September 23 - 26, 2010
Welcome to the sixth annual Monterey Bay Birding Festival, home of one of the most spectacular birding and wildlife venues in North America.
Where else in the country could you look for Wrentits, Lawrences 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?
Our festival theme this year: “The California Coast – From Condors to Snowy Plovers” celebrates this diversity of bird life.
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.
Dave Brockmann
Festival Coordinator
"Ghost Bird" - A Documentary By Scott Crocker
