CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Children and their parents will find many free activities designed just for them at this year’s Heron Festival on Saturday, May 5, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Redbud Park in the city of Clearlake.

“We want to encourage families to spend fun time together outdoors with nature, and the festival is a great time to do that,” said Joyce Anderson, education chair for Redbud Audubon Society.

Returning for the fifth year is the very popular “Raptor Speak” with live owls and birds of prey.

This show offers an opportunity to see raptor behavior up close. Learn about these lively non-releasable birds in a fun and informative talk and bird demonstration. This special presentation by Native Bird Connections is one of the activities designed especially for families with children.

More than 200 people in all attended “Raptor Speak” last year, which again will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Big Tent. Because of its popularity, the show will be repeated at 2 p.m.

The Children’s Activities Area near the Big Tent offers several nature-inspired educational activities for children including instruction on how to make small bird feeders by spreading peanut butter and seeds on mini-bagels, creating owl masks to wear, and taking home a window decal to discourage birds from flying into glass windows.

A children’s My Audubon Bird Journal will be available for kids to record the birds they see as they walk around the park. Those who bring back a completed journal will be awarded bird stickers for their booklets.

Another annual highlight is the colorful display of children’s artwork from several local public schools, displayed in the Children’s Activities area. The creative drawings feature herons and local birds.

Besides all these special children’s activities, the Heron Festival offers 90-minute pontoon boat tours into Anderson Marsh. Expert Audubon bird guides accompany each boat tour to point out the heron nests and explain heron behaviors. Since the boat tours are a sell-out each year, advance reservations are strongly advised.
 
All activities during the Heron Festival are free of charge, except for the pontoon boat tours, which are $20 per person.

This 18th annual Heron Festival is sponsored by Redbud Audubon Society.

Eighteen years ago, the chapter initiated this festival so the general public could learn about and witness, first-hand, Clear Lake’s amazing population of local birds and wildlife and to generate awareness for the need to conserve and protect the area’s natural resources and habitat.

To see the full schedule of activities, go to www.heronfestival.org , or call 707-263-8030. Entrance to Redbud Park is free.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The annual Spring Dinner to benefit the Lake County Land Trust will be held on Monday, May 14, at the Saw Shop Gallery Bistro, 3825 Main St. in Kelseyville.

It is not too early to make your reservations for this fun event and Land Trust supporters are being urged to reserve their places as soon as possible.

Social hour will start at 6 p.m. and a four course dinner will be served with wine at 7 p.m.

All services, food, and wine are graciously donated by the Saw Shop Gallery Bistro with the proceeds going towards the Lake County Land Trust’s many projects, including the Rodman Preserve, Boggs Lake Preserve and the latest effort by the LCLT, the Big Valley Wetlands project.

Dennis Darling of Foods Etc. is a sponsor of the dinner and local Lake County wineries donate wine.

The public is cordially invited to this event. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Saw Shop at 707-278-0129. Payment is taken at the door, the evening of the event. Tickets are $70 per person.

For information, call Roberta Lyons at 707-994-2024 or the LCLT office at 707-262-0707.

The Lake County Land Trust is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting important land resources in Lake County.

The Land Trust stewards the Rodman Preserve on the north end of Clear Lake, spear-headed the movement to preserve the Black Forest on Mt. Konocti, owns Rabbit Hill Park in Middletown, and is working with the Nature Conservancy on management of the Boggs Lake Preserve; as well as facilitating preservation of lakeshore habitat in the Big Valley area of Clear Lake.

For more information go to www.lakecountylandtrust.org or friend the group on Facebook.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Representatives of Star Chapter 442 will be on hand at the Hillside Honda Yamaha 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday, April 28, at 460 S. Main Street in Lakeport.

The group will chat with Lake County motorcycle enthusiasts interested in learning about Star Touring & Riding Association.

All makes and models of motorcycles are welcome.

Come meet the group and learn more about them.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Vikings of Lake Lodge No. 6-166 is planning a rummage sale on Saturday, June 16.

JoAnne Swenson and Ellen Aasen are requesting that Lodge members begin bringing items to "Heritage & Culture Nights" beginning this month. They will take items home and get them priced. The club also can store some things in the club's room at Galilee Lutheran's Fellowship Hall.
 
Make your calendars for Friday, June 15, to help set up the hall, come shop on June 16 and help box and move unsold items to the waiting pickup truck. Any help is greatly appreciated.

The group is holding its “Swedish Night” this Wednesday, April 18, at Galilee Lutheran Church, 8860 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville.

A dinner of Swedish meatballs with all the trimmings will be served at 6 p.m. for $7.

Dinner will be followed by a presentation on Stockholm, which offers visitors everything from royal staterooms to sampling gourmet reindeer and sipping vodka in an ice bar.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Redbud Audubon Society will present its monthly program on Thursday, April 19, starting at 7 p.m. at the Lower Lake Historical Schoolhouse in Lower Lake.

This month the chapter is hosting Sarah Millus, a biologist with Audubon Canyon Ranch, who will talk about the heron and egret project at the ranch.

The project is an effort to monitor the colonially nesting herons and egrets in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Data is collected by volunteers and provides information about nesting distributions, nest survivorship, nest productivity, and intra-seasonal timing of nesting.

Millus has a master's in biology from California State University, Fullerton and a bachelor's degree in marine biology from UC Santa Cruz.

Many Redbud members are so busy helping as volunteers with the Heron Festival – to be presented May 5 at Redbud Park, sponsored by Redbud Audubon – that they rarely get to hear the keynote speakers who bring their expertise about these wonderful bird species.

“This chapter meeting is an opportunity for everyone to hear a fascinating presentation from a biologist who has in-depth expertise on these beautiful birds,” said Marilyn Waits, president of the Redbud Audubon Society.

The program is free and open to the public.

To learn more about the Redbud Audubon Society, and the upcoming Heron Festival, go to www.redbudaudubon.org .

The California Water Commission will hear an update on Bay Delta Conservation Plan  (BDCP) financing at its monthly public meeting on Wednesday, April 18.  

Dr. Jerry Meral, deputy secretary for the California Natural Resources Agency will speak at 9:30 a.m. followed by a panel discussion on BDCP financing issues from approximately 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.  
 
Scheduled to participate on the panel are Roger Patterson, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Jason Peltier, Westlands Water District; Richard Roos-Collins, Water and Power Law Group; and Jay Ziegler, The Nature Conservancy.

The meeting, which is open to the public, is in the first floor auditorium at the Resources Agency Building located at 1416 9th Street in Sacramento.

A Webcast is available at http://cawater.rmxpres.com/webcast/data/dwr04182012/main.htm .