“Guided bird field trips will be available with expert birders of all ages from the greater Twin Cities metro area and western Wisconsin.  They are all volunteering their time to share birds and birding with our community.”

Jennifer Vieth, CNC Executive Director

CNC has a federal bird banding permit and engages in bird population and migration research through bird banding. The price is $5 per person, or $15 with a box lunch.

Join bird enthusiasts for the Hastings Area Earth Day Birding Festival from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Carpenter Nature Center (CNC) Minnesota Campus.

Join bird enthusiasts for the Hastings Area Earth Day Birding Festival from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Carpenter Nature Center (CNC) Minnesota Campus. This festival promises to be full of events, including a keynote address, bird banding demonstrations, guided birding field trips, a live raptor presentation and more. The price is $5 per person, or $15 with a box lunch.

Ben Douglas, a birder who currently holds the Washington County big year record with 243 species seen in a single year, is providing the keynote address this year. When asked about himself, Douglas stated, “I'm a self-taught birder that moved to Minnesota about 12 years ago and live in Lake Elmo with my wife.”
Douglas has been involved with the Hastings Area Earth Day Birding festival for seven years and added, “I was slated to keynote back in 2021 when the event was cancelled due to Covid concerns, so this year is special for me to finally get the chance to kick things off as the keynote speaker.”

Box lunches will be provided by Ptacek’s IGA in Prescott with a selection of ham, turkey or vegetarian sandwiches and gluten-free options upon request. A cookie and bottled water are also included but it is strongly encouraged to bring a re-usable water bottle. Advanced registration is required for the box lunch.

According to Jennifer Vieth, CNC Executive Director, “Guided bird field trips will be available with expert birders of all ages from the greater Twin Cities metro area and western Wisconsin.  They are all volunteering their time to share birds and birding with our community.”

A free Youth Birding Competition is also available starting at noon. Preregistration is required. The competition, Vieth explained, is an opportunity for children and teens to get outdoors, observe birds, submit their observations and receive prizes. She added, “Teams of 1-5 participants count all bird species seen and heard. Judges review the submissions and the top winners in each category are selected; however, everyone receives prizes.”

Bird Banding, according to the Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL, part of the USGS), is a way for scientists to “keep track of individual birds by placing aluminum and/or colored bands on a bird’s legs. Each set of bands has a unique combination of colors and numbers. Every time a scientist bands a bird, he or she records the location and date as well as the bird’s species, gender, estimated age and other features, and sends that information to the lab.”

The BBL further explained that when a banded bird is caught or seen, the information is reported back to the lab, which has records of all reported encounters. 

“Laboratory staffers manage more than 77 million archived banding records and more than 5 million bird encounter reports, with an average of nearly 1.2 million banding records and 100,000 encounter reports submitted each year.”

CNC has a federal bird banding permit and engages in bird population and migration research through bird banding.

For more information on the festival, or to register, go to www.carpenternaturecenter.org or call 651-437-4359 and ask to speak to Jennifer Vieth.