Bird Festivals

Birding Festivals

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Great Blue Heron

Birding festivals are an enjoyable way to travel to new places, see new birds, make new friends, and just get away from it all. Most festivals are well-organized, usually with guided field trips and presentations by experts in various subjects.

Participation at birding festivals supports birding and habitat conservation in the local areas where they are held. There are numerous bird festivals in Washington and its adjoining states: some of them are listed below.  Check out the websites for dates of the festival and other information:

February

Winter Wings Festival, Klamath Falls OR.  Begun as the Klamath Falls Eagle Conference, this is the longest-running festival in the US.  

Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival, Stanwood WA.  Speakers, tours, special events, and thousands of Snow Geese.

March

Brant Wildlife Festival, Vancouver Island, BC. A variety of activities over several weeks time.

Wings Over Water – Northwest Birding Festival, Blaine WA.  Viewing stations, seminars, exhibits, field trips, thousands of Brandts, and more.

Othello Sandhill Crane Festival, Othello WA.  Tours, speakers, banquet, silent auction, and thousands of Sandhill Cranes.

April

Stikine River Birding Festival, Wrangell, Alaska. Celebration of spring migration at the Stikine River Delta, with thousands of Bald Eagles and millions of shorebirds which migrate to the delta each spring.

Olympic Peninsula BirdFest, Sequim WA.  Specializes in seabirds and features tours of local bays and coastlines and island cruises.  Also Olympic Owl Prowl, banquet, and silent auction.

Harney County Migratory Bird Festival, Harney County OR.  Tours, workshops, banquet, art show, and other activities.

Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival, Hoquiam WA.  Speakers, field trips, banquet, auction, fun fair, vendor, tens of thousands of shorebirds, and more.

May

Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, Homer, Alaska. Alaska’s largest wildlife viewing festival, featuring over 130 migratory bird species and dozens of nesting species.

Yakima River Canyon Birdfest, Features Yakima River Canyon, an Audubon Important Bird Area (IBA), with some of the highest densities of passerines and birds of prey in Washington state, some of them obligates to the shrub-steppe habitat.

Wenas Creek Audubon Camp-out, Washington State Audubon Memorial Day three-day Camp-out at The Hazel Wolf Bird Sanctuary at the Wenas Creek Campground.

Leavenworth Spring Bird Festival, Leavenworth WA.  Speakers, field trips, wildflower walks, art, family activities, and more.

Ladd Marsh Bird Festival, La Grande OR.  Presentations, guided bird walk, field trips, music, and kids’ activities

June

Yakutat Tern Festival, Yakutat, Alaska. Festival is held in Yakutat, along the rugged Alaska coat between Sitka and Cordova and features the southernmost and largest breeding colony of Aleutian Terns. Over 200 species of birds can be seen, with over 100 nesting species

Dean Hale Woodpecker Festival, Bend OR.  Field trips and more

Wings Across the Big Sky Bird Festival, Bozeman MT. Field trips, speakers, and fun activities.

September

Swift Night Out, Monroe, Washington Vaux’s Swift watch.

Oregon Shorebird Festival, Charleston OR.  A small festival with water-based field trips, land-based field trips, and a chartered pelagic trip.

Puget Sound Bird Fest, Edmonds, WA.  Speakers, guided walks, land- and water-based field trips, exhibits, and educational activities.

Hawai’i Island Festival of Birds, Kona to Hilo, HI. Learn about habitats and conservation from speakers and scientists.

October

Birdfest and Bluegrass Celebration, Festival sponsored by Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge that includes bird hikes and auto tours on the refuge and live bluegrass concerts.

November

Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival, Fraser River Valley, Canada.  Honors the bald eagle and cycle of the salmon.