Back for the 10th year since its inception, Friends of the Inyo’s Owens Lake Bird Festival is returning this year as a live birding and exploring event the weekend of April 11-13th, in Lone Pine. Since 2015, Friends of the Inyo’s Owens Lake Bird Festival has been celebrating the migration of thousands of birds as they alight at Owens Lake to replenish their strength before continuing on their hemispheric journey along the Pacific Flyway, which extends from Alaska to Patagonia. But the Festival is more than just about birding, and outings are designed to cover topics that also include botany, photography, geology, local history and culture, and more, to complement the experience, as well as to inform the public about Friends of the Inyo’s work to protect and care for the public lands of the Eastern Sierra, with a focus on our work in Southern Inyo County. “We are thrilled to be celebrating the ecosystems and species of Payahuunadu with our 10th anniversary OLBF!

This year, in addition to our traditional popular birding outings, history tours, we have added plein air painting as well as an outing especially for kids,” said Wendy Schneider, executive director of Friends of the Inyo. “Please come and join us.” This year, we are offering five half-day birding tours (three in the morning and two in the afternoon) to Owens Lake, Cartago Springs, and the Alabama Hills and two all-day desert/mining-history tours to Conglomerate Mesa and Cerro Gordo. Half-day tours are $25, full-day Conglomerate Mesa tours are $50, and full-day Cerro Gordo Tours are $55 per person. The Introduction to Birding for Kids tour, new this year, is FREE for children ages 6-12, with materials provided, and their parents are welcome to join. Kids must be registered via the ticket sales page to join. All trips will be led by knowledgeable birders, naturalists, and photographers, many of whom have been affiliated with the Bird Festival since its inception.

The fun will begin and end at the parking lot of the Museum of Western Film History, at 701 S. Main Street in Lone Pine, from which outings will start off, and where attendees can enjoy an optional dinner catered by the delicious Coachwhip Cafe for an additional price at the end of the day on Saturday the 12th, accompanied by our keynote speaker and a silent auction. Friends of the Inyo acknowledges the sponsorship support of AltaOne Federal Credit Union, whose generosity allows us to bring back this popular event to the community of Inyo County for another year. To learn about tour descriptions and times, as well as dinner options, please visit www.friendsoftheinyo.org/birdfestival, where you can also purchase tickets using a major credit card.
Questions? Write to info@friendsoftheinyo.org. ###