an alert.
Pinhook Bog in the Afternoon
Thursday, May 11, 2023 | 2 – 5 p.m. | Easy | Van/Bus Trip | $40
Pinhook Bog is one of few “true” bogs in the southern Great Lakes. Among the tamarack, blueberries, and insectivorous plants there is also unique birding. This site has both upland forests as well as the lowland floating bog mat that we will explore. The site is normally closed to the public, so you’ll want to pre-register for this carpool tour that often produces Connecticut Warblers.
Reynold’s Creek Wetlands and Prairie
Friday, May 12, 2023 | 7:30 – 11:30 a.m. | Medium | Van/Bus Trip | $40
Reynold’s Creek is a gamebird habitat area just miles from Lake Michigan. The recent restoration of warm season grasses has brought an explosion of grassland birds, including Bobolinks, Dickcissels, and Henslow’s Sparrows. Potholes are also being dug for wetland species such as shorebirds and waterfowl.
Green Birding Challenge: Bike-birding the State Park*
Saturday, May 13, 2023 | 6:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Medium | Meet On-site | $5
BYOB (bring-your-own-bike) on a casual bike-birding tour where Whitney and Jonathan Yoerger will lead you from the Visitor Center and ride into the state park. You will cover approximately 12 miles on this ride, which will include looking and listening for birds along the way. (Looking for birds should be implied at a birding festival, but we still feel compelled to include it in every description). Only sign up for this trip if you have a bike to bring; otherwise, it’ll look silly when you’re riding on someone’s handlebars. Meet at the Visitor Center to bike from there.
Bird Sounds: Recording 101 Workshop*
Saturday, May 13, 2023 | 2 –5 p.m. | Easy | Meet On-site | $20
Recording bird sounds is an excellent way to hone your observation skills by noting all of the minor details that actively “looking” and “listening” entail. Participants in this three-hour workshop will learn how to record their own audio and, in the process, improve their earbirding skills. Prep your smartphone by downloading the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Merlin Bird ID app, and get ready to record sounds. We’ll also talk about how to format audio for eBird checklists, recording techniques and gear, and how to read spectrograms. Meet at the Douglas Center.
* We’ll communicate with participants before the festival to ensure that everyone has the necessary biking gear, recording apps, and information. Because these are beginner-level activities, anyone can participate and have a good time. There are no fitness or aptitude requirements. If you have any questions, you can reach out via email at birdingbikesandbites@gmail.com.