Nikon and The Brevard Nature Alliance present the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Brevard Community College, Titusville Campus 1311 North U.S. Highway 1, Titusville January 24 - 28, 2007 -- Titusville, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife.     eMail

2007 Special Events

The Raptor Project Sponsored by Nikon Sport Optics 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 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 show, these dynamic, fierce predators capture the hearts of both young and old. Following each show, Jonathan will take some birds outside and fly them. www.raptorproject.com — www.nikonsportoptics.com Show Times: Thursday, Jan 25: 2:00pm Friday, Jan 26: 9:30am, 1:00pm, 3:30pm Saturday, Jan 27: 10:00am, 2:00pm and 3:30pm Florida Power and Light Company's Electrifying Experience Featuring "Mr. Electricity" Robert Krampf's Science Education Company Everyone will be thrilled by spectacular demonstrations such as the "hair-raising" Van de Graaff static generator and the amazing million-volt sparks from the Tesla coil. Robert's style of presentation, combined with lots of volunteers from the audience, will make this presentation a personal science experience for each person present. FPL's Electrifying Experience has been carefully designed to be entertaining as well as educational. We will keep attendees to this show oohing and ahhing with million-volt sparks and hair-raising static demonstrations while teaching the basics of electricity and electrical safety. Some of the topics covered include electrical history, static charges, volts, amps, alternating current, direct current and high-frequency electricity. This presentation is suitable for pre-K through adult. The balance of information and demonstration makes this an enjoyable show for everyone. www.krampf.com Show Times: Saturday, Jan 27: 11am and 1pm in the BCC Auditorium Florida Power and Light Company has been a continuous sponsor of the Festival since 1997. FPL has many FPL-Sponsored Science Outreach Programs available to schools as well as family activities such as FPL for Kids and the Captain Conservation Program. Visit www.fpl.com and click on "Community Involvement" and "Electricity and Our Environment". We thank FPL for bringing Mr. Electricity to the Festival! Eagle Optics and Swarovski Optik Digiscoping Contest Bring your digital camera with you to the Festival Your digiscoped bird photo may win you a prize! The unique combination of a digital camera and a spotting scope is called Digiscoping, and the ability to view and share your pictures immediately after taking them has created a new event - a "real-time" photography contest. All Festival attendees are invited to enter their top five digiscoped photos taken during the Festival. Entries will be displayed at the Swarovski Optik booth. The top images will be picked by a celebrity judging panel consisting of Scott Weidensaul, Bill Thompson III, Debra Shearwater, Clay Taylor and Ben Lizdas. Winners will be announced at the Sunday Social at Fox Lake Park. The winning entries will also be displayed on the Eagle Optics and Space Coast Festival websites. Let's see what you have to show! www.eagleoptics.com, www.swarovskioptik.at Family Activities at the Enchanted Forest Saturday, January 27, 2006 Hosted by the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program and Friends of the Enchanted Forest Trip Leaders and Interpreters: Judy Gregoire, Jim Stahl, Dr. Jay Barnhart, Shari Blissett-Clark, Kristopher Brown and Richard Poole Titusville's 428-acre Enchanted Forest Sanctuary is the flagship property for the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program. Preserving a significant sample of the natural communities that originated and remain in this region, the incredible diversity of this area is found throughout the Sanctuary's varied habitats which include xeric oak scrub, mature hardwood forests, wetlands and pine flatwoods. In one of the few places in Central Florida where subtropical and temperate plant species are found together, visitors can also see the exposed layers of coquina rock that form the Atlantic Coastal Ridge. Plants and Their Uses Through History from Ancient to Modern Times: Learn to identify many of the various native plants found in the Sanctuary as well as practical information regarding their values and uses through the centuries. Your interpreters for this session will be trail guide volunteer and avid mushroom hobbyist Dr. Jay Barnhart and retired land manager and biologist Jim Stahl. 12:00pm Beneficial Bats: This program will be presented by EEL North Region Land Management Technician Shari Blissett-Clark. Take a journey into the amazing world of bats and learn the truth about these fascinating mammals. Discussions will "bust" popular myths and misconceptions surrounding bats, such as blindness, blood drinking and disease risks. Learn about the real behavior of bats and why they are crucial to a healthy environment and beneficial to mankind. 