Wed, Apr 20
|South Texas Botanical Gardens
The Birdiest Festival in America 2022
Select Registration Fee below to complete registration. Select T-Shirt from the list below if you want to purchase one. Please visit the Schedule tabs above for more detailed information before purchasing! Click "More Info" on tickets below for a short description of the events.
Time & Location
Apr 20, 2022, 7:00 AM CDT – Apr 24, 2022, 11:00 AM CDT
South Texas Botanical Gardens, 8545 S Staples St, Corpus Christi, TX 78413, USA
About the Event
Registration Fee required for ALL Festival Program/Field Trip Participants!
PLEASE REGISTER EACH GUEST SEPARATELY
Select T-Shirt from the list below if you want to buy one.
Please visit the Schedule tabs above for more detailed information before purchasing! Click "More Info" on tickets below for a short description of the events.
Registration includes admission to the Festival, a free Raptor Project presentations, admission to the Arts Fair and Family Fun Day, and five days admission to South Texas Botanical Gardens.
Any trip that has an included lunch has the option of ham, turkey, or vegetarian.
Register Online: Our secure website, www.birdiestfestival.org, takes MC, VISA, Discover and AMEX. Select your trips, pay, and receive your confirmation immediately.
NO NEED TO PRINT ANY TICKETS.
Deadline: Open registration will end at 5pm CDT on Monday, April 18, 2022. Walk-in registration is possible during the event for any trips with space available, or for individual seminars.
Cancellation and Refund Policy: Should the need arise to cancel, be sure to notify the Festival in writing (info@birdiestfestival.com) on or before 5pm CDT March 1, 2022 for a full refund (less $25 registration fee). A 50% refund (less $25 registration fee) will be allowed if notified on or before 5pm CDT March 15, 2022.
AFTER APRIL 1, 2022, CANCELLATIONS CANNOT BE REFUNDED.
Destination Substitutions: The Birdiest Festival of America organizers reserve the right to cancel or modify any Festival activity for safety or accessibility concerns. If a cancellation is necessary, a full refund will be offered.
Liability Waiver: Each participant in the Festival must sign a liability waiver with their registration, whether registering online or in person.
Registration Packet Pick-Up: Your Registration Packet containing your itinerary, credentials and relevant information is available for pick-up beginning Wednesday, April 20 at the registration table at the South Texas Botanical Gardens Vendor Tent, which will be open 12PM – 6PM. Registration packets can also be picked up in the morning before each field trip departure, at the Check-In table.
Where is the festival site?
The South Texas Botanical Gardens (8545 South Staples Street, Corpus Christi, TX, 78413) is the host site of the Birdiest Festival in America.
Field trip departures are early, so being prompt is imperative. There is ample parking available. Follow the signs.
How do I get around? It is strongly encouraged to rent a car during your stay. This will allow you to get to the Gardens and to have the ability to visit other destinations in your down time. You can maximize your visit and stay a few extra days. Plenty of birds to see.
Tickets
Registration Fee (REQUIRED)
Required for all festival program/field trip participants! Allows registration for field trips, 3 free presentations ($5 for extras) OR a free Workshop, a free Raptor Project presentation, and five days admission to South Texas Botanical Gardens. (Use Promo Code 3Free for 3 free seminars or code WORK for a free workshop).
$25.00T-Shirt (XS-XL)
$20.00T-Shirt (2XL-3XL)
$22.00Pre-Trip - Rio Grande Valley
April 16-19. We are pleased to again offer a four-day pre-trip this year to the Rio Grande Valley, home to many specialty birds that can only be found in deep South Texas. Last year this trip produced 193 species and found most of the target species. Our lodging for this trip is the Alamo Inn, a birder- centric lodge in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley.
$850.00Sold Out4/20 6:30 Trip-Fulton/Hilltop
6:30 - 11:30 This industrial corridor is not easy to bird for those not familiar with it. It is mostly refineries on one side and a wonderful saltwater marsh with some open water on the other side. The habitat at nearby Hilltop Community Center could not be more different. The mile and a quarter wide, paved hiking trail goes thru grassy areas, scrub-thorn brush, and is treed along the creek.
$70.004/20 7am Trip-Port A
7:00 - 12:00 Driving on the beach while looking for shorebirds and seabirds is a treat for those that do not live near the ocean. Add in a world class neotropic migrant trap and very birdy freshwater pond and marsh, plus sparrows, ducks, and waders; makes this area fairly easy to see over 100 species in a single day. For a complete description to this field trip go to the Port Aransas tab.
$70.004/20 7am Trip-Chasing Warblers
7:00 - 12:00 For many, this is what Spring migration is all about in our region. Around here, April is an enjoyable and sometimes exhausting time to chase migrating land birds that flit and feed throughout the area. We have lessened the challenge by narrowing down the places to look. The birders who lead these trips know the most likely hot spots to find the species you want to see. They will decide where to go based on weather conditions, birding reports, and years of experience.
