19th Annual Alabama Coastal BirdFest and Nature Festival
The 19th Annual Alabama Coastal BirdFest, a birding
and a nature festival, will be held October 4 through 7, 2023, and is one of the South
Alabama Land Trust’s (SALT) annual fundraising events.
The headquarters of the event will be at 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center nestled between Mobile and Baldwin, Alabama’s two coastal counties. Bus trips, nearly all workshops and the closing reception will be held there. The last day of the BirdFest will feature a free, family-oriented Bird & Nature Expo on the grounds of the Resource Center from 9 a.m. to noon.
SALT is
honored to announce this year’s keynote speaker, Emma Rhodes, co-founder of the
Banding Coalition of the Americas, a non-profit organization focused on better
understanding migratory birds using banding and advanced tracking techniques.
Emma’s presentation for the closing reception is titled Alabama Sojourn:
Through the Eyes of a Migrant.
Each day of
the event will be filled with different events, including guided birding trips
for all levels, kayak paddle tours, pontoon excursions and a sunset cruise.
Also, workshops will be held to cover topics like beginner birding,
hummingbirds, nature and bird photography and bird box building. Event trips
take place from Ft. Morgan to Dauphin Island, from Bon Secour to the Mobile
Tensaw Delta, to Mississippi and points in between.
Throughout the next few weeks leading up to BirdFest, there will be photos by local photographer, Stephanie Pluscht, this year’s BirdFest featured photographer, on SALT social media channels and promotional materials. “We thank Stephanie for sharing her talent and capturing beautiful moments of nature in coastal Alabama,” says Katherine Kuhn, SALT Outreach and Communications.
The
BirdFest schedule, including information on speakers, partners, vendors and
more can be found online. Registration is from August 4 through September 22, 2023.
Trips and workshops will be filled on a first come first served basis.
Location: 30945 Five Rivers Blvd., Spanish Fort, AL, 36527. For more
information, visit SouthAlabamaLandTrust.org/Birdfest.
