The following winter season bird festivals will occur during the 2014 winter season in or near U.S. national wildlife refuges:
January 11, 8 a.m.
Festival of the Cranes
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, AL
See thousands of wintering sandhill cranes as well as whooping cranes and white pelicans. Enjoy refuge tours, birding workshops, nature walks, live raptors and kids’ activities.
January 22-27
Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival
Eastern Florida State College, Titusville, FL
The 17th annual event is billed as the largest birding and wildlife festival in the United States. Festival includes field trips to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.
January 22-26
Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway
Chico, CA
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is one of several field trip destinations for this major West Coast bird festival. The refuge, a Central Valley birding hotspot, boasts a large viewing platform overlooking wetlands teeming with bird life, a photography blind (available by reservation), an auto-tour route and miles of hiking trails.
February 7-9
San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival
Vallejo, CA
The 18th annual festival includes field trips to San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Feb 8
Florida Scrub-Jay Festival
Jonathan Dickinson State Park, FL
The festival celebrates the only bird species unique to the Sunshine State. Scrub-jays are found at Hobe Sound, Lake Wales Ridge and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuges. Enjoy live music, guided nature walks, live animal displays, children’s crafts and environmental exhibits.
February 13-16
Winter Wings Festival
Klamath Falls, OR
The six national wildlife refuges that make up the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex host the Winter Wings Festival. The festival spotlights the beauty of the basin’s high desert winter. On view: hundreds of eagles and other raptors, plus thousands of ducks, geese and swans.
February 20-23
Whooping Crane Festival
Port Aransas, TX
“America’s Birdiest Small Coastal City” hosts a festival that includes a field trip to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge to see cranes in their winter habitat.
February 27-March 2, 2014
San Diego Bird Festival
The annual festival features field trips to three coastal San Diego National Wildlife Refuges. Birds to see include: Brandt’s cormorant, pied-billed grebe and black-vented shearwater.
March 8, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Swan Day Festival
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, UT
Celebrate Tundra Swan Day with a day of free activities. Take an auto loop tour to view the return of these magnificent migratory birds. Enjoy swan-themed crafts, games and movies inside the Wildlife Education Center.
March 15, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Eagle Festival
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, MD
The festival includes several free “eagle prowls” – short bus tours to see active eagles’ nests on the refuge. No pre-registration required.
source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service