Brownsville, Haywood Co. to host Hatchie BirdFest Posted: Tuesday, May 28, 2013 8:00 pm
The first Hatchie BirdFest will be held at the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center this weekend.
The free event will offer a variety of activities for all ages to see and learn about the more than 200 species of birds that occur in Brownsville and Haywood County.
Bird watching hikes on Saturday and Sunday will be geared for both beginner and expert birdwatchers and will visit Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge and other areas in Haywood County.
The BirdFest will begin Friday evening with a presentation by noted ornithologist and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wildlife biologist Bob Ford. Saturday’s speakers will include Scott Somershoe, state ornithologist, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency; Carol Reese, ornamental horticulture specialist, University of Tennessee Extension Service; and David Haggard, West Tennessee Regional interpretive specialist, Tennessee State Parks. Friday evening’s event will be held at College Hill Center in Brownsville. All Saturday presentations will be at the Delta Heritage Center.
Photographs by Haywood County native and acclaimed nature photographer Joe B. Guinn will be on display at the center throughout the weekend. Winning entries from first, second and third graders in the HatcheBirdFest Coloring Contest will also be displayed.
Exhibitors will include Tennessee Ornithological Society, Willow Oaks Farm, Memphis WildBird Unlimited, Tennessee Wildlife Federation’s Great Outdoors University, Tennessee Watchable Wildlife and Raisin’ Cain BBQ.
West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center is located at Interstate 40’s Exit 56.
For more information, visit www.HatchieBirdFest.com or call Sonia Outlaw-Clark at (731) 779-9000. Published in The Messenger 5.28.13 , | 
