Celebrate Migratory Bird Day May 20 at Blackwell Island

COEUR d’ALENE — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Coeur d’Alene District, in partnership with the Coeur d’Alene Audubon Society, is inviting bird lovers of all ages to come celebrate International Migratory Bird Day at BLM’s Blackwell Island Recreation Site. This year’s theme is “Helping Birds Along the Way.”

The free event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, and is filled with a variety of educational activities.

Interested participants can take part in hands-on activity stations throughout the recreation site and all ages can make bird projects to take home. Families can go on a forest scavenger hunt along the quarter-mile natural trail, create pine cone feeders, take part in a migration obstacle course and more.

Youngsters can have their wingspans measured and be “banded” with a take-home bracelet. Everyone is also invited to a live birds of prey presentation at 11 a.m. in the group picnic shelter.

“We hope the event will inspire youth and plant seeds to help them grow into future environmental stewards and bird advocates,” said Carrie Hugo, wildlife biologist for the BLM.

Coeur d’Alene Audubon volunteers and BLM staff will be on-site throughout the event to help provide information about the perils and wonders of bird migration. They will also share tips on understanding bird habitats and how to create them, as well as which bird songs you are most likely to hear in the North Idaho area.

Now in its 24th year, International Migratory Bird Day has grown from a one-day event into a framework underpinning hundreds of projects and programs year-round. IMBD is coordinated by Environment for the Americas, a Colorado-based organization which provides bilingual educational materials and information about birds and bird conservation throughout the Americas. Their programs inspire children and adults to get outdoors, learn about birds and participate in their conservation.

Each year, IMBD explores a different aspect of migratory birds. In 2017, participants at more than 700 locations from Argentina to Canada will learn how protecting and restoring stopover sites can benefit migratory birds, the symbolic harbingers of the seasons. Because habitat loss is considered the largest threat to these birds, IMBD events will include restoration activities like cleanups and planting native species, as well as educational presentations, bird walks and creative art projects.

BLM’s Blackwell Island Recreation Area is located just south of Coeur d’Alene, off the U.S. 95 bridge. The site will be open for this event only. The boat launches will not be opening until later in May. For more information: (208) 769-5000.