2023 Tentative SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

To Register Click Here!

DETAILS OF FESTIVAL EVENTS:

Friday, May 12th, 2023:

Final Registration at Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery

When:          12:00 am to 4:00 pm. 
Where:         Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery, 1140 – 27th Ave S 

BIRD BINGO

Looking for a fun way to find birds in our valley?

Get your Bingo cards here:

Bingo – American

Bingo – BIG birds!

Bingo – Colored-parts

Bingo – Colors#2

Bingo – Colors

Bingo – Duck Lake

Bingo – Easy

Bingo – Hyphens

Bingo – Kids

Checklist for kids

Checklist

Kayak the West Creston Channels 

Please bring your own kayak or canoe. Rentals are also available from the Creston Valley Tour Co.

https://www.crestonvalleytours.com/

Join Daryl on Frenchman’s Slough for a peaceful paddle on quiet waters lined with tall cottonwoods and thick shrubbery. Ideal habitat for a variety of water and land birds including orioles, kingbirds, kingfishers, raptors, and ducks.  If the water level in the channel is too low, the alternate tour will be driving Reclamation Road and walking up Dodge Creek Road.

Tour Leader:          Daryl Calder

When:                    12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Difficulty:                Easy kayaking in calm waters
Cost:                      $20
Limit:                      10 people
Where:                   Meet at West Creston Channels (Peterman Road and W. Creston Road intersection)

Photo Credit: Joelle Burnie

Native Bees and Mason Bee Condo Info Session

Gord will be giving detailed information on native bee pollinators and their habitat requirements with a focus on Kootenay species. 

There are over 450 species of bees in BC, and some species are adapted to very specific types of flowers. The biggest threats to native bee species are habitat loss/degradation, habitat fragmentation and pesticides. Native bees (especially Mason bees) are becoming increasingly important as pollinators since honey-bee populations have been drastically reduced by an introduced mite. Most of the agricultural crops in British Columbia depend on pollination by bees.

There will also be a Mason Bee Condo info session with a brief overview of the typical lifecycle of the popular bee genera that are conducive for taking up residence in provided domiciles. Discussions on design, timing of the year, and location preferences. There will be display cases with a microscope to zoom in on the specimens. 

Flocking Together at Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery

A chance to meet new and old birding friends to discuss rare bird findings while enjoying locally produced beverages and dinner from the Savour Food Truck.  

Dinner served by the Savour Food Truck

Local wine and beer served by Baillie-Grohman Estate winery at their patio prices

Star Gazing 

Come see how a darker sky will  help you see more spring constellations and deep space objects, such as the M13 globular cluster in Hercules and the Beehive cluster in Cancer. Learn how to use the Big Dipper’s handle in order to “arc to Arcturus and spiral on to Spica!” Note the eastern rise of the Summer Triangle, the majesty of Leo.  There will be a waning crescent moon that does not rise until 3:18am so the night sky will be more visible!

Note:  Please wear layers and use red light (nightlight) on your cell phones. It takes our eye pupils 10 minutes to acclimatize to darkness! If you have an eye to squint and an arm to point you are good to go!  We will work on our ability to use just our eyes. Binoculars are welcome but not required. Please leave pets at home! 

This event will be cancelled with a  full refund if the sky is not clear.

Photo Credit: Joelle Burnie

Saturday, May 13th, 2023:

6:00 to 6:30 am  Meet your birding tour leader at Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery (1140 -27th Ave S.)
Lark Coffee and Muffins/Fruit donated by Pealow’s or Save-On Foods will be available.

Tours will leave exactly at 6:30 am so don’t be late!!

Be aware:  Bears are in the valley.  Please bring Bear Spray!

Kayak the West Creston Channels

Please bring your own kayak or canoe. Rentals are also available from the Creston Valley Tour Co.

https://www.crestonvalleytours.com/

Join Daryl on Frenchman’s Slough for a peaceful paddle on quiet waters lined with tall cottonwoods and thick shrubbery. Ideal habitat for a variety of water and land birds including orioles, kingbirds, kingfishers, raptors, and ducks.  If the water level in the channel is too low, the alternate tour will be driving Reclamation Road and walking up Dodge Creek Road.

