Birding festivals abound in March

Just as hobbyists of any stripe have their share of trade shows and enthusiastic get-togethers, so, too do birders have their events. Turns out, tons of them. Birding can be far more involved than making note of the songs you hear on a local trail.

Birding festivals are a big business and take place year-round and worldwide. Trade show floors hawk (pun intended) the latest binoculars and host speakers and field trips. And there are movies, including The Big Year, starring Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black, that tracks three birders in a race to find the most species in a year.

One springtime festival of note — though of a different bent than the birding festivals, which highlight sightings — is the International Festival of Owls, held March 1-3 in Houston, Minn. The event is a fundraiser for the International Owl Center and includes everything from a banquet to owl-themed food, a bus trip, kids’ events, nest box building, and owl pellet dissection (cost: $5 per pellet).

Live owls will be on display and there are live owl programs throughout the weekend. There are also vendors, raffles, and tee-shirts, plus chainsaw carvings of an owl bench.

If you’re looking for the type of festival where you can don your fishing vest with its multitude of handy pockets and try out your new binoculars, check the website for Bird Watchers Digest at www.birdwatchersdigest.com.

For March, the site lists festivals in Nebraska, Indiana, Washington (2), and Colorado. In that last one, 20,000 Sandhill cranes show up in the San Luis Valley for a six week layover during their northern migration. The town of Monte Vista hosts the Monte Vista Crane Festival to celebrate and offers viewings at the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge.