Schedule
Friday, June 19, 2026
1 PM – 3 PM – Conservation Project
4 PM – Registration Opens (Vendors display their wares.)
5:30 – 8:00 PM – Social (cash bar and snacks)
6 PM – Annual Business Meeting and Festival Announcements
My Journey as a Young Birder in Pennsylvania
Fourteen-year-old Ezra White will present his experiences of becoming a young birder in Pennsylvania and how our state’s unique avifauna, geography, and birding community have inspired and cultivated his birdwatching journey. He will also reflect on how digital technology and resources have transformed his generation’s birding practices.
Ezra lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has been committed to viewing and documenting Pennsylvania’s birdlife since age six. He has led bird outings for the Three Rivers Birding Club, the Pennsylvania Society of Ornithology, and the American Birding Association, and he has won the PSO’s Youth Scholarship and medaled in the ABA’s Young Birder of the Year Program.
Saturday, June 20, 2026
Breakfast on your own
6:30 AM – 11:30 AM Field Trips (times vary)
Noon – 6:30 PM Vendors display their wares
11:00 am to 1:00 pm Lunch on your own
1:00 pm to 1:45 pm Bracken Brown, American Kestrel Project
1:45 pm to 2:30 pm
Audubon Certified Backyard Habitat: A Framework for Meaningful Stewardship
Nickolus Stahlman has been birding for about 12 years, inspired by a naturalist-led walk in East Tennessee. He has since developed a strong interest in bird behavior and habitat needs, which he has carried into his professional work as a technician on migratory bird projects. He currently works with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, supporting Bird Town Pennsylvania and the Certified Backyard Habitat program, and is always scanning waterways for his favorite bird, the Belted Kingfisher.
Many backyard habitat initiatives focus on recognition, offering participants a way to signal good intentions. While these programs can build awareness, they do not always ensure that meaningful habitat is being created. This presentation explores how certification-based programs, such as the Certified Backyard Habitat program developed by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania, provide a more effective framework for achieving real conservation outcomes in backyards of any size.
Participants will explore the Certified Backyard Habitat program and how site assessments, clear criteria for addressing wildlife threats, and ongoing guidance move participants beyond basic actions toward creating functional habitat for birds and other wildlife. The talk will highlight key components of certification, including native plant use, stewardship practices, and continued education.
2:30 pm to 3:15 pm Break (snacks and drinks) and vendor time
2:30-3:15 PM – Break and vendor time (snacks and drinks)
3:15 pm to 4:00 pm Joe Gyekis, Nocturnal Flight Calls
4:00 pm Break and vendor time
5:30 pm to 8:00 pm Social (cash bar and snacks)
6:30 pm Dinner begins
7:00 pm Presentation of the 2026 Awards
Ross and Melissa Gallardy, Keynote Speakers, PA Big Year
Sunday, June 21, 2026
6:30 AM – Field trips (times vary)
