Hummingbird Festival & Pollination Celebration
Saturday, September 3rd, 2011
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Free Admission! 

Buzz on over to join us as we celebrate hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees! Learn from local experts about the important pollinators in Funks Grove by participating in programs, seminars, hikes, and more. Enjoy entertainment, food, and fun!

Vernon Kleen, from Springfield, Illinois, is one of the few licensed hummingbird banders in the United States. We are excited to welcome his return for the fifth year of hummingbird banding at Sugar Grove Nature Center. Participants will have a chance to feel the heartbeat of a hummingbird and are invited to "adopt" one of these winged wonders.

Learn all about monarch tagging from McLean County Master Gardeners as well as tips and tricks to attract these beautiful insects to your yard. Wild Birds Unlimited will offer Hummingbird Seminars, resources, & products. Honey bee programs, kids activities, & garden tours are also part of the fun!

A complete schedule of events and activity descriptions are available below.

This event is sponsored by the Illinois Audubon Society, Wild Birds
Unlimited of Normal, Wendell Niepagen Greenhouses, & Sugar Grove Nature Center.
 

Photo by Kim Lauterbach

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers, sponsors, and members
for helping to make this event possible!

Schedule of Events

Please note that many of the activities are repeated multiple times throughout the day.
See below for activity descriptions

Time                 Event                                                    Location____________________

10:00-2:00       Hummingbird Banding                  Picnic Shelter

10:15-11:00      Hummingbird Seminar                  Nature Center Classroom

10:30-11:15      Monarch Presentation & Tagging     Corn Crib

10:45-11:30      Apiary Tour                                       Right of Stage on Lawn

11:00-11:30      Pollination Puppet Show               Tree to right of Covered Bridge

11:30-12:15      Hummingbird Seminar                  Nature Center Classroom

11:45-12:30      Monarch Presentation & Tagging     Corn Crib

12:00-12:45      Apiary Tour                                        Right of Stage on Lawn

12:00-12:45      Prairie Walk                                       Wagon on Lawn

12:30-1:00       Pollination Puppet Show                Tree to right of Covered Bridge

12:45-1:30       Hummingbird Seminar                    Nature Center Classroom

1:00-1:45         Monarch Presentation & Tagging     Corn Crib

1:15-2:00         Apiary Tour                                         Right of Stage on Lawn

2:15                   Last Tram to Parking                       Pick-up in Parking Lot

ALL DAY
In the Picnic Shelter

Hummingbird Banding & Adoption Center

Wild Birds Unlimited-selection of hummingbird feeders and more! (Sign up to win a hummingbird feeder.)

Wild Ones-Stop at the Wild Ones booth to pick up a free list of native plants that Hummingbirds and other pollinators LOVE.

Migration Challenge Activity & Craft
Young and old alike are invited to take the Migration Challenge! Make your own identification band then head south!  You’ll have to be careful, though. There are many hardships and obstacles along the way.  Roll the dice, follow the migration route, and attempt to survive your journey! Start at the Stage.

Garden Exploration
Be sure to wander the grounds and enjoy our gardens and their visiting pollinators. Stop at the puddle in the parking lot to see “puddling” butterflies. Rotting fruit is attractive to many butterflies. Can you find the trays of rotting fruit located throughout the gardens?

Hummingbird Festival & Pollination Celebration Activity Descriptions

Hummingbird Banding: Vernon (and Betty) Kleen, Master Permit Bander and member of the Illinois Audubon Society (IAS) Board of Directors, will be capturing and banding hummingbirds.  Stop in to learn how the traps work and what banding is all about.  Hummingbirds are banded as they are caught and visitors will have an opportunity to see them up-close and even feel their heartbeat before they are released.  Visitors can also choose to “adopt” a hummingbird bird by making a $5 donation to the IAS land acquisition fund which is earmarked for the protection of Illinois wildlife habitat.  Donors will receive an attractive, signed certificate, be given the privilege of releasing their adopted bird, and will be notified if their bird is ever recaptured.
Time: 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.   Location: Picnic Shelter

Hummingbird Seminars: Learn all about hummingbirds and how to attract them to your yard from local hummingbird experts Jeanie Morse and Deanna Frautschi.
Time: 10:15 a.m., 11:30 a.m., & 12:45 p.m.  Location: Nature Center Classroom

Monarch Butterfly Tagging: Join Master Naturalist & Gardener, Karen Gottlieb, for a brief presentation to learn more about monarch butterflies, their life cycle, and amazing migratory journey to Mexico.  Then, head outside to capture, tag, and release monarchs.
Time: 10:30 a.m. & 11:45 a.m., & 1:00 p.m.   Location: Corn Crib

Apiary Tour: Join bee keeper, Josh Lindsey, for a tour of the Sugar Grove Honey Bee Hives and learn all about these important pollinators and honey producers!
Time: 10:45 a.m., 12:00 p.m., & 1:15 p.m.   Location: Right of Stage on Lawn

Pollination Puppet Show: Honey Bee's Day Off:  When Honey Bee decides to take the day off from pollinating flowers, she gets a lesson on just how important her job really is!
 Show Times: 11:00 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.   Location: Tree to Right of Covered Bridge

Prairie Walk: Join us on a leisurely stroll to identify native prairie plants & their visiting pollinators.
Time: 12:00 p.m.   Location: Wagon on Lawn

Migration Challenge Activity & Craft: Take the Migration Challenge!  Make your own identification band then head south!  You’ll have to be careful, though.  There are many hardships and obstacles along the way.  Follow the migration route and attempt to survive your journey!
Time: All Day   Location: Stage

Information Table: Nature Center volunteers and staff are stationed in the picnic shelter.  Stop by for directions to today’s events, for answers to your questions, to learn more about our upcoming special events, and more!!
Time: All Day   Location: Picnic Shelter

Food: Yummy Food available from Ottodog and The Family Fryer.
Time: All Day    Location: Parking Lot

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers, sponsors, and members!

Plan to join us for our Autumn Celebration on Saturday, October 22, 2011!