Plumas Audubon Society is hosting the 8th Annual Grebe Festival Aug. 8–10. This year, festival headquarters will be located at the Plumas Pines Resort in Prattville.
With a desire to protect grebe breeding habitat and support local communities, Plumas Audubon Society began hosting the Grebe Festival in 2016. It is designed to create more public awareness of Western and Clark’s Grebes, their conservation, how water management affects the grebes’ breeding success at Lake Almanor and to celebrate these extraordinary birds.
Attendees can enjoy a pontoon boat ride or kayak trip to see nesting grebes, or hike a wooded path with an expert to see the area’s extraordinary bird life. Highlights this year include double the number of pontoon boat tours, with options both Saturday and Sunday, a keynote presentation by famed local photographer Randy Robbins Saturday evening, as well as a guided kayak tour both Saturday and Sunday morning led by PAS staff and High Elevation Kayak Rentals.
“This year our planning team worked diligently to provide a unique array of activities from shorefront yoga to late night owling and even a field trip focused solely on dragonfly and damselfly identification and appreciation,” said PAS Executive Director Elizabeth Ramsey. “While the festival aims at celebrating grebes, there is so much wildlife in the Lake Almanor area to appreciate and we hope you will leave with a newfound or reinvigorated sense of appreciation for all wildlife in the region.”
Many activities are free and everyone is welcome to attend. There is no cost to enter the festival headquarters at Plumas Pines Resort. There, visitors can register for festival trips and workshops, and find children’s activities, bird information, vendors and someone to answer questions on the festivities. An added bonus of being headquartered at the resort is access to their beautiful shorefront, dining and beverages. Organizers advise attendees to register online, or arrive early on the day of the event to allow time for registration. For the full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.plumasaudubon.org/grebe-festival
Important information regarding field trips
PAS presents the following tips and frequently asked questions:
- Check the trip details for information on meeting place and time and refer to festival maps and directions. Many planned trips will meet at Grebe Festival headquarters (Plumas Pines Resort), but not all field trips start there.
- Arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure to ensure everyone is checked in and all trips leave on time. Anyone arriving after the field trip leader has left will not be able to participate in the event and will not be eligible for a refund.
- All field trips have a limited number of participants. Walk-in registration for some trips may be available on the weekend of the Festival. Walk-in registrants MUST register at the Grebe Festival headquarters inside Plumas Pines Resort.
- Most trips will be conducted rain or shine. Only unsafe weather will cancel the boat trips (high winds, thunderstorms, etc.)
- Bring the following on your trip: layered clothing and clothing appropriate to weather conditions, comfortable shoes suitable for walking on uneven ground, binoculars and field guide (if you have them; some will be provided for children’s events), camera, snacks, water, sun protection, hat and a light jacket.
Etiquette
PAS asks that trip participants be courteous, pay attention to the leader, stay with the group, walk quietly and slowly, turn off electronic devices, do not disrupt the plants and animals that live where you are exploring and always stay at least 300 feet away from nesting grebes. Remove litter and leave natural items where they belong.
Turn up your senses. Look all around the sky and horizon including the tops of trees and the ground for traces of wildlife.
PAS is still seeking event sponsors, volunteers, and donations for the silent auction. For more information, please contact PAS Outreach Coordinator Ellie Hinrichs at 530-616-8670 or [email protected].
