Choke Canyon State Park is hosting a bird festival this Saturday, giving visitors a chance to get an up-close look at wildlife and learn from educational booths and guest speakers — even as a prolonged drought has dropped the lake to just 8 percent capacity.
I met Bill Wright and his wife at the park. The Missouri couple is spending 10 days there, hoping to see wildlife they have only read about before.
"I think it's kinda neat. I saw my first green jay. Which I've never known that they existed. Taking pictures of all kinds of birds I've never seen before. So, I'm kinda interested," Wright said.
Wright said the drought is not stopping them from enjoying what the park has to offer.
"You know, if you can't swim in a lake or go fishing in a lake - I'm sure there's a lot of good hiking trails and fresh land that hasn't been seen for a while," Wright said.
Kaitlyn Noel, the Choke Canyon State Park office manager, said when she started 5 years ago, the lake was about 32 percent full. Now it sits at 8 percent.
Noel said the bird festival is an effort to show visitors there is still a reason to come to the park.
"People only think about us having no water and not being able to put a boat in. But that's you're still able to fish off the bank and we try to have monthly events," Noel said.
The park draws visitors from across the country, particularly for its year-round population of green jays.
"People come from all over just to see the green jays that we have year-round. So focusing on one big event for our park to highlight is very important," Noel said.
With spring break underway, the park says reservations are already full.
