Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds

About

Welcome to the Annual Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds! Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced birder, the Festival of Birds has something for you! Detroit Lakes is located in a unique merging of three biomes – tallgrass prairie, hardwood and conifer forests with a landscape peppered with lakes and wetlands. This habitat is a migration hotspot for more than 250 species of birds! Our festival goal is to provide you with a quality birding experience.
Experienced leaders help birders see several species and learn about habitats on early morning field trips on Friday and Saturday mornings. Join the festival kickoff on Thursday with Bird Trivia Social at Zorbaz. Friday evening Carrol Henderson's presentation is based on his new book out this fall on his 50 years of wildlife conservation with the DNR, 1974-20. His presentation on the big screen at M State College previews the history of MN conservation efforts for river otters, Canada lynx, bluebirds, purple martins, timber rattlesnakes, wood turtles, monarch butterflies, sandhill cranes, great blue herons, common terns, common loons, white pelicans, ruby-throated hummingbirds, peregrine falcons, trumpeter swans, bald eagles and golden eagles.
Saturday evening at M State College, award-winning science writer Rebecca Heisman's presentation is based on her book Flight Paths. She'll share surprising stories from the history of bird migration research garnered while working for the American Ornithological Society, from low-tech (counting birds flying in front of the full moon at night) to high-tech (the development of weather radar and radio telemetry for studying birds). More info and registration online.