Participation:  Participation in our Northern Minnesota Weekend is open to young birders (who will be age 8 through age 18 at the time of the event) and their accompanying families.   Priority registration will be offered to members of Iowa Young Birders, prior IAYB field trip and event participants, and young birders/families who are Iowa residents. To assure a quality experience for everyone, our trip capacity will be limited.  Once capacity is reached, you will be placed on a waiting list.

Please note that this trip is geared to young birders who are at least 8 years old.  Younger siblings may accompany supervising parents.

Parent/legal guardian must arrange for young birder participants (of any age) to be transported and supervised at all times when young birders are not actively participating in scheduled events during this event. This includes transportation to and from departure points and arranging for supervised overnight accommodations. Parent/legal guardian is responsible for any medications or impact of any medical conditions.

Registration: Advance registration is required and must be submitted and signed by parent/legal guardian of youth participant. Young birders may also be accompanied/supervised by a non-related adult (over age 18) only if that supervising adult is listed on the form by the parent/legal guardian.

Registration is complete when payment has been received by Iowa Young Birders and a confirmation email sent to the participants.

All registrations will include an acknowledgement and acceptance of our standard Event Policies (which can be previewed here.)

Cancellation Policy: In the event a participant must cancel a confirmed paid registration, written notice (by email to tyler@iowayoungbirders.org) must be received no later than January 27, 2023 at 5 p.m. in which case registration fees will be refunded minus a $10 administration fee (per family.) Cancellation requests received after the date above will be refunded as 75% of the registration fees and the balance will be considered as a charitable donation to Iowa Young Birders.

Weather and other conditions: Generally, all events (including field trips) will proceed even when the weather is unpleasant. Participants should anticipate the weather and dress accordingly. Field trips will not be cancelled unless lightning or other dangerous conditions are present.

Be Prepared: Birding is an active, outdoor activity. Participants should be prepared for a variety of normal outdoor conditions include heat, cold, wind, sun, rain, insects, etc. 

It can be very cold in Northern Minnesota in winter with temperatures frequently dropping into the single digits or even below zero degrees.  With temperatures this low, wind chill can also be an issue.  Therefore, it's important that you dress in plenty of layers.  Although we will likely do most of our birding in or close to the vehicle, it's still important to dress for the cold.  This area can also receive significant snow, so high snow boots are recommended.

Conduct Policy: All participants should review the IAYB Code of Conduct prior to the trip as the trip will be conducted in accordance with these policies. As always when birding in groups, we'll carefully follow good birding etiquette and practice appropriate birding ethics (see the American Birding Association Code of Ethics for more.)