Clear Lake and Lake County are a Mecca for bird and wildlife watching. Nowhere in the state or that matter the West is there such a wide variety of wildlife. Once a year, local outdoor enthusiasts gather at Clear Lake to enjoy the birds and other wildlife the county has to offer. It”s the annual Heron Festival and it will offer the opportunity for the public to get a look up close at the many birds and other wildlife that call Clear Lake and Lake County home.
The festival gets under way Saturday morning and there will be a wide variety of activities, including pontoon boat trips as well as nature talks. More than 1,000 visitors are expected.
Redbud Park in Clearlake serves as headquarters for this year”s festival, which is sponsored by the Redbud Audubon Society. Festival hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Heron Festival started back in 1994 and was created by the Redbud Audubon Society as a way to celebrate the springtime nesting of the Great Blue Herons in the treetops along the waterways at the Anderson Marsh State Historic Park. In recent years it has been expanded to offer public tours of the shoreline of Clear Lake and to view the many species of birds that nest and gather at the lake.
Among the highlights of the festival are the pontoon boat tours. Each pontoon boat holds approximately eight people and includes an experienced guide who will identify the many birds and other wildlife on the lake. There will be Western grebes, egrets, Great Blue Herons, double-crested cormorants, osprey, bald eagles, loons, pelicans, seagulls and a wide variety of ducks and other bird life. There may even be the opportunity to see a family of otters.
The pontoon boat tours take 90 minutes and leave the docks at Redbud Park each hour from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $20 per person and children 7 years and older are welcome. Be sure to bring binoculars and cameras.
Dr. Harry Lyons offers an entertaining program at 9 a.m. that mixes biology, music and humor to tell the story of Clear Lake and its more than two million years of existence. Just attending his talk alone is worth the trip. The talk takes place in the big tent.
The day”s schedule includes:
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Pontoon boat tours. (90 minutes) to treetop Great Blue Heron rookeries leave hourly on the hour. Advance reservations required, $20 per person. Some tickets may be available at departure times during the festival. Check-in table at the boat ramp.
8 a.m. to 11 a.m. — Coffee and snacks. Audubon offers coffee, tea, and cocoa, pastries and fruit. Available at the gazebo.
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Nature Fair. Exhibit booths highlight educational displays and information from nature-related government agencies, local environmental nonprofit groups, and a wide range of nature-related artists and crafts vendors. Open area under the trees.
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Nature crafts vendors. Enjoy a wide range of nature-related artists and crafts vendors. Open area under the trees.
9 a.m. t0 10 a.m. — Myths and music of Clear Lake. Dr. Harry Lyons offers an entertaining program that mixes biology, music and humor to tell the story of Clear Lake and its more than two million years of existence. Big tent.
10 a.m. to 11 a.m. — Those Amazing “Dancing” Grebes. Slide presentation. Redbud Audubon President Marilyn Waits shares dramatic photos of Clear Lake”s breeding colonies of Western and Clarke”s grebes and their unique courtship dances, nesting, and parenting behaviors. Learn about Redbud Audubon chapter”s four-year grebe conservation project. Big tent.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Children”s activities area. A wide range of fun educational activities for children to learn about nature, including owl masks, peanut butter birdseed feeders to take home, bird-banding, and making a personalized bird journal.
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Children”s Heron Art Show. Enjoy local schoolchildren”s creative gifts to the festival displayed in the children”s activities area.
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. — Enjoy soft tacos, pulled-pork sandwiches, sodas, lemonade, cookies and desserts at the food vending booths.
11 a.m. to noon — Herons and Egrets: Stars in Action. Philip Greene has been an internationally known photographer of herons and egrets for more than two decades. His spectacular photos and lecture focus on the nesting cycle of herons and egrets, with special emphasis on mating behaviors, nest building, and fledging. Big tent.
1 p.m. to 2 p.m. — Live owls and raptors show. The exciting “Raptor Speak” show features live owls and other birds of prey presented by Native Bird Connections and curator Jenny Papka. See raptor behavior up close. Learn about these lively non-releasable raptors in a fun and informative talk and bird demonstration. Big Tent.
2 p.m. to 3 pm — Live owls and raptors show. Repeat presentation (see 1 p.m. above).
3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. — All about hummingbirds. This astonishing video shows behaviors the naked eye never sees in close-up, slow- and stop-motion and real time. Watch a hummingbird build her nest and feed her hatchling; see the hatchling”s humorous efforts to avoid fouling the nest; observe upside-down flight, hummingbird ballet and other delights. Big tent.
