Birdwatching, wetland and prairie chicken tours, seminars to be featured;
April 10 registration deadline
WAKEFIELD -- On April 25-27, the Kansas Birding Festival will be held near Wakefield. The three-day event will feature seminars on birds and birdwatching, guided field trips, food, and much more.

On Friday, April 25, the event will begin at the Wakefield Methodist Church Community Center with registration and guided field trips to the Milford Wetlands and the Republican River Bottoms, the Kansas Landscape Arboretum, and birding by boat. The event on Saturday will begin with breakfast from 4 a.m. to 5:45 a.m., followed by guided field trips, including the prairie chicken lek at Fort Riley, the Konza Prairie, the Landscape Arboretum, and the Milford Wetlands and Republican River Bottoms.

After an 11:30-1:30 lunch break, events will include optional free time to bird watch; a seminar entitled “Birding By Ear” by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks' (KDWP) Mike Rader; a bird program by Pat Silovsky of KDWP's Milford Nature Center; "Backyard Birding" by Chuck Otte, editor of the Kansas Ornithological Society Newsletter; and "Environmental 101" by Elby Adamson, director of the USD 379 gifted program. At 7 p.m., a banquet will be held with a keynote address by Dave Rintoul, professor at Kansas State University, and prizes will be given away.

On Sunday, April 27, breakfast will again be served from 4 a.m.-5:45 a.m. This will be followed by the field trip options.

Fees and pre-registration are required. For more information, contact Kansas Birding Festival, P.O. Box 175, Wakefield, KS 67487 or visit the website www.kansasbirdingfestival.org.
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