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.

A Sunday drive through Oil Creek State Park turned up six white-tailed deer, including a beautiful and alarmingly brave buck, as well as a ring-necked pheasant, three common mergansers, a couple belted kingfishers and dozens of blue jays and dark-eyed juncos.

But this guy stole the show:

This male ruffed grouse either believed our car was a female or it simply liked showing off. It used about 2 full minutes to cross a one-lane road just feet in front of the car, in full display most of the time. It couldn’t have walked more slowly if it was dragging a Olympic weight.

The creek was high but barely tinted. It appears to be very fishable today.

Two juvenile Bald Eagles at Oil Creek State Park usually are willing to pose for photos if you catch them out and about near their haunt at the ice dam on the south end of the park.

If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to try geocaching, maybe Saturday’s International Geocaching Day is it.

Take part in any of the more than 250 organized events — like the GeoTrain through Oil Creek State Park — and you can earn a souvenir on your Geocaching.com profile page.

Call (814) 676-1733 to register or get information about the GeoTrain.

One of my favorite haunts is Oil Creek State Park, where my wife and I happened to spend much of Sunday afternoon.

An early afternoon storm left northwestern Pennsylvania overcast and gloomy for most of the day, but when the clouds cleared out we were left with a glorious few hours of perfect summer weather.

Cedar Waxwings and American Goldfinches were in abundance over the creek at Petroleum Center; we saw three Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in the park; and we heard two eagles keening near the ice control dam. But the real action came from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Miller Farm Road Bridge. In short order we saw an American Bald Eagle — about 30 feet overhead — a Green Heron, two Great Blue Herons, a bunch of feisty Belted Kingfishers and a dangerously curious Song Sparrow. Plus a shorebird and a songbird we’re still trying to ID.

The gorgeous view of Oil Creek from Miller Farm Road Bridge. Imagine an American Bald Eagle soaring overhead and toward the hills in the distance.

Miller Farm Road Bridge.

If I had a camera instead of an iPhone you’d be able to see that the stick figure in the middle of the photo is a Green Heron on the hunt. It nabbed a crayfish from a behind a rock with lightning speed.

Are you competing in the Oil Creek Biathlon Aug. 11?

Registration hit 50 this week. And while there’s room for more athletes, there’s also a need for a few more volunteers to be hit-or-miss counters or and clip loaders.

Volunteers would need to be on site from 8:30 a.m. until noon. Interested? Call (814) 354-2802.

As part of Orvis’ spring program, Lake Erie Ultimate Angler will put on a free Trout 101 beginners course Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. at the shop, 3737 W. 12th St.

The instruction continues Saturday with the Trout 201 class on the water at Petroleum Center in Oil Creek State Park Learn about casting, fly choice and more. The 201 course cost is $50. Make sure to bring a lunch, waders and your license.

To register for either course, call the shop at (814) 833-4040 or send an e-mail to Steve@ShopUltimateAngler.com.

Neshannock Creek Fly Shop in Volant also is among the participating Orvis partners in Pennsylvania. Contact the store for information.

Getting started in fly fishing can be a daunting challenge, even for those who have a real taste for the outdoors.

Mike Laskowski, owner of Oil Creek Outfitters near Titusville and a certified casting instructor, will lead beginners through the particulars with a Fly Fishing 101 session April 3 from 9 a.m. to noon at Oil Creek State Park, Venango County.

Laskowski will cover rods, reels, flies and gear. Bring your own rod and reel and dress for the weather. Registration fee is $10 per person. Only seven openings are available.

For information, or to register, call Robin Baker at (814) 6767-5915 or e-mail oilcreeksp@state.pa.us.

Remember the past two Octobers, when you read about the Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs and wondered exactly what the participants had to drink before paying to run somewhere between 50k and 100 miles?

Here’s what the 2010 races were all about (Oil Creek State Park looks great in the fall, doesn’t it?):

Thinking of running in 2011, when the event will be the Eastern Region Ultra Championship? Take some tips from a veteran trail runner.

Oil Creek gave up few fish this weekend — to me, anyway — but delivered on every other front, as always.

If you’re going to Oil Creek, then you’re all but committed to stopping at Oil Creek Outfitters for Mike Laskowski’s stream updates and tips (BWOs are coming, if they’re not coming off already). Be sure to ask Mike about his Cape Cod striper trip. His photos are must-sees.

The DHALO areas were stocked Oct. 5, and big trout were feeding just below the surface in the southern section, but little would coax them to feed up top. Nymphs and streamers had little effect that day.

Leaves and green crab apples litter the ground at Petroleum Center, the starting point for so many adventures in Oil Creek State Park. The skies were full, too: Two bald eagles twisted in a midair ballet well up the ridge, and a couple hours later a sleek osprey hunted a stretch of stream from a leafbare tree. I’d have given it the single smalllmouth bass I caught, but that 2-incher went through ordeal enough just by taking my Adams. And it probably had to dodge the kingfisher that patrolled the valley a bit later yet in the day.

At the Russell Corners Road-Burns Lane intersection, a feeding buck wandered just far enough into the forest cover to believe he was out of sight. He wasn’t, and his face and rack, framed in the boughs, made a memorable photo.

A moment later, a wild turkey jumped the ditch and raced ahead of the car down Russell Corners Road, disappearing into a mess of leaves on the other side of the road.

Those moments, plus fishing in shirtsleeves in October and driving home in a sunset that painted Route 8 pink, more than made up for a trout-free day.