The four-day Florida Birding and Nature Festival will feature field trips, boat excursions, seminars by experts, nationally renowned keynote speakers and a free nature expo.
The event will be Oct. 17-20, and headquartered at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center, 6650 Dickman Road, in Apollo Beach (just south of Tampa). The festival coincides with the peak of fall migration of birds through Central Florida. More than 180 species have been observed during previous festivals.
The outings, led by knowledgeable guides and in some cases the managers of the nature habitats visited, include walking, boat and canoe trips and a bus tour of Central Florida birding hot spots. Some field trips explore sites not normally open to the public.
A Thursday bus tour will explore the Circle B Bar Reserve and Saddle Creek Park, birding hot spots in nearby Lakeland. A sunset cruise Thursday will take visitors to Coffeepot Bayou Bird Island, where Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills and other water birds’ roost.
Most of the field trips are scheduled Friday through Sunday. Among the destinations: Egmont Key, the Cross Bar Ranch in Spring Hill, Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve, Blackwater Creek Preserve, Fort DeSoto Park, and the Lower Green Swamp Nature Preserve. Last year’s popular trip to the Schultz Nature Preserve, which highlights butterflies and dragonflies as well as birds, is on the agenda again as is the fascinating session on bird banding.
Field trip space is limited so early registration is advised.
Legendary environmental warrior Clay Henderson will present the Friday keynote address. Henderson had a long career as an environmental lawyer, educator, and writer. He is the former president of the Florida Audubon Society and is the author of “Forces of Nature,” an environmental history of Florida and winner of the 2023 Stetson Kennedy Book Award.
World renowned photographer and ornithologist Tim Laman will be the Saturday keynote speaker. The National Geographic photographer will share his favorite bird photographs from more than 25 years in the field that cover a broad range of species from diverse habitats.
Laman also will lead photography seminars.
The festival also will offer two days of in-person and Zoom broadcasted seminars, with experts who will explore fascinating nature topics, such as the mysteries of wildlife migration, the under-appreciated virtues of the vulture, environmental threats to the mighty killer whale and the lessons of 50 years of research into the dolphins of Sarasota Bay.
A free Nature Expo on Friday, Oct. 18, and Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center will feature displays from numerous environmental organizations, nature-related businesses, and artists. Exhibitors will sell binoculars, artwork, bird boxes and native plants that attract birds and butterflies.
For info information and registration, see https://www.floridabirdingandnaturefestival.org/
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