Tanana Valley Sandhill Crane Festival 2013

The Wedgewood Resort is the host hotel for the 2013 Tanana Valley Crane Festival and offers discounted lodging for attendees (use code Crane13).

    Our featured guest for 2013 is-    MICHAEL FORSBERG

Michael Forsberg is a gifted biologist and photographer. After graduating from the University of Nebraska, he was a seasonal ranger for the National Park Service and then became a staff photographer and natural history writer for NEBRASKAland Magazine. Six years later, Mike and his wife, Patty, started a photography business and gallery in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Mike Forsberg's photographs have appeared in Audubon, National Geographic, National Wildlife, Natural History, and on an International Postage Stamp. He was recognized in the Pictures of the Year and Wildlife Photographer of the Year competitions, awarded a Conservation Education Award from The Wildlife Society, and received a North American Nature Photographer’s Association Mission Award.

Mike’s 2004 book, On Ancient Wings – The Sandhill Cranes of North America, blends striking photography and perceptive original observations to depict crane biology in diverse habitats from western Alaska to Cuba. His recent book, Great Plains – America’s Lingering Wild, celebrates an ecosystem that may be the most endangered and least protected of any in North America.

In 2007, Mike was featured in the Public Broadcasting Service documentary "Crane Song". His "Great Plains-America's Lingering Wild", was released by Nebraska Educational Television in November 2012 and will be premiered on national PBS in September 2013.

Mike lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife and business partner Patty, their two children Elsa and Emme, and three unruly dogs.
Tanana Valley Crane Festival
August 23-25, 2013
   at Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge in Fairbanks, Alaska
For more information, call (907) 452-5162 or email Friends of Creamer's Field
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   2013 - Preliminary Schedule

Friday, August 23

    7 pm - 9:30 pm Reception for Michael Forsberg, poster signing event
    10:00 pm Outdoor Slide Show presented by Michael Forsberg on the BroadSide Theater of the Creamer's Field Barns

Saturday, August 24

    8:00 am Bird banding featuring live songbirds at ABO's bird banding station, starting from the Farmhouse
    10:00 am Nature walk with Michael Forsberg
    11:00 am- 1:30 pm Brunch with the Cranes at the Farmhouse. Enjoy healthy food and live music. ($10 donation per person).
    Includes a book signing event with local authors.
    11:30 am Crane Calling Contest for kids and adults. Coloring contest awards
    12:00 pm Kids Crane Walk. Join a naturalist for a leisurely walk with kids of all ages.
    1:00 pm Beginning Nature Photography Workshop. Advice for capturing great photos of cranes. Bring your camera.
    3:00 pm eBird Workshop. Alaska Audubon's Beth Peluso will teach you how to use eBird and then you will take a walk to try it out.
    5:00 - 7:00 pm Tex-Mex Dinner, fund-raiser for Camp Habitat. ($10 per person donation suggested.)

    7:30 pm Michael Forsberg talks about "Great Plains – America’s Lingering Wild" in Wedgewood Resort's Taiga Center, 212 Wedgewood Drive, located next to Antique Car Museum. ($5 donation suggested).
    Raffle drawing for Alaska Air tickets.

Sunday, August 25

    7:00 am Local Birding tour with Jim DeWitt. Meet at ABO to car pool and visit local birding hotspots.
    10:00am - 11:30am Cranes, Coffee, and Croissants. Join Michael Forsberg for a cuppa and nature walk. ($5 donation suggested)
    12:00 noon to 2:00 pm Drawing Cranes Workshop with Mark Ross. Bring pencils and sketchbook.
    2:00 pm Live Birds of Prey - Local falconer Randall Compton will bring his trained birds and share his knowledge.
    3:30 - 5:30 pm Crane Research Talks - inside the Alaska Fish and Game Building

    To be announced

    4:00 pm Kids Hopper Hunt - Searching for insects with kids of all ages.
    5:00 pm Wildlife Photography Workshop.
    6:00 - 7:30 pm Ice Cream Social - Enjoy ice cream with Craneberry toppings and music you can dance to.
    6:30 pm Silent Auction Closes - You need not be present to win.
    6:45 pm Membership Meeting for Friends of Creamer's Field. Everyone is welcome.
Friends of Creamer's Field
1300 College Road		 P. O. Box 81065
Fairbanks, AK 99701		 (907) 452-5162 Contact us Tax ID# 92-0137107