Boise Bird Festival - Idaho's Pledge to Fledge Event

Today was the first Boise Bird Festival, an official Pledge 2 Fledge event for Idaho. There were a couple hundred guests that came to learn more about birds and bird habitat, a majority of the folks being new to birds and birding. There were fantastic volunteers teaching workshops, guiding bird walks, welcoming guests, and educating and interacting at booths. I'm so proud and grateful for all of you! 

Biggest thanks to those people curious about birds that came to learn more. We hope you had as good a time as we did and hope you'll join us in more exciting birding adventures to come!

Scenes from today...

 Bob the Kestrel showing how handsome he is. He was on display courtesy of the American Kestrel Partnership of The Peregrine Fund. Don't forget to check out their Kestrel Cams here. Another Peregrine Fund volunteer has a Kestrel nest box camera going here. Log in as user: Guest (be sure to capitalize the "G" and the password is "kestrel".

 Julie Steele and her husband from the local Wild Birds Unlimited store. She also taught a workshop on bird feeding. Wonderful!

 Boise WaterShed- Environmental Education had a great activity to teach about the importance of our water with this toilet seat tossing game. Trust me. It was a great learning activity. Thanks Aimee!

 Just a couple of the many great volunteers from the Ducks Unlimited youth program called "Greenwings". They had great activities for the kids and a fantastic display. It was so wonderful for birders and hunters to join together in celebrating what we have in common.

 As guests arrived, they were greeted by wonderful volunteers who explained the activities and events and got them pointed in the right direction. Several other volunteers guided many bird walks and introduced small groups to some of Idaho's fabulous birds. I got feedback from guests that they loved the personal touch and guidance of our volunteers. Thanks again! You guys were great!

 Foothills Heritage Park in the Boise Foothills has a circular sidewalk around the park, making for a great set-up for booths. There was a steady stream of visitors all day long.

 Michael Morrison (center) was doing double duty today representing both Idaho Camera and Bird House & Habitat and teaching two workshops. One attendee described Mike this way..."He just makes everyone feel like they are his best friend." I couldn't agree more. What a wonderful mentor for kids and adults. His digital bird photography workshop was very well attended. I'm tellin' ya folks...digital photography is a superhighway for bringing people into birding.

 Monty Thompson was also on hand from Bird House & Habitat educating folks on feeding wild birds.

Steve Bouffard teaching a fantastic workshop on bird song. It gave me a whole new appreciation and a renewed sense of amazement as I consider birds.

Special thanks to others not shown in photographs above...

• Paul Ostler for teaching a great workshop on Birding by Ear. I love your birding spirit man! 
• Deniz Aygen from Idaho Fish & Game's Watchable Wildlife Program for the great booth and support during the planning of this event. She's plugged into all things birding in Idaho.
• Matt Giovanni of the American Kestrel Partnership for helping kids build kestrel boxes and inspiring a future generation of kids who care. Keep up the great work you do for Kestrels.
• Marla Hicks. She was awesome all day. Personally putting her arm around each new arriving group and welcoming them so warmly and showing the perfect example of why birders are such awesome people.
• The Bird Walk team of volunteers including Leanne, Bill, Leslie, RL, Jim, Tom, and probably others. Great work! I never would have thought that so many groups would have been interested in the birds walks, but you guys created some amazing experiences for first-time birders.
• Bob Young, for assistance in promoting this event and for providing a microphone and amp.You and Robin are good people! Bob also blogged about the Boise Bird Festival here.
• Curtis Cook from the Eagle Camera club. Thanks for lunch. Thanks for your friendship. Glad to know that you're into photography and hope you continue to keep photographing birds.
• Claudia from Bird House & Habitat for donating seed and loaning us feeders for the feeder garden. The Goldfinches today dazzled so many people that have never "seen" them before.
• Larry Arnold, for providing hummingbird feeders and making sure they were filled with juice for the last two weeks. We only got one Calliope Hummingbird out of it, but it was worth it!
• Heidi Ware the Idaho Bird Observatory team for the banding demonstration which is always a highlight!
• The Golden Eagle Audubon Society board members like Pam and Danette. Always awesome ambassadors for birds and birding!
• Finally, thanks to Richard Crossley and Dave Magpiong, originators of the Pledge 2 Fledge movement. Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this and for motivating me to do things I wouldn't have done otherwise.