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While birds are migrating through Monterey Bay during the peak of fall migration, birders from around the world will be following their lead for the Eleventh Annual Monterey Bay Birding Festival—the perfect time of the year to learn and observe your favorite local feathered folk.
The timing for this event couldn’t be more perfect (located smack dab in the middle of the fall migratory period of August-October), so whether you’re an expert or a beginner, this Festival is a must-see. Locations such as Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Big Sur, Elkhorn Slough National Marine Estuary, and Pinnacles National Monument are on the list of reasons why birds are quite the fans of our turf, and this festival will be offering a wide variety of field trips to some of these ecologically unique places. Along with field trips, there will be water excursions, birding workshops, social events and speaker presentations.
Read about the 2013 festival here.
What makes this birding festival so unique, beside the location of course, is the ability to customize it to your birding desires. Once you purchase your event pass, you can sign up for specific events to attend (some free, some with additional cost). These events include field trips to Big Sur to see California Condors, Pinnacles NP to see yellow-billed magpies, and numerous spots to see the rare ones. The events also include workshops and seminars such as Bird Photography for Beginners, Field Sketching, and Birding Optics Demystified, to name a few.
Sound interesting? (Um. Yes!)
Monterey Bay Birding Festival Trips and Outings
Buy passes here! Students get a great discount and children under 12 are free!
Watsonville Civic Plaza. September 24th-26th. Times vary. Space is limited, so purchase your day passes and event tickets in advance.
Photo of Marbled Godwits by "Elaine with Grey Cats" on Flickr.
