September 19, 2025 – September 21, 2025
The 2025 Headlands Birding Festival was a wonderful success, with over 360 registrants enjoying a weekend of guided walks, programs, and special events under sunny skies and warm temperatures. Keynote speaker Julie Zickefoose inspired attendees with her passion for birds and the natural world, while Saturday also welcomed many non-registrants to free talks, the vendor area, the Big Sit, and the Mentor Marsh open house.
Nearly 10,000 birds representing 125 species—including all Ohio woodpeckers—were recorded, along with notable sightings of a Giant Swallowtail butterfly, migrating monarchs, and Lake County’s first Striped Saddlebags dragonfly.
The festival was made possible through the support of sponsors, donors, partner organizations, and 20 dedicated volunteers, along with 33 leaders and co-leaders who guided walks and six speakers who shared their expertise on topics ranging from bird-friendly gardens to the restoration of Mentor Marsh.
Here are some of the species found during the festival:
- Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- Clay-colored Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Loon
- Lesser Scaup
- Eastern Screech Owl
- Merlin
- Peregrine Falcon
- Common Raven
- Horned Lark
- Mourning Warbler
- Pectoral Sandpiper
- Sora
- American Pipit
Sponsors
Hosts
