 |
Nikon and The Brevard Nature Alliance present Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival November 16 - 20, 2005 in Brevard County, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
 |
| |
Nikon and The Brevard Nature Alliance present Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival November 16 - 20, 2005 in Brevard County, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
|
Don't forget to mark your calendars now for the Ninth Annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, Wednesday, November 16 through Sunday, November 20, 2005. Presented by Nikon Sport Optics and the Brevard Nature Alliance, this year's exciting event will be bigger and better than ever with five days and nights full of activities that feature presenters and field trip leaders from all over the world.
The festival begins on Wednesday, Nov 16 with an ocean pelagic birding trip, some field trips, a digiscoping workshop, and some afternoon presentations. Following the official Welcome Reception on Wednesday afternoon, noted underwater photographer, Peggy Goldberg, will lead the evening keynote speakers with underwater and nature photography from around the world, with an emphasis on Florida and our state's connection to the rest of the world's oceans and waterways. International recording artist, Kelly-Lynn will perform at the Welcome Reception. Thursday's keynote speaker will travel all the way from Hong Kong when Swarovski Optik brings acclaimed bird photographer, Neil Fifer, to thrill you with his wonderful images from Australia and the Orient. On Friday night Victor Emanuel, founder of Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, one of the world's longest operating and best known wildlife tour businesses, will relate his version of the world's best birding locales. Lauded for his energy and enthusiasm, Denver Holt, President of the North American Owl Institute, will entertain you with stories of what is perhaps the most widely recognized group of animals on Saturday night. Owl lore, myth, and stories have been verbally passed along in many cultures throughout the world for centuries.
New this year, Nikon Sport Optics will sponsor the Raptor Project. Raptor Project founders, Jonathan and Susan Wood, have assembled a traveling collection of feathered predators that is unrivaled in scope and size anywhere in the world. A Master Falconer and Wildlife Rehabilitator, Jonathan brings unique insights, observations and humor to his exciting, riveting, nationally acclaimed shows. Many of the birds in the Raptor Project have permanent handicaps and have been donated to his project by crowded wildlife centers around the country because they were unable to be re-introduced to the wild. Some faced being euthanized, but now have been tamed and trained to educate the public as charming ambassadors of their species and the environments they inhabit. Jonathan works with birds in a wide rage of sizes -- from small falcons and owls weighing 3-4 ounces to majestic eagles with 6-8 foot wingspans. Featuring 15-20 raptors from diverse habitats at each presentation, these dynamic fierce predators capture hearts of both young and old. Jonathan will do two presentations a day on November 17, 18 and 19. Also new this year will be guided behind-the-scenes field trips to the Florida Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland led by Lynda White, Coordinator of Audubon's Eagle Watch Project. A tour of the Center highlights the work Audubon is doing in the rehabilitation of this species.
There will be ample opportunities to learn about photography's latest rage - digiscoping. Nikon has broken new ground with its unique Nikon Digiscoping System. By combining one of the most successful digital cameras in the world with one of the highest quality spotting scopes ever made, Nikon has created a light weight, user-friendly system with a magnification far greater than any SLR camera at a fraction of the cost. A Naturalist/Birding Marketing Specialist from Nikon will conduct two digiscoping workshops to allow participants the chance to work in class and in-the-field with the new Nikon Digiscoping System. Swarovski Optik will sponsor classroom and in-the-field sessions with international award winning photographer, Neil Fifer, and Eagle Optics representative, Ben Lizdas, will present his perspective of digiscoping in another workshop. Brunton and Eagle Optics will each offer hands-on optics workshops featuring a wide range of binoculars and spotting scopes. Learn what choice of optics is best for you and take advantage of the special festival rates on a variety of optical products available.
Photographers will be hard-pressed to find more amazing opportunities to work with professionals at any other wildlife festival. This year's stellar collection of award winning photographers includes Kevin Doxstater, Neil Fifer, Milton Heiberg, Reinier Munguia, John Orehovec, and Joanne Williams. Photography activities include dazzling presentations; field workshops; and sessions on Photoshop, macro-photography, bird photography, use of digital cameras and how to merchandise your photographs. New this year will be a photography class suitable for kids.
A variety of field trips led by some of the nation's foremost Naturalists offer participants the opportunity to explore one of the country's most diverse areas by car, bus, on foot, and in boats, airboats, and kayaks. A nature-based trade show features artists, craft persons, and businesses and organizations specializing in nature & wildlife, birding, photography, optics, and nature-tourism. International and domestic tour operators will be on-hand to help you plan your next dream vacation. Activities for youngsters will include presentations, dissecting owl pellets, building an owl house and bird feeders, live bats, birds, snakes and reptiles, Florida Bird Detective, bird banding and a photography class. An Art Competition, sponsored by Dynamac International Corporation, is open to artists who work in several media as well as a poster contest for school-aged kids. Prize monies for this festival event will total over $1,300.
Seminars will include Snowy Owls, Barn Owls, Swallow-tailed Kites, Black Rails, Florida Scrub-Jays, gopher tortoises, South Florida's exotic birds, tips for tropical birding, butterflies, wildflowers, the Great Texas Birding Classic, the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, hiking the Florida Trail, 30 Eco-trips in Florida, Panama's best birding spots, hummingbirds of Ecuador, the Galapagos and Ecuadorian Andes and rainforest, birding in Brazil, the Yucatan's special biosphere reserves, AAA Adventures, birding and wildlife watching in Alaska, the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, Florida growth issues, and more. Many distinguished authors will be available for book signings.
