25th Annual Springsong Weekend– A Celebration of Birds and Birding

Springsong Weekend – Traditionally held on Mother’s Day Weekend. It is a weekend of celebration involving books and birds. This event was started seventeen years ago as a fundraiser for The Heritage Centre with the help of Pelee Island Bird Observatory and Margaret Atwood. There is a 24 hour green “bird race” competing for the coveted Botham Cup. Margaret Atwood continues the tradition of bringing award winning authors to our island where they are introduced by her at our traditionally sold out banquet.

Guest Author: Ian Williams, much lauded Canadian poet, essayist, and novelist

Ian Williams is the author of seven acclaimed books of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. He won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel Reproduction and the Raymond Souster Award from the League of Canadian Poets for Word Problems. His poetry collection, Personals, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Robert Kroetsch Poetry Book Award, while his short story collection Not Anyone’s Anything won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award.

Guest Birder: Tim Birkhead, world-famous UK ornithologist

Tim Birkhead FRS is emeritus professor of behaviour and evolution at the University of Sheffield. His research on promiscuity and sperm competition in birds re-shaped our understanding of bird mating systems. He is committed to the public understanding of science as has written several popular science books, including Promiscuity (2000), The Wisdom of Birds (2008), Bird Sense (2012) The Most Perfect Thing: the Inside (and Outside) of a Birds’ Egg (2016) and Birds and Us (2022). His children’s book What it’s like to be a Bird (2022) illustrated by Catherine Rayner, won the English Association’s Margaret Mallett Award in May 2022. His latest book is available to purchase from Waterston House, SOC Headquarters.

Botham Cup Bird Race
– Take part in the 24 hour “green” bird race and rally for the coveted Botham Cup. The official gong is sounded at the Heritage Centre, Friday at noon. Your team will have 24 hours to spot as many of the 314 species of birds that visit our island. Finish the day at Springsong Banquet where Margaret Atwood will give out the famous rubber chicken awards!