Birding Festivals
Birding festivals offer birders the opportunity to visit top birding locations. The festivals provide guided field trips to local birding hotspots. Attending a festival is an excellent way to see new species, improve your skills and meet new friends. There are about 200 different birding and nature festivals in the United States and Canada.
Festivals by state are listed below. Select a month from the list on the left.
Check the websites or contact the event for specific dates, lodging, and additional information.
Birdzilla’s Top 10 Birding Festivals
1. Rio Grande Birding Festival, South Texas (November)
2. Space Coast Birding Festival, east coast of Florida (January)
3. San Diego Birding Festival , California (March)
4. Monterey Bay Birding Festival, California(September)
5. Southwest Wings Birding Festival, Arizona (August)
6. Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival, Washington state (late April or early May)
7. Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival, California (January)
8. Hummerbird Celebration, Rockport, Texas (September)
9. Horicon Marsh Bird Festival, Wisconsin, (May)
10. Florida Keys Birding and Wildlife Festival (September)
Competition for the Top 10 is heating up. Here are some additional favorites.
Feather Fest in Galveston (April)
The Biggest Week in American Birding – Magee Marsh wildlife Area, Oak Harbor, Ohio.
Midwest Birding Symposium – Held on alternate (odd-numbered) years – Sept. Ohio
Additional Birding Festivals.
Alaska:
Kenai Birding Festival: May
A birding MUST! Birders of all ages and abilities will enjoy this 4-day festival on the Kenai Peninsula. From guided birding hikes and social birding opportunities to Kenai Fjord guided boat tours and engaging educational workshops there is something for everyone in beautiful, bird centric Kenai.
The Cordova/Copper River Shorebird Festival: May
Cordova, Alaska
Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival: May
Homer, Alaska
Alaska’s largest nature festival, celebrating birds, and offering over 50 events, including birding, nature, and photography workshops, presentations, field and boat excursions, and family friendly Junior Birding program. Keynote Speakers Bill Thompson, III of BIRD WATCHERS’ DIGEST magazine and Noah Strycker, Associate Editor of BIRDING magazine, with more speakers to be announced. Contact Robbi Mixon, 907-235-7740, shorebird@homeralaska.org. Visit our website,
www.kachemakshorebird.org.
Alaska Bald Eagle Festival: November
Haines, Alaska
Arizona:
Southwest Wings Birding and Nature Festival – July/August
Sedona Hummingbird Festival – August
995 Upper Red Rock Loop Road
Sedona, AZ 86336
http://www.hummingbirdsociety.org/festival.php
Tucson Bird & Wildlife Festival: August
Tucson, Arizona
Wings Over Willcox: January
Willcox, AZ
California:
Galt Winter Bird Festival: January
Galt, California
Snow Goose Festival: January
Chico, California
San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival: February
Mare Island, Vallejo, California
Godwit Days Spring Migration Bird Festival: April
Arcata, California
Kern Valley Spring Nature Festival: April
Weldon, California
Point Reyes Birding and Nature Festival: April
Point Reyes, California
Heron Festival and Wildlife Brunch: April
Kelseyville, California
California Redwoods Bird and Nature Festival: May
Crescent City, California
Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua: June
Lee Vining, California
Kern Valley Hummingbird Celebration: August
Weldon, California
Sandhill Crane Festival: November
Lodi, California
Central Valley Birding Symposium: November
Stockton, California
Florida:
Big “O” Birding Festival: March
Clewiston, FLlorida
“Ding” Darling Days: October
Sanibel Island, Florida
Florida Keys Birding and Wildlife Festival
September
Louisiana:
Grand Isle Migratory Bird Celebration!: April
Grand Island, Thibodaux LA
Great Louisiana BirdFest: April
Mandeville, Louisiana
Yellow Rails and Rice Festival: October
Jennings, Louisiana
Maine:
Wings, Waves & Woods: May
Deer Island, Maine
Down East Spring Birding Festival: May
Trescott, Maine
Acadia Birding Festival: May/June
Bar Harbor, Maine
Massachusetts:
Cape Cod Bird Festival: September
Michigan:
Cranefest: October
Bellevue, Michigan
Mississippi:
Tara Spring Birding Weekend : May
Weekend of excellent birdwatching during spring migration of songbirds and more in the Mississippi Flyway. Both casual birding opportunities with organized birding tours led by seasoned birders. Enjoy a tour on our open air bus or walk the nature trails through the woodlands to the wetland areas where you can view waterfowl and wading birds. Adjacent to the Mississippi River
Mississippi River Nature Weekend : August
An exciting family festival for the outdoor adventurist, both young and seasoned. Activities include guided birding tours, sunset birding excursions, boating, nature trails, nighttime music, meals, and more. Day passes and weekend packages available. Weekend packages include lodging, food, activities, and seminars. The festival is highlighted by the Wading Bird Migration in the Mississippi Flyway. We are adjacent to the Mississippi River and have an excellent rookery to view.
Nevada:
Spring Wings Bird Festival: May
Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Fallon, Nevada
New York
Great Adirondack Birding Celebration
Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) in Paul Smiths, New York.
The 3,000-acre Paul Smiths VIC contains every habitat type found in the Adirondack Park, with the exception of alpine vegetation. Included on the property is a 60-acre marsh, five ponds, several brooks and swamps, bogs, fens, and varied forest types, most notably northern boreal forest.
Oregon:
Winter Wings Festival: February
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Birding & Blues Festival: April
Pacific City, Oregon
John Scharff Migratory Bird Festival & Art Show: April
Burns, Oregon
Texas:
Galveston FeatherFest: April
Galveston, TX.
Wings Over the Hills Nature Fest: April
Fredericksburg, Texas
Balcones Songbird Nature Festival: April
Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge – Central Texas.
HummerBird Celebration: September
Rockport-Fulton, Texas
Rio Grande Birding Festival: November
Harlingen, Texas
Utah:
Delta Snow Goose Festival February
Delta, Utah
Great Salt Lake Bird Festival: May
Davis County, Utah (Bountiful, Utah)
Virginia:
Eastern Shore Birding and Wildlife Festival
Cape Charles, Virginia
Washington:
Olympic Peninsula BirdFest: March/April
Sequim, Washington
Leavenworth Spring Bird Festival: May
Leavenworth, WA
Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds: September
Edmonds, Washington
Wisconsin:
Horicon Marsh Bird Festival: May
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin
Chequamegon Bay Birding and Nature Festival: May
Ashland County. Wisconsin
South shore of Lake Superior.
Additional information:
For additional birding festivals, bird trails, and bird observatories, visit the Environment for the Americas website.