Date: February 13, 2017
Celebrate the migration of bird life through the Indiana Dunes region from May 4-7, 2017 at the third-annual Indiana Dunes Birding Festival. The festival is a partnership with northwest Indiana’s major environmental groups, highlighting the dunes area’s rich biodiversity and bird watching opportunities. The festival is organized by the Indiana Audubon Society and includes both Indiana Dunes State Park and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore as site hosts.
Activities include nearly 60 guided carpool and van tours to view migrating birds, a vendor marketplace, more than 50 bird-related programs, from live raptor talks to species identification workshops, and special workshops for new bird watchers and educators. Evening events include excursions for owls, woodcocks and whip-poor-wills, and a family-friendly “birds and brews” social event on multiple nights.
The Saturday night keynote speaker is Sharon Stiteler, aka. “Birdchick.” Stiteler will chronicle her many adventures as a paid birdwatcher and popular online blogger. The keynote presentation includes dinner, a silent auction and vendor marketplace at Sand Creek Country Club.
General early-bird registration begins Feb. 19. Registration for all four days starts at $49 for adults and $39 for youths under age 18. Registration is at indunesbirdingfestival.com.
Fifty partners are supporting the festival. Additional signature sponsors include Indiana Dunes Tourism, Chesterton Feed and Garden, Northwest Indiana Migratory Bird Association, Tropical Birding Tours, Accent Signs and Graphics, the South Shore Line, Duneland Chamber of Commerce, and Kristina Knowski Arts.
In addition to the festival website, more information is available at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, 1215 N. State Road 49, just south of the intersection of S.R. 49 and U.S. 20 in Porter. Interested participants can also call the visitor center’s information desk at (219) 395-1882 or the Indiana Dunes State Park Nature Center at (219) 926-1390. Or visit each park’s respective website at dnr.IN.gov/parklake/2980.htm (state park) or nps.gov/indu (national lakeshore).
