Short Tours - Local wildlife experts will take you on personalized birding tours of the local area "hot spots". Tours will leave at regular intervals from the Convention Center. Sign up at Festival Central. These tours cannot be reserved in advance and are on a first come, first served basis.

Friday Afternoon Bird Watching Tours - Along with the Soda Lake/Carson River Bird walk (description on page 5) two other tours are available for Friday afternoon bird viewing, one to S-line and Harmon Reservoirs and the other is a new tour to Carson Lake. These are abbreviated tours from those offered on Saturday and Sunday. 4:00pm - Festival Central. Transportation provided.

Bat-trapping - Friday night, join local bat expert Matt Rahn on a rendezvous to his own "Secret bat cave" for an evening of bat observation. Watch as he attempts to trap these intriguing mammals. 7:00pm - Festival Central - transportation provided.

Owl Prowl - New this year!! Also on Friday night, set out at dusk to track down the nocturnal raptors in Lahontan Valley. Several species of owl are found in the area including Great-horned, Barn, Short-eared, Western screech-owl, and Burrowing owls. 7:00 pm - Festival Central - transportation provided.

Anaho Island Boat Tour* - On Saturday, join an experienced crew on a boating circumnavigation of Pyramid Lake's Anaho Island NWR and enjoy viewing one of the largest colonies of American white pelicans in the U.S. The tour will also stop at the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe's Museum at Sutcliffe. A fee of $20.00 and pre-registration required. Limited to available seats. Subject to re-scheduling on Sunday or cancellation due to inclement weather. 7:00am-Festival Central -Transportation is provided, but carpooling is an option.

Nature Tour for Kids and Parents - S-Line Reservoir - Explore the wetlands, lake, riparian, and desert habitats on a nature hike geared for kids and their parents. This year's special guest leader will be John Acorn, The Nature Nut, from the Animal Planet TV station. Families with elementary school age children should not miss this one!! Saturday, 9:00am, meet at Festival Central.

The Big Day Tour* - Saturday, 7 am - This all day tour focuses on seeing as many bird species as possible in as many of the Lahontan Valley's "hot spots" as possible. It is recommended for intermediate and above birders. Limited to 26 birders and requires pre-registration and an extra registration fee of $5.00 per person. 103 species were seen on last year's Big Day. Transportation provided. Bring your own lunch!!!

Soda Lake and Carson River Bird Walk - This Friday afternoon and Sunday morning bird walk will look for shorebirds and waterfowl in and around Soda Lake. The tour will then proceed to the Carson River below Lahontan Reservoir to look for migrating and nesting birds in the riparian and wetland areas adjacent to the river. Transportation provided.

Ranch Tour - Take a drive to a local ranch and see firsthand how agriculture and wildlife share precious resources as Rod and Maureen Weishaupt tell their story of farming in the Lahontan Valley. On the horse drawn wagon, you will be able to see various species of birds and wildlife. Further, University Extension Specialist, Jay Davidson, will be on the ride to talk about and point out valuable plant life. The tour will end with a home-cooked luncheon sponsored by the Churchill County Cattlewomen's Association. Additional cost for this trip - $10. This is a carpool tour - meet at Festival Central Saturday at 10:00am.

Cultural Resources Tour - Join a US Fish and Wildlife Service archeologist to "Battleground Point" on an exploration of the rich natural history and native cultural heritage of the Lahontan Valley. Learn how ancient peoples used the valley's resources for subsistence and come away with an idea of what life was like in this area thousands of years ago. Transportation provided: Saturday, 8:00am.

Canoe Tours* - The canoe tours are very popular events. Sign up early to insure a seat; space is limited. In addition to the Saturday (8:30am) and Sunday (9:00am) canoe tours on Harmon Reservoir, we have partnered with Nevada State Parks to offer trips down the Carson River. On Saturday, at 8:30pm, we will paddle from Fort Churchill to just above Lahontan Reservoir (9^th Street takeout). This stretch of the river flows past Buckland Station and through the Carson River Ranches, which are now part of the State Park system. On Sunday, at 8:30 we will paddle from just below Lahontan Dam to the diversion dam takeout several miles downstream. The flow on these parts of the Carson is gentle, no whitewater, but even slow-moving water adds a level of danger not found on still waters. These trips are NOT recommended for very small children. All participants must sign a liability waiver, provided, before allowed on any of the canoe tours. There is an additional fee of $15 on Saturday and $10 on Sunday per seat for festival supplied canoes. Personal equipment will be charged $10 per boat for either day and must have Personal Floatation Devices for each person on board. Meet at Festival Central prior to trip.

Hot Spots Tour - New this year!!! - This half-day tour will take you to most, if not all, of the birding hot spots in the area. It will give you a little more birding time than the "short tours" can afford without having to spend the entire day with hard core "Big Day" birders. Unlike the "short tours", this tour accepts pre-registration. Transportation provided. Saturday, 8:30am.

Tour and Bird Fort Churchill and Buckland Station - New this year!! Fort Churchill State Historic Park is located above Lahontan Reservoir on the Carson River south of Silver Springs. This ranger-lead tour of the old fort ruins, cannon firing, museum, Buckland Station, and nature trail will treat you with some cultural history of the mid to late 1800's as well as birding portions of one of the largest continuous riparian areas left in Nevada. The tour will meet at Festival Central and carpool to the fort. There is a $5.00 per vehicle entrance fee at the park. Saturday, 8:30.

Grimes Point/Hidden Cave Tour - Lahontan Valley's first birders wore sagebrush sandals and made elaborate duck decoys. Explore the archaeological sites that were used by researchers to reconstruct the daily activities of these early inhabitants. The cave is only accessible by special request. There are many petroglyphs in the area and on the trail up to the cave. Saturday two trips - 9:15 am and 11:00 am - carpool from Festival Central.

Raft Trip on the Lower Truckee River - Cost - $85. Trip is subject to cancellation due to inclement weather and fee would be refunded. This trip will begin at Derby Dam, built 1904 to divert water from the Truckee River to Lahontan Valley. The Truckee hosts remnants of the Fremont cottonwood gallery, ranches, and a growing industrial corridor. Birds along the river are typical Great Basin riparian inhabitants, such as orioles, buntings, warblers, flycatchers, dippers, grosbeaks, ducks, and maybe hummingbirds. The trip will wind down through desert hills and end up at the town of Wadsworth. Meet at Festival Central at 8:30, Saturday.

Stillwater NWR and Carson Lake Tours - The wetland areas contained within Stillwater NWR and Carson Lake are designated Internationally Important Bird Areas along the Pacific Flyway. The presence of song birds and raptors can also be seen in the area. Saturday, 8am, and Sunday, 9am. Transportation provided.

Private Tour - New this year!! - The Saturday night raffle winner of this tour will get to spend Sunday morning with up to 3 of his/her friends on a private birding tour of the Lahontan Valley. We have chosen one of the most knowledgeable and friendly leaders in the state of Nevada to lead this private tour. Guaranteed to be a winner of a tour! 7:00am - Festival Central. Transportation Provided.