The Morro Bay Bird Festival, for all ages.

Registration open now for 5 activity-packed days

—From January 16-20, 2025, the Morro Bay Bird Festival celebrates 28 years of attracting bird enthusiasts to the Central Coast. This year’s festival offers the most extensive list of activities yet. With over 250 events led by 141 expert leaders, beginners to seasoned birders find activities suited for their interests.

Considered one of the top five bird festivals in the nation, the five days of events include destination field trips to habitats including Carrizo Plain, Kern National Wildlife Refuge, Oso Flaco and Point Buchon, birding by bike, bay cruises and kayaking, master classes, journaling and sketching and more.

There are opportunities for boating tours, and the pelagic trips onto the ocean can turn up sightings of whales, dolphins, albatross, and more. Inland tours are to ranch lands and oak woodlands offering sightings of raptors, and meadowlarks, bluebirds, woodpeckers, and more.

Guided Big Days of Birding offer the potential to identify over 100 species at hot spots throughout San Luis Obispo County. There are also Casual Big Days at a slower pace for beginning and intermediate birders. A special effort is made to sight regional specialties and rarities during the many opportunities for up-close observations.

Along with all of the birding activities, participants can visit the Atascadero beavers, learn more about the southern sea otters, the 19 species of bats found on the Central Coast, visit the elephant seals and monarch butterfly over-wintering sites, explore mushrooms, learn to use birding technologies with a cell phone, and map making.

Meet the VIPs

The festival presents two welcome receptions, one on Friday and one on Saturday. Enjoy wine, cheese, live music, and visiting with fellow birders, VIPs and event leaders. Visit the Bazaar to browse vendor booths featuring books, music, nature art and photography, woodcarvings, jewelry, educational exhibits and festival swag. Reception attendees receive a free MBBF logo etched wine glass. Sign up for one of the two receptions, and an entry ticket is required.

This year’s VIPS include:

• David Lindo, known as the urban birder, is a broadcaster, writer, educator dedicated to inspiring city dwellers worldwide to appreciate their environment through birds. He has contributed numerous articles on urban bird conservation and wildlife to various publications and is a familiar face on BBC, ITV, and Channel 4, among others.
• Kenn Kaufman, renowned naturalist and author, began his birding journey at age six. He gained fame as a teenage birder hitchhiking across North America to observe bird species. Kaufman has authored numerous books, including the popular Kaufman Field Guides series, and received multiple honors for his contributions to ornithology.
• Kimberly Kaufman has dedicated her career to bird conservation and education. As the executive director of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, she has significantly impacted birding initiatives, including founding the Ohio Young Birders Club and organizing The Biggest Week in American Birding festival. A contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and coauthor of several field guides, Kimberly received the 2015 American Birding Association’s Chandler Robbins Award for her contributions to bird education and conservation.
• Jon Dunn, a renowned ornithologist, has been passionate about birds since childhood. He has authored numerous influential books on bird identification and distribution, including collaborations with Kimball Garrett and Jonathan Alderfer. Dunn has served on prestigious ornithological committees and contributed significantly to the National Geographic Society’s bird guides. His expertise includes history and the works of Leonard Cohen.

Events and activities fill up quickly for this popular event. To register and for more information visit www.morrobaybirdfestival.org.