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Celebrate All Things Hummingbird at LBL this Weekend

Joe Schneid, Wikimedia Commons

The Land Between the Lakes Nature Station hosts the annual Hummingbird Festival,  their premiere event this weekend. It's peak season for the ruby throated hummingbirds, who regularly nest in LBL and Kentucky, before migrating to Costa Rica. Brooke Gilley, Naturalist at the Woodlands Nature Station, talks with Tracy Ross about all things Hummingbird Festival on Sounds Good.

All Things Hummingbird

What attracts people to hummingbirds? Brooke Gilley says they are small and beautiful. Unlike most birds, they aren't shy around people and seem to have distinctive personalities.

This year, the theme is the "Art of Hummingbirds" and the Nature Station welcomes visitors to see arts and crafts inspired by the bird, along with sketching and photography workshops, creating backyard habitats to attract the birds, stories, games and more. 

At the festival, banders will be tagging the roughly 200 birds daily with little bracelets that track their age and migration paths. Visitors can learn about the process and more in Hummingbird 101 sessions scheduled throughout the festival.

Credit US Fish and Wildlife, Wikimedia Commons

The Dining with the Hummingbirds event is sold out, but members of the Land Between the Lakes Association will be invited to an exclusive dinner on August 9. 

The Hummingbird Festival is Saturday, August 2 and Sunday, August 3. The event begins at 10 a.m. and winds down around 4 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for kids 5-12, and Free for 4 and under. 

More about the event

Tracy started working for WKMS in 1994 while attending Murray State University. After receiving his Bachelors and Masters degrees from MSU he was hired as Operations/Web/Sports Director in 2000. Tracy hosted All Things Considered from 2004-2012 and has served as host/producer of several music shows including Cafe Jazz, and Jazz Horizons. In 2001, Tracy revived Beyond The Edge, a legacy alternative music program that had been on hiatus for several years. Tracy was named Program Director in 2011 and created the midday music and conversation program Sounds Good in 2012 which he hosts Monday-Thursday. Tracy lives in Murray with his wife, son and daughter.
Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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