$70.004/20 2pm Workshop-Shorebird ID
2pm-4pm. Displaying Buff-breasted Sandpipers, Hudsonian Godwits at their most gorgeous, Upland Sandpipers trotting through fields with their weird windup toy gait, Wilson’s Phalaropes spinning in small puddles, Solitary Sandpipers giving their sharp call as they rocket through the air; few places on earth can compete with the quality and quantity of the shorebird show that unfolds on the Texas Coast every Spring. Now the only problem is sorting them all out!
$15.00Sold Out4/20 6pm Reception &BBQ Dinner
6:00 - 7:30 Come join us for some Southern hospitality and enjoy a Texas BBQ catered by Mike Cotton’s. Live Local Music Entertainment. Vegetarian options are available and must be requested on Registration form. Please add and extra ticket if you are bringing a guest.
$20.004/20 6pm BBQ Extra Guest
This ticket is for an extra guest for the BBQ dinner that is not attending the rest of the festival.
$20.004/21 5:30am Trip-King Ranch
5:30 - 3:30 The Norias Division has vast tracts of habitat that are home to a variety of South Texas specialty birds, including the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Tropical Parula, Northern Beardless- Tyrannulet, Audubon’s Oriole, Botteri’s Sparrow, Green Jay, White-tailed Hawk, Olive Sparrow, and many others. This is our most popular field trip, so it fills very quickly. Attendance is limited to 20 birders. Your tour guide is Tom Langschied, The King Ranch’s visitor program manager. Lunch provided.
$170.00Sold Out4/21 5:30am Trip-BIG DAY
5:30 - 3:30 Lunch (not included) will be flexible. This 10-hour tour is fast-paced, challenging, and fun. We understand that seeing and hearing as many species of birds as possible in a single day is not for everyone, but many birders consider it a must during a springtime visit to Corpus Christi. We’ll cover as many spots as time allows, based on where the best birds have been spotted by our team of bird scouters. This adventure may earn participants a spot in 150 Club.
$95.00Sold Out4/21 6am Trip-Barnhart Ranch
The Ranch is situated in the Texas Ecoregion transition zone from the Post Oak Savannah to the Tamaulipan Thornscrub Ecosystems near the town of Berclair. Some of the notable birds are Green Jay, Great Kisskadee, Crested Caracara, and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks to name a few. In addition to the abundant birdlife, the Ranch plays host to a wide diversity of other wildlife including bobcat, coyotes, armadillos, Texas Horned lizards, Indigo snakes, and a multitude of other animals. Box Lunch
$110.004/21 6am Trip-Aransas Refuge
6:00 - 3:30 This refuge north of Rockport is an important stopover for many migrants, while being well known among birders for its exceptional variety of resident and transient birds. ANWR has 93 species of birds documented as having nested on the refuge and the total number of species is now approaching 400. Large tracts of natural coastal prairie and Live Oak mottes provide habitat for the Spring migrants and resident birds. Box lunch provided
$95.004/21 7am Trip-Shorebirds
7:00 - 12:00 The Coastal Bend holds an enviable number and variety of shorebirds. So, this field trip is designed especially for folks with a fascination and curiosity for water birds, but who also may find identifying them difficult. Consider this outing a workshop for honing your skills with a shorebird expert. Master birder, Mel Cooksey, will guide you through the subtle physical and behavior traits of these birds.
$70.004/21 7am Trip-Port A
7:00 - 12:00 Driving on the beach while looking for shorebirds and seabirds is a treat for those that do not live near the ocean. Add in a world class neotropic migrant trap and very birdy freshwater pond and marsh, plus sparrows, ducks, and waders; makes this area fairly easy to see over 100 species in a single day. For a complete description to this field trip go to the Port Aransas tab.
$70.004/21 7:30 Trip-Hazel Bazemore
7:30-11:30 MEET AND LEAVE FROM PARK Best known as an official Hawk Watch spot in the Fall, Hazel Bazemore Park boasts the largest and most diverse convergence of migrating raptors in the United States. But Spring brings color to this park, providing visitors with a robust sampling of South Texas species, including Green Jays, Kiskadees, White-tipped Dove, Couch’s Kingbird and Buff-bellied Hummingbirds. This tour has gifted more than one birder a lifer, when they spotted a Groove-billed Ani!
$35.004/21 8am Walk-Botanical Garden
8:00 - 11:00 Your host to the Birdiest Festival, the Botanical Gardens encompasses 182 acres of shrub, grassland, lake, and pond. You may find a variety of species here and in Spring, anything could be present. As mentioned elsewhere, this site sits along a prime migration corridor – remember to look up for the rivers of birds, swallows, hawks, anhingas and White Pelicans, which commonly pass over in droves on their way north.
$5.004/21 1pm Pres-Warblers
1:00 - 2:00 The flitting colorful gems we know as the warblers of the Americas are one of the main attractions of birding the Texas Coast in Spring. We will touch on the identification and habits of all the warbler of the Texas Coast. We will also examine the strategies of trans-Gulf and circum-Gulf migrants and how these strategies influence which warblers are seen where. We’ll also learn how flight calls can be useful in identifying warblers without actually learning flight calls.
