SANTEE -- An exciting, educational adventure will premiere in Santee on April 18-20. The first Santee Birding and Nature Festival will offer a unique opportunity to experience the birding wonders of the Santee region in Central South Carolina.

With all activities coordinated out of the Santee Cultural Arts Center, participants will be able to sharpen their birding skills or just enjoy some wonderful spring weather with a vast array of indoor and outdoor nature programs from which to choose.

Sponsors include: Audubon, National Park Service, Nature Adventure Outfitters, Orangeburg County, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina State Parks, South Carolina Forestry Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Santee Cooper Electric Cooperative, Santee Cooper Country and Wild Birds Unlimited.

Dr. Rudy Mancke, renowned naturalist, will be the keynote speaker at a dinner on Friday night, April 18. Mancke's enthusiastic and charismatic demeanor, combined with his knowledge of the natural world, has earned him national awards. Early registration for the dinner is advised because of limited seating.

The Santee Cultural Arts Center will be the center of activity for those not venturing out into the field. Featured will be exhibitors from various conservation organizations as well as children's activities, music, food and fun. The center is located at Brooks Boulevard off U.S. 15 in the Santee Town Hall Complex.

A long list of activities will be offered at the festival in addition to birding trips.

"There will be guided canoe and kayak trips in the Upper and Lower Santee Swamp and the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest," said Marc Epstein, manager of the Santee National Wildlife Refuge. Other events include butterfly walks, wildlife photography workshops and behind-the-scenes tours of Santee National Wildlife Refuge.

A variety of field trips that will depart from the Santee Cultural Arts Center are planned, and carpooling is encouraged. Trips involve easy walking, moderate walking or auto tour with some walking.

Among the field trips scheduled are a tour of the Audubon Center at Beidler Forest and Brosnan Forest, a canoe and kayak excursion at the Audubon Center at Beidler Forest, birding at Congaree National Park, a tour of Manchester State Forest and Poinsett State Park and one at the Bluff Unit of the Santee National Wildlife Refuge.

A field trip titled "Santee Cooper Lakes Sampler," which combines an auto tour with some walking, will include selected areas on Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie, east of Santee (Eutaw Springs). The terrain is lakeshore, mixed woods, marsh and agricultural fields. Target species are the bald eagle, white ibis, shorebirds and osprey.

Another interesting activity will be an easy walk around Santee National Wildlife Refuge that focuses on an introduction to the butterflies of Central South Carolina.

Registration and fees are required for most events. Free activities include an early-bird "healthy" hike from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, which departs from the Cultural Arts Center. The same day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a free Wildlife and Nature Exhibition will also be featured at the center.

For more information about the Santee Birding and Nature Festival, call 803-478-2217.

T&D Correspondent Shirley Upton can be reached by e-mail at writer@ntinet.com. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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