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Fall birding festivals in California

July 29, 2010
Fall birding festivals in California

Monterey Bay birding by Andrea Jones

Start planning now for some great birding festivals this fall!  These festivals are a great way to go birding in a new location, visit local Important Bird Areas, and learn about bird conservation throughout the state.  In addition, you can tell us what birds you saw at a festival by recording your results here on eBird!  The 6th Annual Monterey Monterey Bay Birding Festival takes place Sept. 23-26th at the Watsonville Civic Plaza. The theme this year: "The California Coast – From Condors to Snowy Plovers" celebrates this diversity of bird life.  For a list of other festivals held this summer and beyond, visit this website.

More on the Monterey Bay Birding Festival:


Where else in the country could you look for Wrentits, Lawrence's Goldfinch, Clark's Grebes, White-tailed Kites, Nuttall's Woodpeckers, Yellow-billed Magpies, Snowy Plovers, California Thrashers, California Towhees,and Black-footed Albatrosses, just to name a few?

Designed for birders of all levels, as well as outdoor lovers, the festival offers a unique opportunity to explore, learn and appreciate world-class habitats such as the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Pinnacles National Monument. You'll be able to go to outings in the mountains, shoreline, chaparral, sloughs and grasslands.

Most half and full-day trips depart from the festival headquarters at the Watsonville Civic Plaza and you'll travel to the region's best birding hotspots, including Big Sur and the Ventana Wildlife Society to witness the return of the California Condors; take a pelagic trip to one of the world's most productive regions for albatrosses, shearwaters, storm-petrels and more; and explored in a kayak to get closer to nature. All of our field trips are led by top quality, local, friendly leaders.

Other workshops and outings will focus on photography, Raptor identification, and seeing the world through an artist's eyes. You won't want to miss the work of Andrea Rich on display, the award-winning, internationally recognized woodcut printmaker renowned for her singular depictions of wild animals in their natural habitats. The latest in optics and other birding-related exhibitors will be available at the Vendor's Faire.

Registration for each birding event is offered a la carte, so you can mix and match outings according to personal interests. Online registration is now available at our web site: www.montereybaybirding.org.  For more information, call 831 600-8893.

Other Festivals in September:

Kern River Valley Autumn Nature & Vulture Festival
Weldon - CA
September 25, 2010
Visit the Southern Sierra's Kern River Valley to experience one of the U.S. and Canada's largest known Turkey Vulture migrations and the height of fall landbird migration at desert oases. You will enjoy birds, vultures, geology, botany, natural history, native American studies, moths, reptiles, and children's activities. Contact: Kern Valley Nature Festivals, P.O. Box 833, Weldon, CA 93283


OCTOBER

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE WEEK CELEBRATION
Check your local wildlife refuge for activities - www.fws.gov


NOVEMBER

Sandhill Crane Festival

Lodi - CA,

November 5-7, 2010

Viewings of the state's largest concentration of greater Sandhill Cranes; workshops, exhibits, children stories, dancing, face painting, live wild animals and fine art. (916) 683-1700, 

Central Valley Birding Symposium

Stockton - CA

November 18-21, 2010

The Central Valley Birding Symposium Speakers: Ornithologists of International Renown. Field trips, workshops, panel discussion, and birding camaraderie.  (209) 369-2010,