23rd Annual Eastern Shore Birding & Wildlife Festival: Oct. 8-11

For Immediate Release For More Information: Bonnie Mahl, Festival Chair
757 787-0918 ext 129
esbirdingfestival@gmail.com

23rd Annual Eastern Shore Birding & Wildlife Festival to be held
October 8-11, 2015; Cape Charles, Virginia!

Free activities for children and families at Kiptopeke State Park;
Oyster Roast at the Harvey Building Oyster, VA, on October 10

(Cape Charles, VA; September 2015) – Visit Cape Charles, Virginia, to experience a migration sensation at the 23rd Annual Eastern Shore Birding & Wildlife Festival! Every fall, millions of songbirds, hawks, shorebirds, butterflies and dragonflies migrate through the narrow Delmarva Peninsula on their long journey south to warmer wintering grounds, and the Eastern Shore of Virginia is right in the middle of the action. The Eastern Shore Birding & Wildlife Festival gets you a front and center seat to view this migration with guided hikes, boat trips, and free family activities.

Festival headquarters open on Friday, October 9, at the Cape Charles Fire Station, 501 Mason Avenue, Cape Charles, VA 23310, where vendors, exhibitors and free activities for families will also be located throughout the weekend. Free Saturday activities include the popular “Flight of the Raptor” live bird of prey demonstration in Cape Charles Central Park, free admission to Kiptopeke State Park, and free shuttle bus to Kiptopeke State Park from the Fire Station for more free activities for families and children. Fee-based guided hikes and boat trips begin Thursday, October 8, at 7:30 a.m. and run through Sunday, October 11, at 4:00 p.m. This year, the festival includes a traditional Eastern Shore Oyster Roast, at the Harvey Building, in Oyster VA, on Saturday, October 10, 2015, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person, available by presale only. For a complete schedule of events, to purchase Oyster Roast tickets, and to pre-register for field trips and boat trips, please visit the Birding Festival website at: http://www.esbirdingfestival.com/.

The festival kicks off with a fun and informative Friday night program with this year’s Keynote Speaker, Jeff Bouton, at 5:30 p.m. at The Palace Theater, 305 Mason Avenue, Cape Charles, VA 23310. A self-described “Bird Junkie,” Jeff began working as “binoculars for hire” as a teenager. He has been at various times a research assistant, professional birding guide, and photographer. He now works as the Marketing Manager for Leica Sport Optics, a job which enables him to travel around to various festivals and educate birders about the world of optics. Over the past decade, Jeff has written more than 50 articles and had hundreds of his digi-scoped wildlife images published in major birding magazines. He is a contributing author on past ABA Birdfinding guides to Alaska & Florida respectively, and the Houghton Mifflin title “Good Birder’s Don’t Wear White.” Jeff’s Keynote address will be a humorous and anecdotal presentation of Birding Through the Ages. Jeff will be available throughout the Birding Festival weekend at the Leica booth in Festival headquarters. The Friday night program is free and open to the public, and will also include recognition of local high school students who participated in the annual Birding Festival Poster Art contest, along with the winner, Miss Sarah Cashwell of Broadwater Academy. Join us for a reception prior to the Program at 4:00 p.m. at the Cape Charles Fire House, for a chance to mingle and meet the guides, vendors and exhibitors.

The Eastern Shore of Virginia Birding and Wildlife Festival is sponsored by Eastern Shore Eventacular, Inc., the Eastern Shore Soil and Water Conservation District, Northampton County, the Town of Cape Charles, ESLand, the Virginia DEQ Coastal Zone Management Program, Virginia State Parks, Kiptopeke State Park, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.