Birding by Car to Duck Lake Tour 

A variety of landscapes means a variety of birds. Join Ed and Hazel for a driving tour looking for birds beside mountain shrubbery, open farmland, a slow-moving channel, marshland, to the wide-open Duck Lake. Possible sightings of Lazuli Buntings, Raptors, Wood Ducks, Say’s Phoebes, Bullock’s Orioles, and Sandhill Cranes.

Lazuli Bunting Photo Credit:  Lyle Grisedale

Photo Credit: Claude Rioux

Birding at Duck Lake

Ring-necked Duck and Shovelers Photo Credits:  Ulrike Sliworsky

Birding the Wildlife Area Trails 

Exploring the dikes and trails through the expansive wetlands of Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area. These trails are full of riparian-habitat songbirds, marsh birds and waterfowl. Your best chance at seeing a Sora!

Barn Swallows Photo Credit:  Karen Whitford

Birding the Wildlife Area Trails – Beginner  

Welcome to Birding!  This trip is geared for anyone relatively new to birding. We’ll walk the paths around the Wildlife Interpretation Centre, with a focus on getting good looks at birds. We’ll answer your questions about binoculars, field guides, and good times and places to watch birds in the Kootenays. Families are welcome. We’ll bring a spotting scope that we’ll keep at a kid-friendly height.

Tour Leaders:  Carolee Colter and Sarah Fawcett

When:              6:30 am to 10:30 am

Where:             Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area

Meet:                Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery, 1140 – 27th Ave S

Difficulty:           Moderate

Cost:                 $20

Limit:                10 people

Yellow-headed Blackbird Photo Credit:  Lyle Grisedale

Birding by Bus Road Tour

Travel the back roads of the Wildlife Management Area in the comfort of a 7 passenger-seat bus with large windows for viewing. Cover several locations and micro-habitats in a short time. Optional short mini-hikes. Great potential for spotting, viewing, and studying Raptors, Waterfowl, Woodpeckers, and Songbirds. And maybe guest appearances of a few shy four-legged friends.

Red-tailed Hawk Photo Credit: Lyle Grisedale

Fox Tree Hill, Tanal Marsh, Mawson Lake Tour 

Join Lyle Grisedale at Fox Tree Hill, Tanal Marsh, and Vic Mawson Lake as we visit both forest and marsh for possible sightings of common loons, waterfowl, a heron rookery, and wide variety of song birds from Towhees to Chickadees. There will be some easy hiking as we wander through the open forest at Foxtree Hill. For the photographers in the group there will be many great photo opportunities.

Mountain Bluebird Photo Credit: Lyle Grisedale

Birding the Farmlands: Walking/Driving Tour 

Come along as we explore the flats, Creston’s wide open spaces. Keep an eye out for raptors, meadowlarks, songbirds, and maybe even a curlew as we meander through the wide expanses of farmland in the valley. This tour may include some short walks on flat terrain as well as birding right beside your car. Location of the tour will depend on where the birds are!
(Likely Kootenay River or Reclamation Roads)

Nashville Warbler Photo Credit: Gaelen Schnare

Leach Lake: Walking/Driving Tour 

See the birds in their most natural of wetland habitats. With limited access to the public, the birds own it. Sightings expected to include a good variety of waterfowl, pelicans, cormorants, raptors, plus a good selection of marsh, grassland and woodland passerines. This tour will likely go over 4 hours.

American Pelican Photo Credit:  Lyle Grisedale

Semipalmated Sandpiper Photo Credit:  Gaelen Schnare

Valley Events for Saturday, May 13th 

Discovery Centre Displays and Activities

Join us at the Discovery Centre to learn more about the wetlands and wildlife of the area.   A variety of displays, taxidermy mounts, skeletons, tracks, insect specimens, hands-on activities, kids’ area and more will keep everyone busy and entertained!  Build a bird kite or participate in the family Bird-a-thon!!

https://discovery-centre.ca/

Guided Canoe Tours at the Discovery Centre 

Join a Naturalist for a one-hour guided canoe tour to experience the sights and sounds of this internationally designated wetland.  Paddle the ponds and channels in voyageur canoes in search of wildlife and adventure!  From birds to turtles to bugs…you never know what you might encounter!

