Children 12 years and under are invited to participate in the fifth annual Fishing Is For Fun Day Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon near Perry Monument at Presque Isle State Park.

Members of the Erie Pennsylvania Sport Fishing Association will provide fishing tackle for kids who need it, bait, a lunch of hot dogs, chips and soda, and a helping hand from volunteers. There also will be prizes. The event is free, but registration will be limited to the first 75 kids. Parents are invited to attend as well. Parents are invited to attend as well.

To register, call Denise Work between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 474-5357. Fishing will take place in the rain if there is no threat of lightning.

Have a libation today in support of Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center.

Take a seat at the Cocktails & Hawktales Celebrity Bartending Social today from 5-8 p.m. at the Bel-Aire Clarion Hotel Lounge, 2800 W. Eighth St.

All tips that are collected during the event will go to Tamarack for supplies the staff needs to rehabilitate injured and ill birds of prey and songbirds.

The bartender lineup, according to the Tamarack website:

5-5:45: Holly Best, Presque Isle State Park; Mary Birdsong, Pennsylvania Audubon; Jim Martin, Bankable Consulting.

5:45-6:30: Rebecca Styn, LECOM; Jeff Evans, Employee Benefit Resources.

6:30 – 7:15: Emily Hauser, Presque Isle State Park; Jason Owen, Esq., Yochim, Skiba and Nash Attorneys at Law.

7:15-8: Michele Rundquist-Franz, Presque Isle Audubon Society; Erin Sekerak, Gannon University. (An e-mail from Franz suggests she’ll be serving from 6:15-7:15.)

The event is free and open to the public. Gift baskets will be available for raffle.

A Cocktales and Hawktales fundraiser for Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center will take place Wednesday from 5-8 p.m. at the Bel-Aire Clarion Hotel and Conference Center.

All tips raised from the celebrity bartending event will be donated to Tamarack for supplies such as medication, bandages and food.

In this Sunday’s Erie Times-News, Scott A. Messenger writes about turkey calls and strategies for using them. He also shares one of his favorite calling tactics. Check out Messenger’s Gear Guide video below:

A Kentucky warbler that is unusual for this region has been giving birders additional reason to visit Presque Isle State Park over the past week.

The warbler has reliably been at the Budny Beach parking lot for days. Monday night around 7 it was feeding on insects that were making themselves at home in a gull carcass.

A Kentucky warbler at Presque Isle State Park on April 29, 2013. Contributed photo/LINDA MARTIN

Kentucky warblers typically remain south of Erie in the spring and summer.

The Meadville KOA Campground, 25164 Route 27 in Meadville, is offering a free night of camping May 11 to all campers who stay at the campground as paying guests May 10 as part of KOA’s 10th anniversary KOA Care Camps Big Weekend.

Campers can to go www.KOA.com to see a list of other participating campgrounds and make reservations. 

Campers also may enter the Great KOA Giveaway for a chance to win a new $40,000 Keystone Cougar recreational vehicle, and a decade of free KOA camping. Weekly prizes from KOA, Cabela’s and Weber Grills are also available.

Volunteer for a National Trails Day work day June 1 with the North Country Trail in the Allegheny National Forest chapter.

Crews will be start work at 9 a.m. at Chappel Bay near Route 321, south of the Bradford Ranger Station, along the Kinzua Arm of the Allegheny Reservoir. Workers will build a short bog bridge of native material and reroute a small section of the trail away from a wet area.

Work should be completed in one day. Tools and hard hats will be provided, but volunteers should pack lunch and water. Gloves and sturdy footwear are recommended.

If you or your organization or business would like to get involved, contact Mike or Tina Toole  at (814) 723-4714 or e-mail nct001@verizon.net.

A last blast of winter 2012-13 from Peek’n Peak’s terrain park:

Until next year… from Peek’n Peak on Vimeo.

The Friends of the Erie National Wildlife Refuge will host an owl prowl April 27 at 6:30 p.m.

Meet at refuge headquarters, 11296 Wood Duck Lane, Guys Mills, for an educational program before venturing into the woods with program leader Judy Acker from Audubon Pennsylvania.

Leaders will use recordings of owl calls to try to get a response from the likes of a great horned owl or barred owl, the most common species known to nest on the refuge.

Group size will be limited and preregistration is required. Call (814) 789-3585 to reserve your spot. Dress for the weather, wear suitable footwear for hiking and take a flashlight.

Enter the one that didn’t get away in the GoErie.com Trout of the Year Contest.

Trout fishing season in most of Pennsylvania starts April 13, and from that day through April 30 you can upload a photo of you and your best trout. The public will vote on their favorites, and we’ll announce the public vote winner and an editor’s choice winner May 19 on the NWPA Outdoors page in the Erie Times-News.

Winners will receive a fish platter from Allen Stoneware Gallery.

The contest is open only to licensed anglers who are 16 or older at the time of entry, as well as to anglers 16 and under whose parents or guardians enter their photos. Participants must have either caught their trout in Erie, Crawford, Mercer, Venango, Forest or Warren counties, or reside in one of those counties and have caught their trout in Pennsylvania.

Good luck.