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Morro Bay, CA
16-19 January
All-day and half-day tours will take participants to
a wide variety of habitats, including deep water pelagic,
oak woodland and riparian, wetland and estuary, and
the unique grassland habitat of the Carrizo Plain. Workshops
will cover a vast array of topics ranging from beginner
birding classes to gull identification. Outstanding
Evening Speakers will make presentations on Saturday
and Sunday. A variety of vendors will be present with
nature related artwork, books, field equipment and attire,
and local merchant wares.
Morro Bay California is one of the few remaining estuaries
on the Pacific flyway. Christmas Bird Counts on the
bay have numbered above the 200 species mark, and the
festival bird lists have totaled over 220 species for
the weekend, making this area on the central California
coast a prime birding destination.
Hope to see you here!
More Information:
MORRO BAY, CALIFORNIA -- Mark your calendars for the
13th Annual Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival being held
January 16-19, 2009. Registration is open now through
December 31, 2008; however, space is limited for the
festival itself and for many of the more popular events,
so you are encouraged to make your reservations as soon
as possible. Festival program brochures are available
by calling the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce at 805-772-4467
or 1-800-231-0592, or you can download a brochure from
the Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival web site at www.morrobaybirdfestival.org.
Online registration is also available.
The Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival makes it a point
to offer a variety of events for all levels of birders.
Both local and state-wide birding experts will lead
over 35 land, ocean, and bay field trips, plus discussions
and presentations, social events and workshops focusing
on everything from warblers to elephant seals. Field
trips will include pelagic trips, birding by kayak,
trips to see Sandhill Cranes and Bald Eagles, shorebird
field trips, and the popular “Big Day ”s — marathon
field trips to see as many species as possible. This
year’s festival will also feature a special opening
reception on Friday, as well as evening presentations
on Saturday by Al Batt and on Sunday a dazzling narrated
display of bird photography.
The weekend vendor show at the Morro Bay Community
Center is open to festival attendees and the general
public at no charge. Participating vendors will be offering
the latest in bird-related optical and photography equipment,
books, clothing, artwork, backyard bird feeding supplies,
etc. The vendor show runs on Friday from 10-4:30, and
Saturday and Sunday from 10-6. In addition, there will
be a series of special events on Saturday featuring
live raptors from Pacific Wildlife Care.
Full registration for the four-day Festival costs $70,
and one-day registration options -- $35 for Friday through
Sunday and $25 for Monday -- are also available. The
registration includes: most field trips and workshops;
a Festival T-shirt; bird checklist; and free admission
to the Museum of Natural History in Morro Bay State
Park. Van and boat trips have an extra fee. Youngsters
12 and under are free (except for the van and boat trips).
For more information about the Morro Bay Winter Bird
Festival, log onto www.morrobaybirdfestival.org.
Located on the Pacific Flyway, on California’s Central
Coast approximately halfway between Los Angeles and
San Francisco, Morro Bay is recognized as a globally
important birding area and typically ranks in the top
five nationally during the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
Over 200 bird species either overwinter here or call
it their permanent home, including such birds as the
California Brown Pelican and Peregrine Falcon.
Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival
PO Box 1175
Morro Bay, CA 93442
Call: (805)275-4143
or (866)464-5105 toll free
Email:birdfest@morrobaybirdfestival.org
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March
3, 2006