Tour of Swan Valley Honey 

Amanda Goodman Lee and Jeff Lee are pleased to give a tour of their honey farm. The tour includes an observation hive where you can get up close to the bees, honey tasting and education on the life of honey bees. For those who want an added adventure a visit to the bee yard for those not allergic or phobic. Honey can be purchased at their sales office on location.  Bee suits are available on site.

https://honeybeezen.com/

Kootenay Meadows Organic Dairy Farm Tour 

A cheese tasting with an explanation of the cheese-making and bottling process will be followed by a guided tour of the barns and a pasture walk to view the farm’s duck ponds and riparian area.

http://www.kootenaymeadows.com/kac/index.html

“Wobbling Warbler Bus Tour” – Winery, Brewery, and Distillery 

Turning the best local fruit into the best local spirits, since 2017. The Creston Valley is a perfect backdrop, providing a bounty of fresh ingredients for us to work with. We thrive on creating unique one-of-a-kind spirits that speak to the true nature of our surroundings.  Visit this distillery to see how it all works!

https://www.crestonvalleytours.com/

https://www.bailliegrohman.com/

https://www.wildnorthbrewery.ca/

https://wynndelcraftdistilleries.ca/

Merlin and e-Bird Workshop 

Do you enjoy birds, but want to learn how to identify what you see?  This two-hour workshop will cover basic bird identification principles to help you become more confident and familiar with bird life in the Creston Valley and beyond.

https://www.gopishing.com/

Wildflower Wander up the Balancing Rock Trail 

An uphill climb to a little wetland with fantastic views of our valley!  Skunk cabbage, Ferns, and Devil’s Club galore.  Late spring flowers should also be along the trail such as Larkspur, Paintbrush, Shooting Star, Wild Ginger, Trillium, Spring Beauty, and Ragged Robin.  Some feathery friends might show up too!

Flowers and Feathers for Kids 

Not just a nature walk!  Carley will show kids how the plants and animals thrive in the Creston Valley Wildlife Management area using games and interactive activities.

Saturday Evening Presentations

Birds Canada is a non-profit, charitable organization that is dedicated to increasing the understanding, appreciation, and conservation of birds in Canada. Join us to learn about our citizen science programs, how you can get involved and our latest research projects on the Long-billed Curlew and Black Swift. We will also be screening our short film “Of Waterfalls and Wings: Surveying for the Mysterious Black Swifts”

Long-billed Curlew

Photo Credit: Kris Cu

Sachi Snively will be presenting his work at the Tatlayoko Lake Bird Observatory which is in the western Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia.  He will be discussing long-term migration monitoring and avian molt.

Each fall in August and September, TLBO operates a banding station to monitor migratory birds as they pass through the valley. By capturing and banding an average of one thousand five hundred birds each season, and observing thousands more, the crew of professional banders document the migration that passes through this key migratory route each year.

https://tatlayokobirds.wordpress.com/

Sunday, May 14th, 2023:

6:00 to 6:30 am  Meet your birding tour leader at Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery (1140 -27th Ave S.)
Lark Coffee and Muffins/Fruit donated by Pealow’s or Save-On Foods will be available.

Tours will leave exactly at 6:30 am so don’t be late!!

Be aware:  Bears are in the valley.  Please bring Bear Spray!

Kayak the Channels 

Please bring your own kayak or canoe. 

https://www.crestonvalleytours.com/

Join Daryl on Frenchman’s Slough for a peaceful paddle on quiet waters lined with tall cottonwoods and thick shrubbery. Ideal habitat for a variety of water and land birds including orioles, kingbirds, kingfishers, raptors, and ducks.  If the water level in the channel is too low, the alternate tour will be driving Reclamation Road and walking up Dodge Creek Road.

Belted Kingfisher Photo Credit: Darlene McDowell

Tour Leader:   Daryl Calder

Birding by Car to Duck Lake Tour 

A variety of landscapes means a variety of birds. Join Ed and Hazel for a driving tour looking for birds beside mountain shrubbery, open farmland, a slow-moving channel, marshland, to the wide-open Duck Lake. Possible sightings of Lazuli Buntings, Raptors, Wood Ducks, Say’s Phoebes, Bullock’s Orioles, and Sandhill Cranes.

