Birders will gather in the Ontario community of Dorion May 15-16 for the second annual Canyon Country Birding Festival. The two day festival is not only a fun social event for people who enjoy watching birds, but an opportunity to tour a surprising mix of habitats and see some outstanding scenery to boot.

The festival begins with a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning, then birders will board buses to visit Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park and Hurkett Cove Conservation Area. An extraordinary geological formation, Ouimet Canyon’s trail system allows you to explore rocky cliffs as well as a marsh area. Hurkett Cove is a large Lake Superior wetland where a new extended trail system allows birders to look for the many water bird species that pass throughy during migration or next in the vicinity. At 5 p.m. the buses will return to Dorion for a social hour followed by a banquet with special speakers and presentations. On Sunday, buses will take birders to Nipigon, where they will walk the Nipigon River Trail along Lake Superior’s largest tributary river. Last year birders recorded over 100 species during the two-day event.

Speakers this year include MNR biologist and avid birder Rob Swainson, Thunder Bay bird expert and writer Brian Ratcliff, field naturalist Allan Harris, wildlife biologist George Holborn and birding record keeper Dr. Nick Escott. Participants are asked to register for the festival by April 30. For information, go to www.dorionbirdfest.ca or call Ed Chambers at (807) 857-2265.