Alligator River/Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge P. O. Box 1969 Manteo, North Carolina 27954 Contact: Bonnie Strawser - 252-473-1131 Back to News Home Page

News Release

October 10, 2007

Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival offers dozens of nature programs

The Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival, set for Nov. 6-11, 2007, uses the Outer Banks of North Carolina as its playground. This
annual wildlife festival celebrates the natural wonders of the area by offering a long list of programs including birding and paddling
events and natural history tours. For those who want to learn something new, there also are classes in nature photography, decoy carving and duck calling. Ecologists can take advantage of the programs that focus on the uniqueness of the area that boasts more than a quarter of a million acres in conservation.

The six-day Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival is the largest of its kind in the region and coincides with the long Veteran's Day
weekend. Although most programs are held during daylight hours, there are exciting events after dark, too. This year's Wings Over Water keynote speaker will be Scott Weidensaul, author of more than two dozen books on natural history including the Pulitzer Prize-nominated "Living on the Wind."

In 1955, naturalists Roger Tory Peterson and James Fisher published their best selling book "Wild America," chronicling a now-legendary 30,000-mile trip across North America. Fifty years later, Weidensaul retraced their epic journey, to see what has been gained and lost, and to catch a glimpse of what the future holds for wildlife and wild lands. As he retraced the steps of Peterson and Fisher, Weidensaul traveled from the great seabird cliffs of Newfoundland to the cypress swamps of Florida, from the cloud forests of the Sierra Madre in Mexico to lonely islands far out in the Bering Sea. He searched out the wild heart of the continent - and found it strong. His journey and subsequent findings are the basis of his book "Return to Wild America: A Yearlong Search for the Continent's Natural Soul." He writes for such publications as Smithsonian, Audubon, Nature Conservancy and National Wildlife and his newest book is "Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding."

The keynote dinner will be at 6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 9, at Roanoke Island Festival Park. Cost is $30 and advanced registration is required.

On Saturday, Nov. 10, registrants can sign up for a rare opportunity to visit the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island
after hours. Participants may tour the entire Aquarium while sipping a glass of wine or soda and munching a little cheese and fruit, while
enjoying this exclusive event. Cost for this private, two-hour social and tour is just $10.

The Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival is sponsored by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, Carolina
Bird Club, the Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society, Roanoke Island Festival Park and the Outer Banks Sentinel.

For information about this year's programs, visit www.wingsoverwater.org or call the Chamber at 252-441-8144.