Flathead Audubon’s annual Birds of Prey Festival

Flathead Audubon will hold the 15th annual Birds of Prey Festival on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Lone Pine State Park in Kalispell. This event is free and open to the public. At 10 a.m., Flathead Audubon will present a new video by ornithologist Dan Casey highlighting the 17 years of the Jewel Basin Hawk Watch program, featuring incredible footage by BJ Worth of Wings in Nature. 

At 11 a.m., Lauren Tate, biologist with the Owl Research Institute, will provide preliminary results from a five-year winter raptor survey in the Mission Valley that studied migration habits of raptors from the far north. She will give an update on the results of the winter Short-eared Owl surveys and the Northern Saw-whet Owl banding project at the University of Montana Yellow Bay Biological Field Station. Jeanna Clifford will also provide an overview of the Owl Research Institute program. 

At noon, keynote speaker Lisa Bate, Glacier National Park biologist, will give an intimate peek into the lives of a Golden Eagle pair raising a new eaglet from egg to fledgling. This amazing footage was filmed by BJ Worth at eye level on a cliff-side nest. 

Beth Watne and volunteers from the Wild Wings Recovery will be outdoors with many rehabilitated birds, including a Bald Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Great Gray Owl, Northern Pygmy Owl, Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, and American Kestrel. 

There will be raptor face-painting from 9-11 a.m. and prizes for raptor identification games. The Hockaday Museum, Flathead Land Trust, Center for Native Plants, Owl Research Institute, U.S. Forest Service, River 2 Lake Initiative, and many other organizations will be there with booths and fun activities. A guided hike will be available at 8 a.m. Binoculars will be provided. 

The Birds of Prey Festival is a continuation of a tradition started by the family of the late Rod Ash in 2006. Over 850 people participated in the last Festival.  

Parking is severely limited at the Lone Pine Visitor Center, so a short walk from parking along the entrance road may be necessary. No food or drinks will be provided, but a cold-water refill station is available. Please bring reusable water bottles. For more information, go to flatheadaudubon.org.