Schedule
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
6pm-8pm Opening Reception including welcome from AOK Executive Director and prairie-chicken biologist, Jackie Augustine, and sponsor tables (Sternberg Museum, with shuttle vans from Best Western; light dinner provided)
Friday Apr 12, 2024
4:00am-1:00pm Prairie-Chicken viewing from blinds (vans leave from Best Western; snacks and breakfast included)
5:30am-1:00pm Prairie-Chicken viewing from vans (vans leave from Best Western; snacks and breakfast included)
6:30am-8:00am Bird Walk (carpool from Best Western entrance; no snacks or breakfast provided)
8:30am-5pm Field Trips to Globally Important Wetlands or Prairie-Chicken Management at Smoky Valley Ranch (vans leave from Best Western; snacks and lunch included)
6:00pm-9:00pm 'Night at the Museum' hosted by Sternberg Museum including 'behind-the-scenes' tours, exhibits, prairie-chicken biology presentation, sponsor tables, and more (Sternberg Museum, with shuttle vans from Best Western; light dinner provided)
Saturday Apr 13, 2024
4:00am-1:00pm Prairie-Chicken viewing from blinds (vans leave from Best Western; snacks and breakfast included)
5:30am-1:00pm Prairie-Chicken viewing from vans (vans leave from Best Western; snacks and breakfast included)
6:30am-8:00am Bird Walk (carpool from Best Western entrance; no snacks or breakfast provided)
8:30am-5pm Field Trips to Globally Important Wetlands or Kansas Geology Wonders (vans leave from Best Western; snacks and lunch included)
6:00-9:00pm Evening Banquet with Keynote Speaker Larkin Powell, author of Great Plains Birds and prairie-chicken biologist from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; presentation by featured artist; and sponsor tables (Sternberg Museum, with shuttles from Best Western; banquet meal provided with event ticket)
Sunday Apr 14, 2024
4:00am-1:00pm Prairie-Chicken viewing from blinds (vans leave from Best Western; snacks and breakfast included)
5:30am-1:00pm Prairie-Chicken viewing from vans (vans leave from Best Western; snacks and breakfast included)
6:30am-8:00am Bird Walk (carpool from Best Western entrance; no snacks or breakfast provided)
Pre- and Post-Festival Sharp-tailed Grouse Trips
Pre-Festival Trip: 9am Monday, April 8 through 5pm Wednesday, April 10, 2024
Post-Festival Trip: 9am Monday, April 15 through 5pm Wednesday, April 17, 2024
$550 per person - all inclusive
This is an Audubon of Kansas sponsored trip to their sanctuary, Hutton Niobrara Ranch Wildlife Refuge, near Bassett, Nebraska, to see Sharp-tailed Grouse. Trip includes transportation to and from Best Western in Hays, lodging, and meals. Lodging is in the large, updated house on the sanctuary. Rooms are double occupancy with shared bathrooms. Grouse viewing will be offered from blinds placed at leks. This tour emphasizes viewing, but there are good opportunities for photography. We will also visit Rowe Sanctuary along the Platte River to see if there are lingering Sandhill Cranes.
For more details of the Sharp-tailed Grouse lek viewing experience, see prairie-chicken viewing. Register for this trip at the same time you register for the festival.