WILDLIFE WATCHING --

OUTFIELD – The celebrities already have arrived, as at least 200 tundra swans were jammed into a creek-thawed ribbon of open water in the otherwise frozen Calispell Lake on Wednesday.

The lake should be open and even more birds on hand for the annual Pend Oreille Valley Tundra Swan Festival activities March 16, based out of the the Camas Wellness Center, 1981 N. LeClerc Road in Usk.

The festival greets hundreds of swans that migrate through the Pend Oreille River Valley in February and March, resting and feeding on Calispell Lake, designated an Important Bird Area, during the journey to their breeding grounds.

Visitors will be bused from the center to view the swans at Calispell Lake followed by a lunch and presentation by bird and wildlife experts on a range of topics.

Cost: $10 adults, $5 for children under 13.

Pre-register by March 8.

Presenters during lunch include:

Gary Blevins, Spokane Falls Community College.

TOPIC: “What does Audubon Christmas Bird Count data tell us about how climate change is affecting bird population?”

Bart George, Wildlife Biologist III, Kalispel Tribe of Indians.

TOPIC: “The Selkirk Mountains Forest Carnivore Survey, 2012 - 2013”

Matt Berger, Wildlife Project Manager, Kalispel Tribe of Indians.

TOPIC: “Kalispel Tribal Lands Bobolink 2012 Project update, in cooperation with Audubon Washington”

Mike Lithgow, Director, Pend Oreille County Community Planning Department.

 TOPIC: “Birds on the Water: Legends of the River”

The festival is sponsored by the Natural Resources Department of the Kalispel Tribe of Indians and the Pend Oreille River Tourism Alliance.