ALGOMA – Birders of all levels of experience and interest can help the city revel in its designation as an official Bird City Wisconsin as it holds its annual Bird City Celebration this Saturday, April 7.

The event is held each year in early April in advance of International Migratory Bird Day, which is celebrated in the United States on the second Saturday in May. The local celebration offers seminars, a bird photography contest for local youths, vendors of wild bird- and nature-related products, a children's activity area and more.

Algoma was named a Bird City Wisconsin on May 4, 2013, after more than a year or work by the city itself and the Bird City Algoma Committee. The city hosts a wide range of birds year-round, including a number of water and shore birds given its location on the Lake Michigan shoreline, and Bird City Committee organizers note that local parks and the Ahnapee Trail are prominent bird watching sites along with Crescent Beach.

For the celebration, seminars will be held on bird photography, helping bluebirds and raptors, the latter including several live birds.

Robert Kuhn, a Bird City Algoma Committee member (and frequent contributor to the Star-News) will discuss the ins and outs of getting those photos of song birds, waterfowl and more in "Getting the Picture" at 10 a.m. To see some of Kuhn's work go to the Bird City Algoma website.

At 11 a.m., Don Pritzl of the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin (BRAW) will give a program on "Saving the Bluebirds." BRAW seeks to increase the numbers of the Eastern bluebird and other native cavity-nesting birds through a coordinated nest box construction and monitoring program, and Priitzl will talk about how people can help in the effort.

At 12:30 p.m., Kim Diedrich of Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay returns to present and talk about raptors in the area. This year, Diedrich is scheduled to bring along a great horned owl and an American kestrel, as well as a fox snake.

Also, information will be available on the Bird Bistro Movement, an effort by the committee to get people and businesses to provide bird-friendly gardens, emphasizing the use of native plants. Algoma Public Library and Algoma High School are examples of locations that have created Bird Bistros, according to Bird City Algoma.

New this year is a photo contest open to any middle or high school student attending a school in Kewaunee County. Photos had to be of wild birds, not pets, taken in the county and not enhanced, except for cropping. The image judged best will earn $100, with $50 for a special Judges' Award and three $25 prizes.

The children's area will offer illustrated stories by Janet Tlachac-Toonen from 10 a.m. to noon and crafts (including origami). Also, Lois Lehmann will talk about monarch butterflies.

Vendors will bring wares and information ranging from products for birds to beekeeping products, gardens and landscapes to arts and crafts.

Bird City Celebration takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 7 at the Algoma Youth Club, 620 Lake St. Lunch will be available at noon. Door prizes will be awarded. For more information, go to birdcityalgoma.com.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Algoma holds annual Bird City Celebration on April 7