Sandhill Crane Photo Credit: Tammy Bradford

Great-blue Heron Photo Credit: Karen Whitford

Birding at Duck Lake

Tour Leader:    Tina Watters

When:              6:30 am to 10:30 am

Where:             Duck Lake

Meet:                Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery, 1140 – 27th Ave S

Difficulty:           Moderate

Cost:                 $20

Limit:                10 people

Birding the Wildlife Area Trails

Tour Leaders:  Jo Ellen Floer and Gretchen Whitham

When:              6:30 am to 10:30 am

Where:             Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area

Meet:                Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery, 1140 – 27th Ave S

Difficulty:           Moderate

Cost:                 $20

Limit:                10 people

Photo Credit: Claude Rioux

Birding the Wildlife Area Trail – Beginner

Welcome to Birding!  This trip is geared for anyone relatively new to birding. We’ll walk the paths around the Wildlife Interpretation Centre, with a focus on getting good looks at birds. We’ll answer your questions about binoculars, field guides, and good times and places to watch birds in the Kootenays. Families are welcome. We’ll bring a spotting scope that we’ll keep at a kid-friendly height.

Tour Leaders:  Carolee Colter and Sarah Fawcett

When:              6:30 am to 10:30 am

Where:             Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area

Meet:                Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery, 1140 – 27th Ave S

Difficulty:           Moderate

Cost:                 $20

Limit:                10 people

Birding by Bus Road Tour 

Travel the back roads of the Wildlife Management Area in the comfort of a 7 passenger-seat bus with large windows for viewing. Cover several locations and micro-habitats in a short time. Optional short mini-hikes. Great potential for spotting, viewing, and studying Raptors, Waterfowl, Woodpeckers, and Songbirds. And maybe guest appearances of a few shy four-legged friends.

Fox Tree Hill, Tanal Marsh, Mawson Lake Tour 

Join Lyle Grisedale at Fox Tree Hill, Tanal Marsh, and Vic Mawson Lake as we visit both forest and marsh for possible sightings of common loons, waterfowl, a heron rookery, and wide variety of song birds from Towhees to Chickadees. There will be some easy hiking as we wander through the open forest at Foxtree Hill. For the photographers in the group there will be many great photo opportunities.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee Photo Credit: Lyle Grisedale

Birding the Farmlands: Walking/Driving Tour 

Come along as we explore the flats, Creston’s wide open spaces. Keep an eye out for raptors, meadowlarks, songbirds, and maybe even a curlew as we meander through the wide expanses of farmland in the valley. This tour may include some short walks on flat terrain as well as birding right beside your car. Location of the tour will depend on where the birds are!
(Likely Kootenay River or Reclamation Roads)

Western Meadowlark Photo Credit: Lyle Grisedale

Leach Lake: Walking/Driving Tour 

See the birds in their most natural of wetland habitats. With limited access to the public, the birds own it. Sightings expected to include a good variety of waterfowl, pelicans, cormorants, raptors, plus a good selection of marsh, grassland and woodland passerines. This tour will likely go over 4 hours.

Long-billed Dowicher Photo Credit: Gaelen Schnare

Winery Tour at Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery 

https://www.bailliegrohman.com/

Baillie-Grohman is a small family-owned vineyard that focuses on cool climate varieties such as Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris & Chardonnay. Grapes of the highest quality are grown to produce elegant handcrafted wines that showcase the unique terroir of the Erickson bench. Suitable for all ages with wine available for ages 19+!

Wine Down at the Baillie-Grohman Estate Winery
** No registration required **

Relax and enjoy a charchuterie platter or bring your own lunch to the patio at B.G. Estate Winery to taste the award-winning wines that are putting this wine-growing region of B.C. on the map.  Possible bird sightings in the vineyard: Western Bluebirds, Lazuli Buntings, Western Meadowlarks, and Ring-necked Pheasants.

Mother’s Day Art Workshop 

Enjoy a relaxing afternoon with step-by-step instructions to create a beautiful Mandala Dot Art project with your friends!  All supplies are provided for you to complete an owl masterpiece!  No experience necessary.  A glass of wine is included!