Rookery Bay Festival of Birds

The annual Festival of Birds will be held January 15-19. There will be guided field trips to wildlife hotspots around Southwest Florida, bird-featured activities throughout the month, and a special keynote presentation and reception.

Field trips include birding walks, boat trips, kayaking adventures, swamp tromps, swamp buggy excursions, a moonlight hike, boardwalk walk, biking and car caravan to locations such as Six Mile Cypress Slough, Bunche Beach, Clam Pass, Corkscrew Swamp, CREW Marsh Trails, Eagle Lakes Park, Fakahatchee Strand, Six Mile Cypress Slough, Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Harns Marsh, Rookery Bay Research Reserve and Tigertail Beach. There are three new adventures this year – Picayune Strand Forest, Sunrise Walk; Tigertail Beach, Sleuthing the Lagoon; Big Cypress, Birding Caravan and Wet Walk in the Swamp and Rookery Bay Research Reserve, Sunset Kayak Trip.

Preregistration is required for all field trips, keynote presentation and activities: rookerybay.org/events/festival-of-birds.

Festival of Birds Reception (with appetizers and drinks)

January 15 - Festival of Birds Keynote Reception (5:30-7:00 PM)

Keynote: Paul N. Gray, Audubon Florida, Science Coordinator in Everglades Restoration Program

Paul will talk about the discovery and history of avian life in the new world – the Americas and Florida. At one time, birds were heavily hunted in Florida for table meat, market meat, decorations for hats from their plumes and recreational hunting. Many populations of avian life were on the verge of extinction. The exploitation inspired the establishment of Audubon Societies to protect them. Shooting and hunting is now controlled, but habitat loss and degradation continue to be a threat. Paul will tell this story and how Audubon’s Everglades Restoration program continues this work today in South Florida.

Festival Bird-themed Activities (vary from $25 to $85):

January 16 Friday: Nature Collage (9:30-10:30 AM)

January 16 Friday: Nature Journaling Workshop (1:30-3:00 PM)

January 16 Friday: Birds & Butterflies: Shell Decoupage (1:30-3:00 PM)

January 17 Saturday: Essentials of Digital Photography (9:30 AM-12:30 PM)

January 18 Sunday: Moon Walk: Nights in Nature (5:30-7:00 PM)