BAZETTA — Bird-watchers and outdoor enthusiasts are welcome to flock to the third annual Big Birding weekend Friday to Sunday at Mosquito Lake State Park.

The free Memorial Day weekend event, sponsored by The Friends of Mosquito Lake, will include tours, programs, talks, hands-on activities and displays.

Co-organizer Steve Craiger of Bristol said that at 5:45 p.m. Friday a special program at Champion High School auditorium will feature three speakers:, Greg Miller; Becky Donaldson of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History; and Dr. Sean Williams of Cuyahoga Community College.

Miller was portrayed by actor Jack Black in the 2011 movie “The Big Year,” a comedy about a contest to see who can find the most bird species in one year.

Miller is a legendary name in the birding world. In 1998, while working full-time at a nuclear power plant, Miller took on the challenge of a “Big Year” — traveling more than 130,000 miles to spot as many bird species as possible in a single calendar year.

He said Saturday will be filled with events.

“People will start their day at the pavilion at the beach, where they can get all their information, places to go and things to see at the park,” Craiger said.

Saturday is referred to as the “Big Day of Birding” with events kicking off at 7:30 a.m.

Guests can go on guided bird hikes along Mosquito Lake State Park’s various trails. These tours will be led by area bird-watchers.

Starting at 8 a.m. at the Mosquito Lake Beach Pavilion, there will be an information table, displays from local vendors and conservation partners and food trucks.

Other events include tips on how to attract birds into backyards; a bird-themed scavenger hunt; a pop-up library from the Warren-Trumbull County Public Library System; meet-and-greets with birders, tour guides and festival presenters; birdhouse building; a live bird show; and a movie under the stars.

On Sunday, there will be self-guided tour activities to different park locations. Folks who prefer a self-guided, bird-watching experience can stop by some of the area’s top bird-watching spots.

“We will have different sessions and events at different locations in the park,” said Craiger, who will give a program on the prothonotary warbler.

“We hope people who come to the park and attend the programs will leave with a better appreciation of wildlife, with birds specifically. There are things we can do to enhance or improve the existence of birds. We will also discuss things people do that can hurt birds and wildlife,” Craiger said.

He said the prothonotary warbler flies from Columbia, South America, up to the United States and Canada annually, staying between May and July.

“They like being near bodies of water and to eat the insects and bugs by the water. They are cavity-nesting warblers. When trees are cut down, it wrecks their habitat because they have nowhere to live. That is what is happening more in South America than in North America. That hurts them when they go home,” Craiger said.

He said in the first and second year the birding weekend attracted large crowds.

“We hope the weekend inspires people to take an interest in birds,” Craiger said.

Amanda Sloan of Champion, an event coordinator, said she will be excited to meet and hear Miller.

“The event has grown each year. We will offer a lot for people to get involved with. I feel that the speakers we have will bring in more experienced birders who are interested in what we will have. We are getting bigger and better every year,” Sloan said.

She said she hopes people who attend the free programswill have a greater understanding of how wonderful birding is.

Sloan herself on Saturday will be seated in a chair on Hoagland Blackstub Road watching birds and recording what she sees. She said she found a section of the road with no houses or businesses.

She said the event is called “The Big Sit,” seeing how many species of birds can be seen in a specified amount of time from one location.

“This is one activity I am very excited to be part of. It is a great location that previous years we didn’t offer,” Sloan said.

Folks can stop by Hoagland Blackstub Road and settle in for a “Big Sit,” where they can join seasoned bird-watchers as they look to see how many bird species they can observe from a single location.

The event will result in a road closure.

Hoagland Blackstub Road will be closed between Gardner Barclay and Mahan Denman Road beginning at 8 a.m. Friday and will remain closed until 8 p.m. Monday.

The detour will be state Route 88 to North Park Avenue to state Route 87 to Chaffee Dodgeville to Gardner Barclay.

Big Birding

weekend events

Friday

Champion High School — 6 p.m., keynote speaker Greg Miller known as the “Real Life Birder,” who was portrayed in the film “The Big Year”; 7 p.m., Becky Donaldson, mentor marsh naturalist with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History; and 8 p.m., Dr. Sean Williams, an ecologist, ornithologist and naturalist from Cuyahoga Community College.

Saturday

7:30 a.m. through 11:30 a.m., Mosquito Lake State Park — guided bird hikes with professional birders. Hikes planned at Lakeview Recreation Area, Turkey Run Trail and Hoagland Blackstub Road.

8 a.m. to 5 p.m., information pavilion and social hub.

9 a.m., Agricultural and Family Education Center, “Backyard Birding: Attracting Feathered Friends at Home.”

10 to 11:45 a.m., Storybook Trail, “ABC Scavenger Hunt: Birding Through the Alphabet.”

11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., beach pavilion, birder social and presenter meet-and-greet.

Noon, beach pavilion, Lake Erie Birding Trail 2025 Guidebook.

1 to 3 p.m., Agricultural and Family Education Center, Family Birding Stations: Hands-on Fun.

1 p.m., nature center, Mosquito Lake’s Bluebirds: Conservation in Action walk.

1 p.m., campground boat launch, Prothonotary Warbler: Golden Gems of the Wetlands.

2 p.m., amphitheater, birdhouse building and conservation with local Scouts.

2 p.m., amphitheater, Raptor Hallow live bird show.

4 p.m., Lakeview Recreation Area Trail, Largest Swallow of North America: Purple Martins.

7 p.m., amphitheater, owl encounter and owl pellet dissection.

9 p.m., amphitheater, Movie Under the Stars: “The Big Year” with Greg Miller.

Sunday

8 a.m., Shenango Wildlife Area, Milligan Road parking area, spring migration birding.