Bird Day celebrates beautiful weather, majestic creatures in the sky

These beautiful Miami days are the perfect time to go outside and listen to the birds. And even though it is not yet spring migration, our year-round birds and winter visitors call to us to look up.

Kids, parents, naturalists and bird watchers can flock to the 10th annual Bird Day hosted by the Tropical Audubon Society from 12 to 4 p.m. Feb. 17, at 5530 Sunset Dr. This free, engaging, educational afternoon is full of outdoor experiences for students of every age.

The annual nature festival was founded by late TAS Education & Grounds Chair Lewis “Brother” Milledge, and this year it is dedicated to him. The event is now chaired by Tropical Audubon Society Education & Advocacy Director Stephanie Clements.

At Bird Day you can “meet” rehabilitated wildlife rescued by the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station and Wildlife Rescue of Dade County, craft Piping Plover “chicks,” hone your binocular skills, try your hand at nature journaling and take part in owl pellet dissection.

Bird Day also celebrates the annual northbound flight of nearly 350 species of migratory birds stopping in South Florida on their return to North America from the Caribbean, Central and South America and Mexico.

The major role our region plays on the Atlantic Flyway will be explained by Cape Florida Banding Station volunteers. And to help scientists track our winter avian visitors, attendees can learn how to participate in the Feb. 16-19 “Great Backyard Bird Count.”

While at the event, you can explore the Steinberg Nature Center trails that thread Tropical Hardwood Hammock and Pine Rockland habitats, and tour the 1932 Doc Thomas House that serves as TAS headquarters with historian Dan Jones.

Kids can collect stamps at all eight “Passport” activity stations and earn a prize. And families can picnic on tacos, quesadillas and burritos for purchase at the Nacho Bizness food truck. There is limited free parking via the 55th Avenue auto entry gate and at Riviera Presbyterian Church. Learn more and plan your outing at www.tropicalaudubon.org

WRITERS’ CONFERENCE IS FEB. 10

The South Florida Writers Association invites authors, playwrights, poets, screenwriters and all writing creatives to join in from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Feb. 10 for the 14th Annual Mango Writers Conference at 94th Aero Squadron Miami, 1395 NW 57th Ave.

The theme is “The Courage to Publish - Let Your Words Fly!” Tickets are $50 for students, $65 for SFWA members and $95 for non-members. Entry fee includes breakfast and lunch.

Speakers include Mary Greenwood, attorney and author of the “How to Negotiate like a Pro” series; Justine Barron, investigative journalist and author of the 2023 “They Killed Freddie Gray: The Anatomy of a Police Brutality Cover-Up”; Pat Ward, disabled U.S. Navy Veteran and champion rower, motivational speaker and blogger; Billy Jones, professor and author of “Everyday Folks 1&2” and creator and host of the “Everyday Folks Radio” podcast; and Jeannie DeQuine, an author, journalist and writing professor specializing in creative writing and memoirs.

Get tickets at www.southfloridawriters.org or contact Conference Chair Maggie Eubanks at maggiethecuriousmagpie@gmail.com

MUSIC CLUB HOSTS FREE CONCERTS

It will be a special night of music for the Coral Gables Music Club, now celebrating its 85th year, when talented young artists present the Annual Scholarship Recital at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 8 at Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 De Soto Blvd. Admission is free and open to all.

Seventeen students from elementary through high school will perform. All have competed for the prestigious award and will continue in the program until graduation from high school.

Artistic Director Angelica Sganga was a scholarship recipient of this very program when she was in high school. She is currently a piano instructor at the University of Miami Frost Preparatory Program and is involved with different music organizations.

Also, the Coral Gables Music Club and the Fournier family will co-sponsor a 21-piece orchestral presentation, “Carnival of the Animals,” by Orchestra Miami on the loggia of the Coral Gables Museum at 1 p.m. Feb. 10. The free Family Day concert will feature two young pianists. For more, visit www.gablesmusicclub.org

EXPERIENCE MINDTRAVEL IN MIAMI

For many people, meditation is much misunderstood. Most cannot imagine themselves taking the time to practice quietness, solitude and stillness in our busy world.

But for Murray Hidary, meditation combined with music helped him heal after the death of his sister. Hidary, a composer, pianist, visual artist, tech pioneer, entrepreneur and physics lover, decided to create MindTravel in 2014 and is on a mission to share music’s healing power with others through multi-sensory meditative journeys.

The next live mindfulness experiences will be at 7 and 9 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Frost Planetarium in Miami. The combination of stunning visuals and meditative piano music will create an atmosphere like no other, and Hidary is hoping participants will leave feeling rejuvenated and inspired.

Also planned for Feb. 18-19 is MindTravel Underwater Floating Meditation, a fully immersive underwater music experience. Participants will float weightlessly in salt water — heated to a cozy 98 degrees Fahrenheit — as Murray’s real-time piano compositions are amplified through high-end underwater speakers.

And on Feb. 24 there is a MindTravel Live-to-Headphones ‘Silent’ Piano Concert on the sand in front of Indian Beach Park on Miami Beach. To learn more about these events and get tickets, or to try MindTravel meditations on your own through the website, go to www.mindtravel.com

VISIT ITALY THROUGH CONCERT

Here’s another free concert. The Alhambra Orchestra, led by Artistic Director Daniel Andai, will divide into small ensembles to bring listeners the wonders of Italian musical culture at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 18 at Coral Gables Congregational United Church of Christ, 3010 DeSoto Blvd.

Moving from Baroque greats like Vivaldi and Cambini through famous writers of grand opera and movie composers, the orchestra members will perform a kaleidoscope of short Italian works for strings, winds and brass.

Highlights include the Vivaldi flute concerto “La Tempesta di Mare” with soloist Carol Naveira Nicholson, and Vivaldi’s “Concerto for Four Violins” spotlighting artistic director Daniel Andai and three friends. Visit www.alhambraorchestra.com

Write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com with news for this column.