Brian Murphy sent me this interesting quote this morning:

“The conservation movement is a breeding ground of Communists and other subversives. We intend to clean them out even if it means rounding up every bird watcher in the country!”
— Attorney General John Mitchell, under Nixon, (1969-1972) during the first Earth Day 1970

Things have changed a little bit since then.
— Brian Murphy, Walnut Creek

Have they? /Gary

Do you like wild birds?

The 12th Annual San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival takes place on Mare Island in Vallejo, Feb. 1-3. The Festival attracts more than 6,000 people from the Central Valley, North Coast and all points of the San Francisco Bay Area to the free event.

Activities for all ages and skills are scheduled both indoors and outdoors. Beginning bird-watchers are welcome!

Migrating birds are most abundant during the midwinter at the local National Wildlife Refuges, State Wildlife Areas and private lands, which attract over 1 million shorebirds and hundreds of thousands of waterfowl that migrate through or winter in the San Francisco Bay region.

** The Wildlife Discovery Expo features native wild birds from Native Bird Connections, hands-on activities for children, natural resource, historic, recreational and birding equipment exhibits and numerous guided wetland, historic and birding tours on Mare Island.

** Sacramento based Crane Culture Theater performs Lord of the Cranes, an ancient Chinese folk tale of good fortune, and affinity with nature in a program of dance, music and masked actors, for the first time in the Bay Area.

** Visit St. Peter’s Chapel, adorned with the most Tiffany stained glass in the West.

** Travel at your own pace on a self-guided birding walk or a 5k and 10k Volkswalk.

** There are 60 outings led by naturalists scheduled throughout the region during the only 3-day birding Festival in the Bay Area.

The Festival is a project of Arc Ecology and sponsored by dozens of local Bay Area environmental groups and businesses. Call 707-557-9816 or visit http://www.sfbayflywayfestival.com for a complete list of all activities, maps on how to get there, and more.

Do you like wild birds? Then spread your wings and fly on over this weekend for a really FUN time! /Gary