The Cape Fear Audubon Society and City of Southport will sponsor the 2010 Ibis Festival this weekend, May 14th and 15th.  Battery Island, visible from the Southport waterfront, is a one hundred acre Audubon Sanctuary and a globally significant rookery hosting between 9,000 and 15,000 breeding pairs of American White Ibis annually.  The site is protected habitat but birders can tour by boat on the No Wake ranger tugboat with Capt. Nancy Hahn or the Solomon T  work boat with Capt. Bert Felton both Friday and Saturday. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged for these popular tours.  Departure times and contact information can be found on the Ibis Fest website at www.ibisfest.org  Other activities include a Birding Basics workshop, photography workshops for children and adults, kayaking trips to Rice Creek & Dutchman’s Creek, eco-tours conducted by the Bald Head Island Conservancy and Shelton Herb Farm, a living history presentation, as well as lectures and workshops by  representatives from the North Carolina Maritime Museum, Arlie Gardens, the Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary and others.