Bird talk in Maple Hall Saturday

Whether you want to learn more about crows or have a burning question on improving habitat for birds or you want to buy cards or art with a bird theme, Maple Hall is the place to be for the Birding Showcase organized by the La Conner Chamber of Commerce.

Sixteen educational and artistic vendors will be there from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dr. Kaeli Swift speaks at 4 pm. Her research at the University of Washington is studying the foraging behaviors of Canada jays in Denali National Park. She studies corvids: crows, ravens, jays and magpies.

Local photographers Nancy Crowell and Soo Baus and artists Todd Horton and Becky Fletcher are exhibiting. Trained raptors on hand will be watched over by Sue Hanneman, a falconer and bird abatement professional.

The Skagit Valley is the wintertime gathering place for more than 50,000 snow geese and swans. Nearby Fir Island is a common location to spot these birds and a destination for professional birders and casual observers.

This is part of a county wide focus on the art and sport of birding: “Birds of Winter – A Skagit Valley Experience:” The farmlands and wetlands, estuaries and marine waters, prairies and forests of the Skagit Valley provide the wintertime habitat needs for hundreds of bird species, including trumpeter swans, snow geese, bald eagles and peregrine falcons, among countless others.

A $5 donation is requested, with children age 10 and younger free. For more information: https://lovelaconner.com/la-conner-birding-showcase-2019/.