To Birders Everywhere,
I would like to invite you to the 7th Annual Monterey Bay Birding Festival headquartered at the Watsonville Civic Center. This year's festival theme is "The Evolution of Birding— From Field Guides to High Tech." Birding has come a long way from the days of John J. Audubon to the iPod equipped modern, field guide and camera toting birder.
Our featured keynote speaker is Joe Morlan, known to many birders for his years of teaching bird identification. Joe was the winner of the American Birding Associations's Ludlow Griscom Award in 2010. He will speak on Saturday, September 24th. Joe will also co-lead the pelagic trip on Sunday, September 25th.
Stephen Shunk will speak on Thursday, September 22, "The Names, Namers and Naming of North American Birds." Stephen is a naturalist who hails from Oregon who will demystify the naming of North American birds.
Debi Shearwater will speak on Friday, September 23, "The Big Year: How Did We Get Here?" The concept of the Big Year has an interesting history. And, just in case you didn't know it— the 20th Century Fox movie, "The Big Year," inspired by the book of the same name by Mark Obamcik, will be released on October 14, 2011. Angelica Huston is playing the part of Debi in this movie!
All evening programs take place at the Watsonville Civic Center. Of course, these programs are only a small part of the festival. Many field trips are planned. Year after year, birders rave about our field trip leaders. They are simply the best! Some of these field trips are sold out. Sorry, but you know the "early bird gets the worm." Vendors will exhibit at the Civic. Workshops will be presented, and more.
The host motel is the Best Western Rose Garden Inn. Other motels are available, as well. There is nearby camping, and a terrific selection of restaurants.
And, the birds? Well, this festival has it all!! Everything from BLACK-FOOTED ALBATROSS to CALIFORNIA CONDOR, from WRENTIT to BUSHTIT, from SNOWY PLOVER to WANDERING TATTLER, from YELLOW-BILLED MAGPIE to TRICOLORED BLACKBIRD, from ASHY STORM-PETREL to RHINOCEROS AUKLET, from LARK SPARROW to LAWRENCE'S GOLDFINCH, from GOLDEN EAGLE to PRAIRIE FALCON, from ROADRUNNER to PYGMY NUTHATCH!
Please accept my personal invitation to join me at this fabulous festival,
Debi Shearwater
1 comment:
Thanks for all of the information about this festival. There are so many great birding opportunities and I like the lineup of speakers and workshops, too.
This is one of those "can't miss" festivals and it couldn't be located in more of a scenic environment.
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