WHAT: Audubon Society "The Big Sit"

WHEN: Saturday, September 12, 2015, 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

WHERE: Julien Dubuque Monument at the Mines of Spain Recreation Area, 1810 Monument Drive/Dubuque Iowa

WHO: Everyone

COST:  Free 

On Saturday, September 12th join the Dubuque Audubon Society for their first annual "Big Sit" at the Julien Dubuque Monument located at the Mines of Spain Recreation Area. A big sit is a bird watching event where the participants stay in one location and let the birds come to them.  There is no hiking involved and you can come and go throughout the day.

This event will start at 7:00 am and end at 8:00 pm. No prior bird watching experience is needed. On hand throughout the day will be Dubuque Audubon board members Joe Tollari, Nick Courtney, Olivia & Craig Kruse, among others.

Feel free to bring a lawn chair to kick back and see what comes to you. Find a good spot for bird watching - preferably one with good views of a variety of habitats and lots of birds. Next, create a real or imaginary circle 17 feet in diameter and sit inside the circle for prescribed time, counting all the bird species you see or hear. That's it. Find a spot, sit in it, have fun. Then submit your findings.

Come join the Dubuque Audubon Society and be involved in a worldwide event. There are "Big Sit" circles all over the world, including Guatemala, India, the Netherlands, England, Vietnam, and New Zealand.

The Dubuque Audubon Society also provides programs at the E. B. Lyons Interpretive Center on the second Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. The programs run for about an hour and are on nature topics.