Festival of the Birds at Presque Isle
Festival of Birds
Hosted by: Presque Isle Audubon
May 16th, 17th & 18th, 2025
Discover the joys of spring migration at the picturesque Presque Isle State Park, which BirdWatching Magazine rates as one of the top birding spots in the country! Situated along Lake Erie's southern shores in Erie, Pennsylvania, more than 320 species of birds have been recorded at the park! Presque Isle is also home to Gull Point, a sand plain sanctuary that hosts a wide variety of migrating shorebirds and seabirds and the only place in Pennsylvania where you'll find nesting pair/s of the federally endangered Piping Plover! Presque Isle is a designated Important Bird Area and is nicely located on a major migration corridor. Anything could show up!
The 2025 festival features field trips to all the hotspots and workshops for every level, from Native Plants for Backyard Birds, Forest Bathing, Warblers 101, Herping for Birders, Birding Tech Evolution, Bats, Nocturnal Flight Calls, Thermal Birding, Bird Advocacy…and more!! Witness science in action at Erie Bird Observatory's bird banding station. Watch raptors ride thermals way up, up, up into the sky at the Presque Isle Hawk Watch. Bring your own kayak (or rent one here) and paddle into the Presque Isle lagoons with us as we search for migrating waterfowl, secretive marsh birds, & more!
Our scheduled 2025 Keynote is Bridget Butler, aka The Bird Diva, who has been working in conservation and environmental education for more than 25 years throughout New England.
All this plus good food, great camaraderie, a welcome reception on Friday evening with music and fun; lots of friendly helpful people and a small ticket auction, to boot.
We are a small festival, limited to 150 attendees. None of the crowds, all of the birds. All skill levels welcome.
2025 Keynote Speaker: Bridget Butler
Bridget Butler, aka The Bird Diva, has been working in conservation and environmental education for more than 25 years throughout New England. Through her business Bird Diva Consulting, she delivers presentations, leads bird outings, and brings her signature program Slow Birding to a broader audience. Bridget has worked for the Audubon Society in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts and helped create Audubon Vermont's Forest Bird Initiative. Bridget has been a guest on a number of podcasts talking about Slow Birding, including the American Birding Podcast, Talkin' Birds with Ray Brown, and the South African podcast This Birding Life. Currently, she serves on the Green Mountain Audubon Society Board and is a member of the Vermont Rare Bird Records Committee. She feels it's important that the birding community continues to strive to diversify what it means to be a birder and that this variety of perspectives will bring a richer set of strategies to bird conservation. Bridget lives in St. Albans, Vermont with her husband and three children.
Becoming A Slow Birder
Slow Birding, a unique practice, fosters a profound understanding of birds beyond mere identification. It's a mindful approach that employs the sit-spot method of observation, grounding our experience in a specific location and fostering a connection with both ourselves and the avian world.
Bridget will share the evolution of her Slow Birding practice, a transformative journey that can awaken your inherent birding skills and rekindle your bond with nature. Bridget believes Slow Birding is a versatile approach that benefits novices and seasoned birders equally. Beginners find it a gentle introduction to birding, while veterans appreciate the freedom from list-driven birding, allowing them to view birds with a fresh perspective. Moreover, slow birding is a practice that fosters nature connection, making it accessible to birders with limited mobility and eliminating the need for extensive travel or long distances.
