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Virtual Rangeley Birding Festival! Free – June 4 and 5

by Nick Lund

News & Notes ·

The organizers of the second annual Rangeley Birding Festival were disappointed to have to cancel the in-person event this year, but haven’t given up in our quest to celebrate the birds of western Maine. So, we’re going virtual!

On the mornings of Thursday and Friday, June 4 and 5, Maine Audubon and the Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust are hosting a series of speakers and presentations about the amazing birdlife in the Rangeley Lakes area. The event is free to join! Register here!

Here’s the exciting lineup:

  • Thursday, June 4:
    • The Birds of Rangeley – 9am
      • Doug Hitchcox, Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist. Join Doug as he explores the birds and birding hotspots of the Rangeley area.
    • Mt Abraham from Valley Hardwood to Alpine Tundra – 10am
      • Pete McKinley, The Wilderness Society.  Explore the diversity of habitat in the Rangeley area, via a virtual walk though major forest, subalpine, and alpine ecological communities and species encountered on a walk of Mt. Abraham in western Maine’s High Peaks near Saddleback Mountain.
    • Virtual Loon Cruise – 11am
      • Kevin Sinnett, Rangeley Region Lakes Cruises. Join Kevin and his crew for an amazing video journey to find Common Loons on Rangeley Lake.
  • Friday, June 5:
    • The State of the Loons – 9am
      • Nick Lund, Maine Audubon. Nick will give an informative presentation on how different populations of Maine birds have fluctuated over the years. Learn which species have risen in number, and which have fallen, and why?
    • Wildlife Photography 101 – 10am
      • Nick Leadley, Touch the Wild Photography. Master wildlife photographer Nick Leadley gives a crash course on how to take amazing images of birds and other wildlife.
    • Keynote:  Taking our lumps before calling it splits: The science behind species and field guides– 11am
      • Brian Olsen, University of Maine. We are grateful to have Associate Professor Olsen of UMaine’s School of Biology & Ecology finish out the 2020 Festival with a keynote discussion.

Registration for the festival is completely free, and you’re welcome to join for any or all of the offered presentations. PLEASE REGISTER HERE, and links to each day’s slate will be emailed to you.

We hope you can join us for this one-year-only Virtual Festival, and then in person for next year’s 2021 Rangeley Birding Festival, all together back in Rangeley where it belongs!