Birding & Wildlife Festival, 1/23 - 1/28/13

Hard to believe that this is the 16th annual Birding and Wildlife Festival - Jim Angy, Matt MacQueen, and I participated in the first one, hosting a table displaying our wildlife photo albums on CD.  As you might expect, the first Festival had light attendance - in the 500s.  Now, it is a world-class event, drawing vendors and participants from all over the world, with thousands of visitors over the five days (January 23 - 28, 2013).  The web site is complete and informative, so I won't go into much detail, except to urge you to attend.  There are field trips (including a pelagic birding boat trip), instructional programs, the Raptor Project (you have to see this to believe it - all these huge Raptors displayed on the stage, almost within touching distance, and posing as if they were fashion models!), art show, vendors - and the list goes  on.   There are some free events, but many have fees attached and require pre-registration - the web site has all the details.  (Photo, "Feeding Frenzy", Wayne Matchett)

http://www.spacecoastbirdingandwildlifefestival.org/