The Festival of the Birds won’t go off this year as organizers decide where to take the event next, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a major birding event around Erie this spring.

Birds and Vines, based out of Pymatuning State Park, is scheduled for April 16-18. Participants will tour four state parks –  Pymatuning, Goddard, Oil Creek and Presque Isle – in a search for newly arrived migratory songbirds, waterfowl and raptors, and also will visit regional wineries, where there’s not only wine to be sampled but prime birding habitat to be explored.

All of the parks are Audubon Important Bird Areas. Tours will start at 6 a.m. each day, with stops at two parks and nearby wineries. Conneaut Cellars Winery, Wilhelm Winery and one or two Erie-area wineries to be determined are on the agenda.

Cost for the program is $65 per person or $120 per couple; it’s designed for adults only. Transportation and some meals are provided. Reservations are required and are limited; registration deadline is April 10.

Cabins at Pymatuning State Park will be available. Organizers recommend staying in cabins since the program will start so early each day. Cabin reservation costs are separate from registration fees. Cabins sleep 6-8 people each.

For information about the program, or to register, call the Pymatuning park office at (724) 932-3142.

Cabin reservations can be made by calling 888-727-2757.

Wonder why birders crowd Presque Isle State Park one weekend each year for the now annual Festival of the Birds?

Whether they’re assembling day lists, adding to life lists or viewing species they can’t find elsewhere, birders take advantage of the peninsula’s location in the Atlantic Flyway. It’s the last stop before the jump over Lake Erie for migrating birds such as the warblers that are taking up short-term residence these days.

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What forecasts as a turbulent week of weather is expected to stabilize by Friday, just in time for the Festival of the Birds at Presque Isle.

This week’s weather isn’t expected to be particularly favorable for heavy migration, meaning there might not be a lot of new birds in residence for watchers. But it is expected to be pleasant, if a bit cool, to wander in. If the birds on hand this past weekend stick around, that’ll be some fine wandering.

Two long but cursory days of birding Saturday and Sunday, mostly at Scott Park but also at Fry’s Landing and other Presque Isle haunts, turned up a bevy of birds. I’d suspect more practiced or traveled birders have seen plenty more yet.

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