Festival of the Birds at Presque Isle
Festival of Birds
Hosted by: Presque Isle Audubon
May 15th, 16th & 17th, 2026
Download sample program here
Discover the joys of spring migration at the picturesque Presque Isle State Park, which BirdWatching Magazine rates as one of the top birding spots in the country! Situated along Lake Erie's southern shores in Erie, Pennsylvania, more than 320 species of birds have been recorded at the park! Presque Isle is also home to Gull Point, a sand plain sanctuary that hosts a wide variety of migrating shorebirds and seabirds and the only place in Pennsylvania where you'll find nesting pair/s of the federally endangered Piping Plover! Presque Isle is a designated Important Bird Area and is nicely located on a major migration corridor. Anything could show up!
The 2026 festival features field trips to all the hotspots and workshops for every level, from:
- Presentation: Rats with Wings and Trash Pandas
- Presentation: Travels with BirdingApp
- Presentation: Bird Joy: The key to unlocking our inner child
- Field trip: Imperfect Quirky Bird Walk
- Presentation: The extraordinary diversity of origins of our local mammals
- Presentation: Birds and Words: Nature Writing for Pleasure and Publication
Witness science in action at Erie Bird Observatory's bird banding station. Watch raptors ride thermals way up, up, up into the sky at the Presque Isle Hawk Watch. Bring your own kayak (or rent one here) and paddle into the Presque Isle lagoons with us as we search for migrating waterfowl, secretive marsh birds, & more!
Our scheduled 2026 Keynote is Amar Ayyash.
All this plus good food, great camaraderie, a welcome reception on Friday evening with music and fun; lots of friendly helpful people and a small ticket auction, to boot.
We are a small festival, limited to 150 attendees. None of the crowds, all of the birds. All skill levels welcome.
2026 Keynote Speaker: Amar Ayyash
Amar Ayyash is both an expert on the gulls of North America and an evangelist for "gull recreation". He coordinates the IOS Annual Gull Frolic on Lake Michigan, hosts the popular website anythinglarus.com, and is often found speaking at birding events throughout the continent. Much of his free time is dedicated to traveling the world to photograph and study gulls. Amar has published a number of papers and articles on gull identification, distribution, and molt, and is the author of the authoritative guide to North American Gulls, The Gull Guide.
Man & Gull - A Complex Relationship
Among the world's "seabirds", gulls are the most accessible to humans, invading our most immediate surroundings. Gulls are sometimes perceived as 2nd class avian creatures. This, along with the identification challenges they present and their readiness to hybridize presents a love-hate relationship for many birders. Yet some gull species are among the most coveted birds on any birder's list (think Ross's Gull and Ivory Gull). This makes for an interesting juxtaposition. Do we like some gulls and look past others? Amar Ayyash will take us through an entertaining and intriguing exploration of the natural history of gulls, including their thorny taxonomy, and he'll share some of their lesser-known adaptations and quirky behaviors.
