Bird & Nature Festival in Ashland Wisconsin

May 14-16, 2020 (Thursday-Saturday)

14th Anniversary of Chequamegon Bay Birding & Nature Festival -- 3 days of birding and nature activities on Wisconsin's south shore of Lake Superior at the peak of spring migration.

Click here for a downloadable version of the 2020 Chequamegon Bay Birding & Nature Festival booklet.
Dear festival participants, Given the latest information on COVID-19, we have decided to postpone festival registration from the originally scheduled date of Tuesday, March 24 to Tuesday, April 14. Just as we have done today, we will assess current news and recommendations prior to that date so we can make a safe, informed decision on how to proceed. All options for the event from full steam ahead to outdoor only to full cancellation will be considered, with the health of all involved our number one priority. On behalf of the 2020 CBBNF Planning Team.

With over 100 field trips and programs on all things nature, such as birds, butterflies, wildflowers, snails, spiders, elk, frogs, fish, and mushrooms. We also have birding by bicycle, kayaking trips, Apostle Islands cruises, Loon Pontoon, live birds, mammal tracking, and more. New this year Extreme Weather theme with associated field trips, including a drone demo; our first geology field trip; smartphone birding, program on purple martins, several field trips on finding and preparing wild edibles. Our bird fest has renowned speakers and trip leaders, such as Ruth Oppedahl (Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin), Adrian Wydeven (Timber Wolf Alliance), Tracy Hames (Wisconsin Wetlands Association), and local birding experts Ryan Brady, Nick Anich, Tim Oksiuta, Dick Verch, David Bratley, and more and the Birdchick as our keynote speaker.

Birders and nature lovers of all skills and ages will find a wealth of choices at this year's festival.

For other happenings in Ashland: www.visitashland.com

Imagine...Work where you play!

2020 Keynote Speaker

This year we celebrate 50 years of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore with a three-part presentation featuring the special birds found there, how their populations are doing, and a photo-filled, virtual journey chronicling one surveyor’s summer in search of the island’s nesting birds.

2019 Birds Seen
Our festival has something for everyone.

The 13th annual Chequamegon Bay Birding & Nature Festival was held in Ashland this past weekend, convening nearly 400 participants from around the state and country to enjoy 120 trips and programs on birds, butterflies, wildflowers, and other joys of nature. While our preliminary tally stands at 175 bird species seen, this year's event will be remembered for its rarities. The HOODED ORIOLE found south of Ashland will become the 3rd state record of this southern species that typically ranges no farther north than south Texas, although unfortunately it did not linger for most to see it. An "AUDUBON'S" YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER photographed at Wren Falls was one of few well documented in the state and only our second local record of this western subspecies. A local birder photographed an ORCHARD ORIOLE, furnishing only our 3rd area record and first for the festival period. A SUMMER TANAGER was photographed at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center, a first for our event venue. Field trip groups spotted N. MOCKINGBIRD, BOREAL CHICKADEE, and BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, the latter for only the second time at the festival. Willets, Rough-legged Hawk, and Yellow-headed Blackbird were among some of the other goodies found.

Can't wait to see what's in store for us in 2020!