[texbirds] SparrowFest 2015 Announcement (Feb 6-8, 2015)

From: "" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "drbirdie@xxxxxxx" for DMARC)
To: texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2014 22:19:28 -0500
Hi Texbirders and all Native Sparrow Enthusiasts,

Friends of Balcones Canyonlands will conduct its 10th edition of SparrowFest at 
Balcones Canyonlands NWR the first weekend of February, 2015 (February 6 thru 
8, 2015). SparrowFest is a fundraising and public outreach effort done by the 
Friends of Balcones on behalf of Balcones Canyonlands refuge.
We decided this year to go back to the entire-weekend format of our initial 
meeting, and to hold the meeting at Camp Balcones Springs, which is where we 
had our first SparrowFest back in 2005. We typically have 30 to 35 workshop 
participants each year at SparrowFest, so I estimate that over 250 people have 
participated in SparrowFest over the past 9 years. It's not as simple as 9 
times 30, because we have had a number of repeat offenders, folks who came back 
to SparrowFest for a second, third or even fourth year because it's so much fun.


Most of our participants have been from the Austin area, but we have also had 
participants from San Antonio, Houston, the DFW area, and other parts of the 
state and we have also had many out-of-state participants and even participants 
from other countries. 


SparrowFest this year may actually be more attractive to non-locals than to 
Austin-area birders, as the fee will be all-inclusive for lodging, meals, all 
festival activities, and a contribution to Friends of Balcones Canyonlands, 
which is a non-profit service organization.


The central Texas area has 20 species of native sparrows that occur regularly 
each year between mid-November and mid-February, all of which can be seen on 
the refuge or nearby.
Three more species occur almost annually during the winter.


See our sparrow checklist here 
<http://www.friendsofbalcones.org/Resources/Documents/SparrowFest_Checklist.pdf>


If you would like an intensive but fun weekend of sparrow study, including 
field trips, classroom sessions, great hill country scenery, and no worry about 
commuting to and from the refuge, this might be the year for you to try 
SparrowFest.


Friends of Balcones has a SparrowFest website at 
<http://www.friendsofbalcones.org/sf>
The website has additional details about cost and registration.


Because of timely summer and fall rains, conditions on the refuge this year are 
very good, and good numbers of wintering birds are already arriving.
Check out the SparrowFest website, and consider joining us in early February 
for a weekend of fun birding in the hill country.


Good birding ya'll,
Byron Stone, aka "SparrowMan," Austin, Tx












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[texbirds] SparrowFest 2015 Announcement (Feb 6-8, 2015)

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