14th Annual Great Salt Lake Bird Festival, May 17-21, 2012 announces

'The Big Year' birder, Greg Miller, as Keynote Speaker.

Dinner tickets for May 19th are on sale now! https://events.regtix.com/birdfestival.htm

Great Salt Lake Bird Festival is excited to announce the 2012 Keynote Speaker (May 18 & 19, 2012) will be ‘The Big Year’ birder, Greg Miller (picture by Cam Shaw). Miller is portrayed by actor Jack Black in the new comedy movie, "The Big Year" about the world of competitive birding. He also appears as an extra in the film. See more about Greg Miller under Festival Presenter Information.

Greg Miller Dinner Tickets are available on-line now. Registration for field trips for the 2012 Festival begins March 1, 2012. Vendor applications will be accepted after January 2, 2012.

Great Salt Lake Bird Festival 2012 Big Stay at Farmington Bay

A "Big Stay" is like a birding Big Day or a bird-a-thon in that the object is to tally as many bird species as can be seen or heard within a 24 hour period from one location. It's kind of like a tailgate party for birdwatchers - hang our and watch and listen for birds with your friends. Attendees are welcome to come and go from this event as they please.

Purpose:

Share the love of birds with the public. Local birders and experts will be on hand to share their knowledge and optical equipment with the guests.
Fundraiser for Great Salt Lake Nature Center at Farmington Bay. Pledges can be obtained for each species tallied. For example, if a generous person donates $1 per species and we see 75 bird species that day, we will have earned $75 from that donor. Donor pledge sheets are available here or at the Festival information booth.

Rules:

The Big Stay At Farmington Bay will include the entire hill of Goose Egg Island to be the official observation area.
Only birds seen or heard from the official observation area are countable, but there are strategic ways to accomplish this.
The Big Stay begins at 5 pm on Friday May 18th and goes until 5 pm on Saturday May 19th. To reserve your time 'on the hill', contact Robert Mortensen

Previous speakers include: Bill Thompson III, Bill Fenimore, Scott Weidensaul, Bruce Thompson, Rosalie Winard, Ron Rohrbaugh, Denny Olson, Arthur Morris, John Acorn, Al Batt, Kent Clegg, Pete Dunne, Kenn Kaufman, Terry Tempest Williams, Ella Sorensen, Michael O. Leavitt