Manning Park is thriving with birds of all types.
Thrushes, sparrows, finches, warblers, kinglets and all sorts of woodpeckers call the area home. The area is also home to one of the province’s longest running bird counts, the Bird Blitz.
The Manning Park Bird Blitz takes place over the weekend of June 17-19, and is open to birders of all levels.
The event provides a vital service to Manning Park — birders are helping to build a database that now spans over 30 years, giving biologists a better picture of the park’s changing species diversity over time.
Through the weekend, birders visit and camp in the park, identifying and recording which birds they see and in which areas of the park.
The cost of the full weekend is $60, while birding for just the day on Saturday and taking part in a group barbecue is $50. Participants can also just come for the day, no barbecue, and pay $30, while birders 18 years and young, accompanied by an adult, are free to register.
Participants should be in reasonably good physical condition, but there will be plenty of opportunities to rest and enjoy the birds and surroundings. Birders meet in the morning but explore on their own schedule, choosing which trails to use.
There are 17 identified birding areas in the park and birders are welcome to visit as many of these areas as they wish.
Morning outings will be led by Kelly Pearce, Scott Denkers and Bill Kincaid and the event is hosted by Hope Mountain Centre.
For more information including how to register, visit hopemountain.org.
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