Audubon Miami Valley

Audubon Miami Valley will celebrate the 5th annual Queen City Bird Festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 12 at Hueston Woods Nature Center, 6301 Park Office Road.

The festival seeks to engage children, their families and the general public in basic birding activities and to teach them to explore and value nature and to learn ways to conserve and enhance our natural world.

There will be numerous activities: bird walks, child-oriented art projects, and talks about birding basics, bird banding and bird habitat. Booths will inform visitors about the environment and conservation issues.

Vendors’ booths will offer food, nature photography, art and informational brochures.

Musicians will provide live music throughout the day.

Adults and children will have the opportunity to win prizes at hourly raffle drawings. Children also will have the opportunity to earn a Junior Birder’s Patch.

This year’s keynote speaker, Cory Christopher, is the manager of graduate programs at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden and he co-manger the Zoo Tribe, a team leadership program. He serves as adjunct faculty of the University of Cincinnati and Miami University. He grew up in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in his home state of Georgia where his childhood experiences convinced him that children can develop a true appreciation of nature only when they are actively engaged in what they are learning.

This year’s festival will also host Audubon Miami Valley’s annual plant sale. A variety of native, bird friendly plants and trees will be available for purchase.

Volunteers will staff the festival. Those interested in helping or anyone with further questions should contact the festival’s chair, Sarah Michael, at skmichael@hotmail.com or (513) 523-3129.

Bird Festival Program

Activities 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

• Booth activities for children and adults (see site map for locations and detail)
• Audubon Miami Valley Plant Sale
• AMV Art Contest Winners’ Show in Hueston Room (Park Office Building)
• Food concession
• Free raffles for children & adults
• Speaker Schedule

Speaker Schedule 
Behind the raptor enclosure:

• 11 a.m. Chad Smith, Park naturalist
• Š 1 p.m. Fred Shaw, Shawnee storyteller
• Š 2 p.m. Jim Williams, Naturalist

In the Hueston Room (Park Office Building):

• Š 3 p.m. KEYNOTE SPEAKER, Cory Christopher, Cincinnati Zoo

Music

• Š 9 – 11 a.m. Dan Spencer
• Š 1 – 2 p.m. Ben Mattox

Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm has enriched the lives of children and adults for 55 years. Join the celebration of the opening of the new Farm Discovery Center on Thursday, May 10, 11:30am. The farm is located at 9101 Frederick Pike in Englewood near Dayton.

If you would like to buy a paver to memorialize you support of the new facility use this handy form.

May 14, 2012: The BIG Garden, Carol Mundy, Head Naturalist at Glenwood Gardens. When children can play and learn in a safe environment, such as a children’s garden, they become at ease with nature. Learning to be at ease in a small garden setting allows them to translate the lessons learned there to their visit to a large park, a hike in a forest, or chasing butterflies in the prairie (i.e. “the BIG Garden”). We must use any opportunity to foster in children the genuine, deep-seated love for nature that only comes from compiling lots of little nature experiences throughout a person’s life. You remember the first firefly you caught, or the first shooting star you witnessed – these are the experiences that build a foundation for healthy mind, body and spirit. This program was originally presented at the American Horticultural Society’s Youth and Children’s Gardening symposium and it is meant to be an encouragement to parents, teachers and other adults to involve children in nature exploration. By exploring on a small scale, such as in a children’s garden, children learn to be aware and respect nature on a big scale when they encounter it.

While Carol holds a degree in Animal Health from the University of Cincinnati, she’s been a nature enthusiast her whole life and claims most of her natural history knowledge is through “osmosis.”  She’s been a Naturalist with the Hamilton County Park District in Cincinnati since 1986 and became Head Naturalist at Glenwood Gardens in 2004. She’s taught for University of Cincinnati, traveled as a Naturalist with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, and currently hosts a weekly radio program. She’s been a speaker at many local and national groups including the National Youth and Children’s Gardening Symposium for the American Horticultural Society, the Miami Valley Gardening Conference, the National Wildlife Rehabilitator’s Association, the Herb Society of America, the National Conference for Wild Ones, the Native Plant Association, and the Midwest Native Plant Conference. 7:30 P.M., 2nd Floor Oxford Community Room, Lebanon Citizens National Bank,

Saturday, May 5, 2012 - Annual Warbler Walk. Join Audubon Miami Valley for the annual Warbler Walk at Kathy Hunter and Ron Huffmeier’s farm in nearby Indiana to search for these neo-tropical jewels.  Besides many warblers, many other species of birds can also be seen at this beautiful family farm. Many wild flowers are also seen on our hike in the woods. Meet  on the west side of the old Oxford Wal-Mart parking lot at 7:30 am.

EARTHFEST 2012!

At the Uptown Parks in Oxford off High & Main Streets
10am – 4pm Saturday, April 21, 2012
* Live Music
* Activities for Children
* Local environmental businesses and organizations
* Raffle

The International Crane Foundation is offering a special visit to the Aldo Leopold Reserve, and its facilities in Baraboo, Wisconsin to raise funds for Audubon Miami Valley’s May 12th Queen City Bird Festival. This visit for 2 people includes: 2 nights lodging at the International Crane Foundation Guest House, meals, and an all day, behind the scenes tour led by Dr. George Archibald, co-founder of the organization. The dates for this offer are September 28-29, 2012.

Twenty-nine years ago George, along with Ronald Sauey, established the ICF to save the many endangered species of grand and beautiful cranes, to educate the world about their beauty and importance, and to restore the precious wetlands where they dwell. Their stories and successes are phenomenal. George has devoted his life to these birds and travels worldwide to collaborate with other countries and people in this important work. This past year he has been in Germany, China, North Korea, Bhutan, Turkey, Ethiopia – to name a few places- to continue his work with government officials, scientists, and local people and groups to promote conservation initiatives, scientific research, and education about cranes. This offer to spend 2 days with him is a unique and generous opportunity for birders. The winners of the bidding will NOT be disappointed!

Bidding begins at $250. The minimum bid raise is $25. Contact Sarah Michael at skmichael@hotmail.com or call 513-523-3129 to register your bid. Bid raises will be posted on Audubon Miami Valley’s and the Queen City Bird Festival’s facebook pages. Bidding will close at midnight on May 11, 2012. The winner will be announced at the Queen City Bird Festival taking place at Hueston Woods State Park Nature Center on May 12, 2012.

If you are not familiar with Dr. Archibald’s work or the International Crane Foundation, please visit the website www.savingcranes.org . This is truly a special offer and a unique opportunity!

The Fifth Annual Queen City Bird Festival is Where Birding Begins!