• Has watching your feeder visitors fired your curiosity about which other birds might be seen in our area?

• Would you enjoy an easy stroll to view spring's many migrants?

• Are you looking for activities to encourage your kids to spend more time outdoors?

• How about the chance to get outside on a spring day and visit a few of the parks and open spaces -- some of them hidden gems -- around the metro area?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then the Urban Birding Festival is for you. This four-day celebration of birds and springtime, May 12-15, includes 19 nature walks at many sites, led by experienced bird-watchers.

The bird expo on May 14 at Springbrook Nature Center in Fridley features bird exhibits, bird-banding demonstrations and a lunchtime talk by Jan Dunlop, author of birder murder mysteries.

Add a rare chance to visit the vast Arden Hills Army Training Site on May 15, with its nesting sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans and osprey, and you'll get a feel for the many spring migrants as well as resident birds.

Free and fun

Best of all, everything is free. With more than 20 events to choose from at this close-to-home festival, you can pick as many of the bird walks as you have time for, no registration required. First-time birders and families with young children are welcome. In fact, two bird walks at Springbook have been specially designed for kids.

Many people find that attending a bird festival is a great way to discover good birding spots and find out what birding is all about.

I've been part of the festival every year since it was launched in 2006. The two comments I've heard most frequently are: "I had no idea this park was here," and "Who knew you could see so many kinds of birds right here in the city?"

Birds guaranteed

And you will see birds, many kinds of birds, from migrating warblers to Baltimore orioles. In the right habitats you may see indigo buntings and scarlet tanagers. Bluebirds will be singing their sweet songs near bluebird trails and cardinals will be whistling their flutey tones. You'll discover some new places to take a hike, such as the little-known Reservoir Woods in Roseville, Locke Park winding around Rice Creek in Fridley and Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary near downtown St. Paul.

There are bird hikes in more familiar landscapes, as well, such as Como Park in St. Paul, Mississippi River Gorge in Minneapolis and Coon Rapids Dam on the Brooklyn Park side. While most of the events take place in the morning or early afternoon, there is one evening hike, to see and hear the woodcock engage in its unusual courtship ritual.

Festival planners, including local Audubon chapters, Ramsey County Parks, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Raptor Center and others, have put together a lineup of activities designed for any knowledge or skill level. Beg or borrow a pair of binoculars to bring the birds in close.

A full schedule, with maps to each event, is available at www.urbanbirding festival.org.

Val Cunningham, a St. Paul nature writer, bird surveyor and field trip leader, can be reached at valwrites@comcast.net.