On April 25, Lahontan Audubon Society presents Shorebirds and Waterbirds, a FREE online bird drawing workshop with John Muir Laws! Learn to draw the birds of the Lahontan Valley.
Find the following list of birds in Lahontan Valley, Drop off your completed scavenger hunt at Festival Central by 11:00am Sunday and get entered in a drawing to win a prize. (Hint, hint…..The five staffed locations would be great places to look for these birds!)
Airboat on the Stillwater Marsh, photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Great Basin Bird Observatory Bird-a-Thon!
Kick off the GBBO Bird-a-Thon at Spring Wings Bird Festival! GBBO is hosting the 2022 Nevada Bird-a-thon, a state-wide birding community event and fundraiser for bird conservation. Teams and individuals are invited to participate by choosing one 24-hour period between May 1st-15th and then record as many bird species within Nevada as possible. You can also opt to bird from home and create a yard bird list for the duration of the event! Prizes will be awarded in categories including Most Species Observed and Most Funds Raised.
GBBO’s proceeds from the Nevada Bird-a-thon 2022 will go towards community science projects and research benefiting some of Nevada’s species in greatest need.
Kick off the Spring Wings Festival by learning about the birds at the Churchill County Museum.
Big Day Birding Competition
Find as many birds as you can on April 30th from 12:01am Saturday morning til 11:59pm Saturday night. You can start from home, or Festival Central in Fallon, or where ever you desire. There is no geographical limit. Results can be reported anytime on Saturday, and no later than 11:00am on Sunday at Festival Central in Oats Park, Fallon, NV. Sightings will be based on the honor system, but reports will be spot checked by some expert birders, and our selection of the winner will be final. The individual or team who spots the greatest number of species will get their name engraved on the first ever Spring Wings Big Day Birding Contest trophy and bragging rights until the next festival! The trophy will be maintained on display at the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge office in Fallon.
Great Blue Heron by Diane Wong-Kone
Spring Wings Bird Festival Passports
A fun and simple activity for kids 12 and under. Pick up a passport for the five staffed locations at Festival Central, or download one here. Take your kid(s) to each location and get their passport stamped (and maybe even let them explore a bit!). Lahontan State Recreation Area will waive the entrance fee for kids who show up with a passport. Plan on going to Stillwater NWR for your last stamp and present your completed passport to the refuge staff there to get a free ride on an AIRBOAT! Boat rides are for kids and one parent/guardian. Present passport by Sunday 11:00 am at Stillwater NWR.
This year at Spring Wings, Lahontan Audubon Society is hosting a free photo contest sponsored by Moana Nursery. The theme is the Diverse Birds of the Lahontan Valley Wetlands. Photographers of all backgrounds and skill levels are welcome and encouraged to enter. The festival staff will vote to pick the winner.
The winner will receive a Spring Wings T-shirt and a gift from Moana Nursery. Photo submissions will be accepted April 29-May 8, 2022. Finalists will be featured on the Festival website and social media pages. Good luck!
Do you have bird photos you want to share which were not taken at the Spring Wings festival? We would love for you to share them with us. Lahontan Audubon Society's free photo contest is happening and open to everyone.