Foxburg Nature Festival Takes Off With A Riverstone Farm Birdwalk

Foxburg’s 6th Annual Nature Festival is fast approaching. The basis for the Nature Festival all started back in 2006 with a Bird Walk event at Riverstone Farm sponsored by Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts. Over time the annual Bird Walks were usually scheduled for the second weekend in May. This can be the optimum time for migratory birds moving through the area, spring wild flowers blooming, and trees budding but not yet fully leafed. Often at RiverStone Farm thousands of dogwood trees are in bloom to add to the enthusiasm and enjoyment of the “Birders.” In recent years the Nature festival has been expanded and is now a Foxburg Town Event. This year the Foxburg Nature Festival is Saturday May 10th and with the “Take Flight” 5K Run/Walk on Sunday May 11th.
Saturday activities at RiverStone begins with the traditional bird walk. This year it will consist of a 2.5 mile hike on the farm taking in both the Allegheny and Clarion River valleys. In years past over 50 species of birds have been seen, heard and identified. Birds include the regulars, robins, crows, blue jays, cardinals, as well as some less seen blue indigo buntings, scarlet tanigers, comerants, and a rare warbler or two beyond this writers memory. Great Blue Herons can be seen nesting their rookery on an island in the Allegheny River. Last year a bald eagle and red tail hawk put on a aerial divebombing show as one crossed into the others airspace.
So who are bird watchers and what is the attraction that brings a diverse group of people together to stand under trees, many with binoculars, speaking in hushed tones as they look through branches of trees and shrubs. Most certain someone says “Do you see it”… “where”…”over there”…”oh it moved”…”where’ …”over there”. But in that moment of frustration you catch a flash of color and hear the undulating tweets and twitters and it can be a moment of awe.
So in simple terms, “the bird is the word!” Come join in the bird moment and tweet your friends from the foxburg nature festival bird walk.
Following is the complete schedule of events