The Flyway Festival celebrates migratory and native birds with outings, education, exhibits, art and music

January may be our wettest and coldest time of the year, but it's an ideal time to observe migratory birds wintering in the Bay Area far from their summer homes in northern climes. The San Francisco Bay Area, including Napa County, provides relatively mild winter habitat for numerous migratory bird species, making it high season for bird-watching, or "birding," in true bird-lover parlance.

Thousands of bird-lovers from all over Northern California will soon embark on a migration of their own to get their fill of all things avian at the upcoming 10th annual Flyway Festival on Mare Island in Vallejo, Jan. 27-29, 2006. The Flyway Festival celebrates the unique species of migratory and native birds that reside around San Pablo Bay, the largest bay in the San Francisco Bay estuary.

The Festival will kick off with a wine and cheese reception on Jan. 27 in Building 897 on Mare Island. Preview fine art, sip local wines, and listen to jazz musicians Leo Cavanaugh and John Kolarik. Rich Radigonda, winner of the 2005 California Duck Stamp art competition, will serve as honorary host.

The Flyway Festival will feature an interesting variety of fun and educational activities, both indoor and outdoor, including a Family Wildlife Exploration and Birding Expo, nature exhibits, and more than 50 regional wildlife outings, some of which provide access to areas of San Francisco Bay's north shore that are not normally open to the public. Napa River Adventures will also offer bird-watching cruises on the Napa River (requires fee and reservations, see contact information below).

Nature artists (painters and photographers) are invited to compete in a "Plein Aire Paintout." The contest results and other nature-themed fine art will be showcased in a silent auction and raffle. For the first time, the Festival is going international with a Children's Bird Art Show from Pukaha Mt. Bruce, New Zealand and Akashi, Japan. Several sessions will teach the basics of creating nature art, such as "Waterfowl Drawing" and "Duck Decoy Carving and Painting."

The festival is an ideal family outing, with fun activities designed just for children and the entire family to enjoy. How could one not get hooked on a sing-along about slugs, bugs, bats and scats, and "other mucky, marsh music accompanied by guitar, ukulele, and random acts of hula, banjo and other entertainment," as organizers describe it?

Birding newbies of all ages can get introduced to the delightfully obsessive world of bird-watching with interactive sessions and presentations on beginning birding, while the more "seasoned" birders might be interested in such presentations as "The Art of Digiscoping: From a Birder's Perspective" or "How to Identify Birds in South Africa and Argentina."

Some of the exhibitors will offer up-close-and-personal encounters with wild birds. Look for Native Bird Connections, which trains professionals and educates the public with non-releasable injured native birds; UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group biologist Glenn Stewart and his peregrine falcon, Sophie; and other wild visitors from the Suisun Wildlife Center and Lindsay Wildlife Museum.

The variety of festival participants and sponsors demonstrates the broad appeal of birding and a growing interesting in preserving critical habitat for native and migratory birds and other wildlife. Even "green" wineries are getting involved in the Festival. Tours will be led by Audubon Society guides through Viansa Winery's 90-acre Wetland Restoration and Waterfowl Preserve near Sears Point. Their seasonal wetland attracts migrating waterfowl. Golden eagles, red-tailed hawks and black-shouldered kites are among species that have been seen there.

The Flyway Festival concept was inspired by Robin Leong of the Napa-Solano Audubon Society and put into motion in 1996 by founders Myrna Hayes and Marc Holmes, who were with the Save San Francisco Bay Association at the time. The purpose of the festival is to introduce the Bay Area public to the world of birding, which organizers claim is the fastest growing outdoor recreation in America. It also educates area residents about the opportunities to protect critical habitat for dozens of endangered and threatened species.

The festival's indoor activities will be held primarily at Building 897, Mare Island. Most activities are free, with some requiring modest admission or entry fees.

For the full schedule of activities, directions, and other information for the Flyway Festival, visit www.sfbayflywayfestival.com, or call (707) 649-WING (9464). For schedules and reservations for bird-watching excursions with Napa River Adventures, visit www.napavalleybirdwatching.com, or call (707) 224-9080.