Please join the US Forest Service?s Methow Valley Ranger District, North
Central Washington Audubon Society (http://www.ncwaudubon.org/), HawkWatch
International, and the North Cascades Basecamp for the sixth annual Hawk
Migration Festival in Mazama!



As the wildfires have wreaked havoc throughout North Central Washington,
they have also burned in and around the Chelan Ridge HawkWatch site,
rendering it unusable for this year?s festival. This is a huge
disappointment for a project that has been in place since 1997.



This year, HawkWatch will have a count station 400 yards south of the Slate
Peak parking area where visitors can come and help count hawks every day now
until at least September 13 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Drive past the Harts
Pass campground one and one half miles to the parking area. This is about 45
minutes from Mazama.



The North Cascades Basecamp, an idyllic setting at the upper end of the
Methow Valley has graciously allowed us to use their place as headquarters
for Hawk Fest 2015. Due to the change of venue and the short time until the
festival, we have had to revise the schedule.



On Friday September 11th at 7 pm, Dave Oleyar from Hawk Watch International
(HWI) will offer a migration and raptor workshop at the North Cascades
Basecamp Classroom. Dave joined HWI as senior scientist in November 2013
after teaching upper level undergraduate courses in population ecology and
conservation biology at the University of Idaho for the previous three
years. He loves sharing his passion for ecology and conservation with others
whether it is in the classroom, at a public talk, or a walk in the field.
This workshop is free; snacks and coffee and tea will be provided.



On both the 12th and the 13th, there will be field trips to Slate Peak.
Starting at 8:45 am, carpools will leave from the Basecamp to go to Slate
Peak at 7,200 feet elevation. Local and trained raptor biologists will tell
us what it is like to live and breathe raptors. This will be an amazing
experience with environmental education and interpretation conducted by
on-site educators, including US Forest Service personnel and volunteers.
Dave Oleyar plans to participate both days. The North Cascades Basecamp has
offered to provide snack boxes ($7) or sack lunches ($10) for field trip
participants; please indicate if you want one of these when registering for
your field trip.



Jim Ullrich from Wild Birds Unlimited will be set up at the Basecamp with
optics and bird feeders for everyone to browse and try out.



We hope to bring HawkFest back to Pateros in 2016 so this may be your best
chance to experience raptors in the gorgeous setting of the North Cascades
on the border of the Pasayten Wilderness.



As fires could create ongoing uncertainty about accessibility, we suggest
you check the NCW Audubon website http://www.ncwaudubon.org/

or facebook page prior to your departure for Hawkfest.



To sign up for any of the activities or to learn more about the festival
please see www.ncwaudubon.org/.



For more information about the HawkWatch International work at Chelan Ridge,
please see http://hawkwatch.org/migration/item/74-chelan-ridge-hawkwatch



The North Cascades Basecamp offers a European style lodge and cabin and is
located at 255 Lost River Road Mazama, 2 ? miles past the Mazama Store. To
find out more about the Base Camp please see www.northcascadesbasecamp.com



For alerts from the US Forest Service Methow Valley Ranger District please
see www.fs.usda.gov/detail/okawen/alerts-notices.



For information on other food and lodging opportunities near Winthrop and
Mazama, please see www.winthropwashington.com/





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