The Morro Bay Bird Festival is an annual eco-tourism event held to celebrate the diversity of the different bird species found in and around the California Central Coast. The Festival is based in Morro Bay but events take place south to Oso Flaco, north to San Simeon, east to Carrizo Plains and west via pelagic trips out of the Morro Bay Harbor. Morro Bay is a designated Globally Important Bird Area and more than 200 species of birds call it home during the winter months. Birders go to bird festivals to see birds and this event ranks in the top five festivals in the United States.
For the past two years, the Festival was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. At the time the 2022 Festival was canceled, there were more than 600 attendees registered from 14 different US states plus British Columbia. Based on attendee feedback to date, the Festival committee is estimating an even larger attendance for 2023.
The 2023 Festival is scheduled for January 13 – 16, 2023, over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend; the Festival will be based out of the Morro Bay Community Center with a Program of Events that include Field Trips, Presentations, Master Classes and Special Events. The 2023 program has a total of 160 events with over 100 leaders who are experts in their fields.
David Allen Sibley is the featured guest for 2023. He will conduct a master class on The Basics of Bird ID, co-lead two field trips and deliver the Saturday Evening Keynote Address based on his new book “What It’s Like to Be a Bird.” David will also sign books at two of the events. He is the author and illustrator of the series of successful guides to nature that bear his name, including the New York Times bestseller “The Sibley Guide to Birds.”
Jon Dunn is also a featured guest who leads five field trips. Jon was the chief consultant/editor for the first five editions of “National Geographic Society’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America” and he co-authored the sixth and seventh editions.
Online registration for the 2023 Festival opens on November 5 at 8 a.m. A full list of program events is available for review on the Bird Festival website at https://morrobaybirdfestival.org/
For additional information, send an email to: support@morrobaybirdfestival.org , or call by 805-600-2147.
