BIRDING THE USA
AN OVERVIEW
Each state has its own birding hotspots and birding field trips as well as nature education and advocacy activities. Before traveling to other states, check out the birding field trips, festivals, and workshops being offered through a National Audubon Society Chapter or American Birding Association Club. Find chapters and clubs at the following websites:
· National Audubon Society--click on States, Centers, and Chapters or the Interactive Flash Map of the states
· American Birding Association -- click on ABA Birding Clubs
Some states such as New Jersey are not members of the National Audubon Society and have their own state Audubon Society with nature centers, educational programs, field trips, advocacy activities, and special nature-related events. NJ Audubon Society centers can be accessed at http://www.njaudubon.org/centers/. Note that Cape May Bird Observatory sponsors Spring and Fall Birding Weekends at the peak of migration in addition to their daily bird walks throughout the County and special two-day educational workshops.
Many states also have National Wildlife Refuges that are managed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These are great places for birding as care is given to preserving natural habitats for migrating birdlife. To access a list of these refuges by states, go to http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/bystate.cfm.
Other protected habitats for birds can be found through state water management systems. In Florida several Stormwater Treatment Areas are valued birding sites and in New Jersey the Wildlife Management Areas add additional birding sites.
For individuals age 55 or over there is still another major resource for birding trips. Elderhostels under their Outdoor Adventures Programs provide not only field trips to observe birds but also educational presentations to improve birding skills. Click here to link to their website. Once at that web site use the search term "birding" to get a list of their upcoming programs.
INVITATIONS
From time to time the Broward County Audubon Society receives invitations for its members to birding festivals, ecotours, and other special events in the USA. We will post these on a timely basis here.
Bird Fest Returns to Coastal Alabama
Registration for 5th Annual Alabama Coastal BirdFest opens in July--
The Alabama Coastal BirdFest celebrates five years of great birding this fall, with more than 20 planned events, including guided birding tours, dinners and speakers, and the free, daylong Bird and Conservation Expo. Set to greet the fall migration, when millions of birds make their annual trip from all over North America to winter homes in Central and South America, the 2008 BirdFest is planned for Oct. 16-19. As last year, all of the trips will depart from the Five Rivers Delta Resource Center on the Causeway, conveniently located half way in between Mobile, Ala. and the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. To learn more and to register online, visit www.AlabamaCoastalBirdFest.com. The full schedule will be posted online by early June and registration opens in July. For more information, call 251-621-1902.
Ecotours at Lake Okeechobee
Historic Clewiston Inn is inviting Broward Audubon members to Clewiston at the southern tip of Lake Okeechobee. They offer group luncheons and garden barbeques as well as overnight stays, ecotours, and more. They are close to Stormwater Treatement Area 5. Click here for their flyer.
Birding Adventures
Paddy Cunningham is leading a birding adventure on the Eastern Shore of Virginia October 8-13, 2008. Visit her website at http://www.birdadventure.com/virginia/index.html for details.
VENT Birding Tours
VENT Birding Tours is guiding a birding event on Oahu, Kauai, and Hawaii with lots of endemic birds plus seabirds and shorebirds. Visit their website for details of this October 17-25, 2008 and October 9-17, 2009 trip. Go to http://ventbird.com and click on Fall - Hawaii.