1:00pm Gopher Tortoise Hike: Join Kristopher Brown, EEL North Region Land Management Technician, for this amazing opportunity to learn how to identify a gopher tortoise burrow and explore the burrow's cavity with a camera. More than 300 insects and animals share tortoise burrows - who knows what you might discover! Find out about the tortoises' preferred habitats, diets and their importance in our communities. Learn how to join the "Adopt-a-Tortoise Program." 2:00 pm What is Biodiversity? Explore three unique ecosystems with Judy Gregoire, EEL North Area Land Manager. Learn about the plant and animals that live in the Sanctuary and thus contribute to the biodiversity of the area. The adaptations of these plants and animals will also be discussed and compared. How do animals that live in the hot, sunny xeric oak scrub ecosystem find water? How do plants that survive in the flooded hydric hammock ecosystem adapt to their surroundings? Join us for this guided hike to find out. Interactive educational activities will be conducted along the trail with the entire group. 3:00pm Master Bird-Bander Richard Poole will have two mist nets set up near the Education Center for banding demonstrations from 11:30am-4pm. www.eelbrevard.com & www.enchantedforestfriends.org Meet at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary Directions: Go south on US 1 through Titusville. About a mile south of town, go west on SR 405. The entrance to the Forest is just on the right, about 1/3 mile west of US 1. All activities will start in front of the Education Center. Jan 27, 11:30am-4:30pm: Limited to 30 registrants; Free Bird-Banding Demo Richard Poole Bird-banding is a universal and indispensable technique for studying the movement, survival and behavior of birds. Individual identification of birds makes possible studies of dispersal and migration, behavior and social structure, life span and survival rate, reproductive success and population growth. A master bird-bander, Richard works at the Wekiva Basin Banding Station, the longest continuously running bird-banding station in Florida. Richard will bring two mist nets to set up in two locations. To learn more about banding, visit www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/ and the Wekiva Basin Banding Station web site, http://home.cfl.rr.com/wekivabirdband. Merritt Island NWR Visitor Center: Friday, Jan 26: 9:00am-4:00pm Enchanted Forest: Saturday, Jan 27: 11:30am-4:00pm Audubon Center for Birds of Prey Take a special "Behind the Scenes" tour of Florida Audubon's Center for Birds of Prey (ACBOP). The largest raptor rehabilitation facility east of the Mississippi, the ACBOP specializes in the rescue, medical care, rehabilitation and release of more than 600 sick, injured and orphaned raptors each year, including Bald Eagles, hawks, owls, kites, falcons and vultures. Recognized nationally as one of the premier facilities for Bald Eagle care, the center has rehabilitated and released 289 eagles back to the Florida skies since opening in 1979. Many of the non-releasable birds are housed at the center in large aviaries or in the open-air "bird garden," where the glove-trained education birds spend their days. This state-of-the-art facility includes a lab and x-ray equipment to aid in diagnosing and treating patients, a clinic equipped with indoor caging to accommodate raptors of all sizes, rehabilitation mews and three flight barns. In addition, there is extensive native landscaping and a butterfly garden to enjoy. Education is an important mission of all Audubon Centers. Take advantage of an opportunity to get up close and personal with our nation's symbol, the majestic Bald Eagle or to marvel at the remarkable ears of a Barred Owl. You must drive yourself over to the Center, which is located near Orlando at 1101 Audubon Way, Maitland, FL 32751. Call 407-644-0190 for directions. www.audubonofflorida.org/who_centers_CBOP.html Jan 25 and 28, 10:00am; $5.00/person -- pay at the Center Hands-On Wildlife Safari It is the mission of Hands-On Wildlife Safari to help preserve the Earth's diversity through the use of "hands-on" education, enlightenment, and entertainment. With increasing volunteer & public interest, a new outlook has surfaced for our group. Hands-On Wildlife Safari has added other world-wide affected wildlife to their programs; offering a broader wildlife experience and larger presentation topic base with Florida panther, North American bobcat and African spotted serval cat, along with other reptiles and birds from all over the world. Our enthusiasm and excitement for wildlife conservation and environmental awareness continues to grow. Our Motto is "Education + Experience = Conservation." We believe that as much as 60% more information is retained when a tactile experience is involved along with good education. Our programs combine the facts that our Wildlife Educators give you ... then add being close to one of the world's most impressive and endangered species, the Florida Panther; or touching the glossy scales of a Florida king snake for the first time; or hearing the many verbalizations of the spirited and beautiful North American bobcat. You will walk away with the gift of being surprisingly educated while having an experience that you will never forget. www.handsonwildlife.org Jan 26 & 27, 10:00am-5:00pm: In front of the Gymnatorium; Free Back to Festival HomePage