Workshops include Jeff Bouton (Leica Sport Optics) - Raptors I & II and Gulls and Terns; Larry Manfredi (South Florida Birding Tours) - Seabirds; Adam Kent (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) - Sparrows, Beginning Beach Birds, and Florida Bird Detective; Nancy Corona and Cary Salter (Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge) - Beginning Birding; Stephen Ingraham (Carl Zeiss Optical) will present Seven Steps to Better Birding and A Sure-fire Solution for Empidonax Flycatchers, LBJs, Peeps, and Immature Gulls; Paddy Cunningham (Adventures in Birding) - Birding by Ear. Popular author and tour leader, Kevin Karlson (Jaeger Tours), will give his incredibly informative Shorebirds made Simpler workshop and shorebird icon and leading conservationist, Brian Harrington (Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences), will return for his exciting Advanced Shorebirds workshop.
An enlarged archaeological component this year will enhance the Festival's cultural offerings. On Friday, Nov 18, Park Historian, John Stiner will lead a field trip to showcase the superlative historical sites of Canaveral National Seashore. On Saturday, Nov 19, five presentations will highlight past Florida civilizations and the archaeological treasures they left behind. Brian Sherman will talk about his ongoing journey and adventures in amateur paleontology in Florida where there is ample evidence of very many Ice Age creatures, some strange, some wonderful and some familiar. Dr. Robert Austin will travel from Florida's west coast to talk about the West Williams Archaeic Site in Hillsborough County. A hands-on presentation with original artifacts and modern replicas given by David McDonald will feature the enigmatic Ais Indians who occupied this area before the days of Ponce de Leon. Tom Penders will discuss the area's rich archaeological heritage from 3,000 to 13,000 years ago and the present ongoing excavation of a 2000 year old prehistoric Native American village site at the Pine Island Conservation Area Archaeological Project (Sam's Site). Tom will lead a field trip to Sam's Site on Sunday morning.
On Friday, Nov 18, Hubbs Sea World Research Institute Director, Dr. Duane DeFreese will lead a field trip to the Marine Science Center, a sea turtle and seabird rehabilitation facilty and environmental education center, and the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Maritime Museum. Later that evening, world renowned Fish Ecologist, Dr Grant Gilmore, will toss his big hydrophone overboard in order to listen to underwater creatures on the popular Nighttime Fish Communications Boat Tour at Haulover Canal with Space Coast Nature Tours. The following day, Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant will sponsor an Oceans Session led by Andrew Shepard, Associate Director of the National Undersea Research Center at University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Featured speakers will include Dr John Reed, Harbor Branch Research Institute's expert on deepwater corals; Andy Shepard, the Aquarius Undersea Habitat project in the FLA Keys; and Larry Harvey, Executive Director for Centers for Space Oceanography who will discuss the application of satellite products and capabilities to address a variety of marine issues and opportunities. Biologist Anthony Poponi, Local Knowledge Guided Nature Tours, will talk about Sea Turtles.
On Sunday afternoon, following a morning of activities, we will adjourn to the beautiful Ace of Hearts Ranch in Port St John for great food, including bar-b-q pork and chicken, and big piles of shrimp. Take a hayride or a leisurely stroll to visit the animals that call the Ace of Hearts Ranch home. A special performance by Florida musical group Patchwork will highlight this fun-filled afternoon social. Patchwork is a band of five women who play everything from original Florida folk, country and bluegrass to forties swing and rhythm & blues, all on acoustic instruments! Featuring national award-winning banjoist and fiddler Tammy Murray, the band hails from Gainesville, Florida. Their professional ease onstage, instrumental prowess, and beautifully blended voices have made them a favorite at festivals statewide, including the Florida Folk festival in White Springs. They have also been broadcast live on national public television and radio. Safari Todd will be there with his collection of Florida critters (including a real Florida Panther) to round out the afternoon that officially ends the 2005 Festival.
Without the generous contributions of all of the Festival Sponsors, this amazing event would not be possible. Sponsors include AAA Adventures, Bird Watcher's Digest, Boeing, Brevard Community College, Brevard Nature Alliance, Brunton, Canaveral Port Authority, City of Titusville, Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant, Dynamac International, Inc., Eagle Optics, Florida Today, Florida Power & Light Company, Hubbs Seaworld Research Institute, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Nikon Sport Optics, Pentax Corporation, Pepsi/Aquafina, Reliant Energy, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Florida's Space Coast Office of Tourism, Swarovski Optik, Visit Florida, and Waste Management, Inc.
Pre-registration is required for all field trips and costs vary, with many activities free to the public. Specific times and fees for events, seminars and exhibits, directions, registration forms and special accommodation rates are found on the festival website, www.nbbd.com/fly or by contacting Neta Harris at 321-268-5224 or (800) 460-2664.
2005 Festival Articles
2005 Keynote Speakers
Back to Festival HomePage
Click here to send eMail inquiries about the Festival