Looking Back: Migration Celebration 2013

It came, it rained, the sun shone, the birds were fabulous and so were the people. We worked hard, we laughed and we had a great time working with the volunteers and staff of the Three Rivers Avian Center (TRAC) last Saturday at the 12th annual Migration Celebration.

What was it all about? Nature, birds, conservation, ecology, and hands-on fun. My part was the hands-on part: I told stories and made crafts with over 100 children and adults. Fun? Oh yeah. Work? That too, but when I see people having so much fun it's easy to forget the hard parts and bask in the joy around me.

Here's a photo journal of our trip:

Traveling to TRAC's headquarters is an adventure in itself and those who get a little fainthearted on narrow twisty roads might need to close their eyes for the next photos:

 Whooo-whooo! Here comes the train! We stopped for gas and then got stopped by the train which bothered me not one little bit. Trains remind me of my childhood and the tracks that were about a football-field length behind our house. Love a train whistle still.

Then about 4 or 5 miles on this curving gravel road, all uphill to the top of Brooks Mountain.

Destination in view!

And we made it! Just in time for burgers, salad and excellent company as the crew prepared for the next day's festival.

The weather was iffy next morning. Sometimes it showered, sometimes it blew, sometimes the sun shone, but it was all fine at Little Beaver State Park since most of our activities were indoors.

Ron Perrone with Regis, the 5-year-old bald eagle who is slowly getting his white head feathers. Regis was injured in the wild and a wing healed improperly, making it impossible for him to fly so he does his part in educating people about wildlife habitats and the things we do to endanger them without realizing what we're doing.

Young artists outside painting the animal profiles provided by the West Virginia DNR.

 Making bird feeders. I have no photos of the finished products because my camera card ran out of space! Take my word, there were some works of art completed by parents and children alike--everyone wanted to make one.

Telling stories on the patio--it was cold, cold so my coat stayed on the entire time. Here we are doing the actions to a song about owls. Fun!

More crafts--in the foreground we're making pinwheels while in the background Pat does temporary tattoos and people explore the What Is It displays by the DNR.

A completed pinwheel, made by a mother who really got into the design.

Jeff shows a snake to a fascinated audience.

A teenager created this one--I wish I had a photo of her completed project because it was really unique.

At the end of the day, we'd made over 50 pinwheels, over 60 bird feeders, and told about 10 stories to a lively group who didn't mind the chilly wind. Tired? Yes indeed, but well satisfied too. 

There were other activities I didn't get to photograph--the bug walk, bird count and identification walk, photography workshop and wildlife photography session, and more. 

Next year, same place, same weekend--so put it on your calendar and join us.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.