April 26th, 2025 | 4:00 - 7:30 PM
Dance Palace Community Center, Point Reyes Station, CA
Registration Event #TBA | $150 per person (includes taco dinner, wine or beer, live music, lawn games, and keynote)
Recommended ages: 14+ | Dress trail chic, flat shoes, and warm wraps | Zero waste event
Social & Dinner: 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Book Signing: 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Our early evening will kick off with an exciting outdoor social on the back lawn of the Dance Palace Community & Cultural Center! It’s the perfect chance to come together over a taco dinner, refreshing drinks (wine, beer, and non-alcoholic), lawn games, and live music. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to get your books signed during this festive gathering.
We will have a mini version of our bird hub merchandise available on site, or you can visit us at 65 Third Street, Point Reyes Station, throughout the festival weekend to check out the Shore to Inspire art show with artist Allison Spreadborough, and a full range of festival gifts and swag.
Inkind Sponsors
Keynote 6:00 - 7:30 Indoors
Book Signing: 7:30 pm - 8:00 pm
How Birds Fly – The Art, Science & Wonder of Avian Flight with Peter Cavanagh
Bird flight is one of nature’s most feather-ruffling mysteries—a breathtaking blend of biology, physics, and poetry in motion. Even after over a century of scientific study, many aspects of how birds take to the skies remain a flap in the face of easy explanation.
In this uplifting keynote, Peter Cavanagh — wildlife photographer, pilot, and author of the acclaimed book, “How Birds Fly: The Science and Art of Avian Flight”— invites us to soar into the astonishing world of avian aerodynamics. With over a decade of research under his wings and a keen eye behind the lens, Peter combines jaw-dropping photography with approachable science to answer the question: How do birds do it?
You’ll learn about:
The evolution of flight (yes, dinosaurs make an appearance!)
The anatomy of feathers, wings, and tails that help birds stay aloft
Flight styles from flapping to gliding, hovering to diving
How hummingbirds hover, owls fly in silence, and swifts sleep on the wing, plus some interesting facts about Bay Area birds
The surprising connections between bird flight and human aviation
And just when you think you've learned it all, Peter brings us back down to earth with insights from ornithologists in the field, the dreamers and inventors who looked to the skies — from Leonardo da Vinci to the Wright Brothers — and the cutting-edge engineers who still study birds to build better flying machines.
Whether you're a seasoned birder or just starting to spread your wings, this keynote will lift your spirits, open your eyes, and leave you looking at the sky a little differently. Don’t wing it — come discover the magic, mechanics, and mystery of bird flight with someone who’s truly an expert in the field.
Join Peter in the field on Saturday, April 25, for “Raptors & Birds in Flight: A Photography Workshop with Peter Cavanagh & Sarah Killingsworth.”
Registration #TBA.
Keynote Bio
Peter Cavanagh is a scientist, bird photographer, and author of two FireFly Books: 100 Flying Birds and How Birds Fly. Peter's migration to bird flight mechanics is a natural evolution of his lifelong interest in photography, his study of flight aerodynamics as an instrument-rated private pilot, his professional training in the anatomy and biomechanics of locomotion using high-speed motion capture, and his passion for nature and the outdoors. His images have been featured in the Audubon Society’s Top 100 Bird Photographs of the Year. He is a member of the American Birding Association, BirdLife International, the North American Nature Photography Association, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Peter feels most at home in wild places and has traveled widely to photograph birds on every continent.
Learn more and follow him on Instagram @petercavanaghbirds, on Facebook at Peter Cavanagh Birds, or at petercavanagh.us