$5.004/21 2:30pm Workshop-HawkWatch
3:30-4:30 Have you ever enjoyed the thrill of a raptor kettle at a hawk-watch site? What’s a kettle? We will tell you. You will also learn how they count all those migrating hawks. Join Dane and Libby Ferrell for a two-hour workshop on how to be a hawk watcher. We will discuss hawk watching techniques such as scanning, counting groups of migrating hawks, and identifying both close and distant flying raptors.
$15.004/22 5:30am Trip-King Ranch
5:30 - 3:30 The Norias Division has vast tracts of habitat that are home to a variety of South Texas specialty birds, including the Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Tropical Parula, Northern Beardless- Tyrannulet, Audubon’s Oriole, Botteri’s Sparrow, Green Jay, White-tailed Hawk, Olive Sparrow, and many others. This is our most popular field trip, so it fills very quickly. Attendance is limited to 20 birders. Your tour guide is Tom Langschied, The King Ranch’s visitor program manager. Lunch provided.
$170.00Sold Out4/22 6am Trip-Lake Choke Park
6:00 - 3:30 This lake is located north of Corpus Christi, at the edge of thorn-brush desert which hosts a somewhat different suite of birds. We may gain entry to the riparian area below the dam as well.
$95.004/22 6am Trip-Guadalupe Delta
6:00 - 3:30 There are no restrooms on this tour. Lunch is at the nearby Dairy Queen (cost not included). This is one of the top five birdiest spots in the nation, based on the annual Christmas Bird Count. More than 350 bird species have been recorded within the wildlife management area. The tour takes visitors through freshwater marshes, where they are likely to spot the Fulvous Whistling-Duck. We will walk along a road through a lush riparian forest within the Guadalupe River floodplain.
$95.004/22 8am Walk-Goose Island
8:00 - 11:00 $5 entrance fee. Pay at the gate. Your park hosts will lead you around this coastal gem’s diverse habitat. According to eBird, visitors and staff have spotted 340 bird species here. The trees should be teeming with spring migrants. You might even see an iconic Whooping Cranes lingering from its winter stay in the area’s coastal wetlands. In 2011, birders flocked to Goose Island to catch a rare glimpse of a Yellow-faced Grassquit.
$0.004/22 6:30 Trip-Knolle Farm
6:30 - 12:30 Local birders have long known about this birding area’s rolling hills and open pastures, a peaceful spot for viewing raptors and sparrows. The former dairy farm stretches for 300 acres along the Nueces River. It’s especially good this time of year, for spotting the Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Green Jay, Great Kisskadee, and Black-crested Titmouse. The enchanting forest of ancient towering oaks, dripping with Spanish moss, creates an idyllic rural setting.
$75.004/22 7am Trip-Chasing Warblers
7:00 - 12:00 For many, this is what the spring migration is all about. Around here, April is an enjoyable, and sometimes exhausting, time to chase migrating land birds that flit and feed throughout the area. We’ve lessened the challenge by narrowing down the places to look. The birders who lead these trips know the most likely hot spots to find the species you want to see.
$70.004/22 6:30 Trip-Rockport/Fulton
6:30 - 3:30 This full-day trip does not include lunch. We will pick up sandwiches at a Subway (or other restaurant) then enjoy a picnic, if the weather is nice. This field trip has it all, beaches, coastal prairie, freshwater ponds and marshes, oak mottes, and so much more. It’s got shorebirds, waders, sparrows, and, of course, neotropical migrants.
$85.004/22 7:30 Trip-Fennessey Ranch
7:30-11:30 MEET AND LEAVE FROM RANCH Our half-day trip will cover the most primitive part of the ranch, encompassing prairie, riparian wetland and marsh habitats. Expect to see resident Bald Eagles. Other birds you’re likely to see include the Green Jay, Roadrunner and Painted Bunting.
$55.004/22 8am Walk-Botanical Garden
8:00 - 11:00 Your Birdiest Festival host and organizer is the Botanical Gardens, which spans 182 acres of shrub and grassland, with a lake and a pond. You may find a variety of bird species here year- round, and in spring, anything could be present. As mentioned earlier, this site sits along a prime migration corridor, so simply look skyward for swallows, hawks, anhingas, and White Pelicans that commonly pass over on their way northward.
$5.004/22 1pm Pres-ID Challenges
Many species of birds on the Texas Coast are a challenge to separate. Sure, no one can mess up the ID of a Roseate Spoonbill or a male Painted Bunting, but what about some of the look- alike vultures, grackles, cormorants and flycatchers. This program aims to stock your birding toolbox and help you identify a number of these species with confidence in the field. Learn some quick tips that the experts use to make those amazing fast identifications.
$5.004/22 2:30 Work-Finding Birds
2:30-4:30 How can I find birds near me? If you are a new birder or new to the area, it can be tough to find places to bird or find out about rarities quickly. We will share some pointers and resources for finding birds and birding hot spots near you, or to locations you plan to travel. This will include websites, apps, and range maps. We will also discuss ways to ID, report, and keep your lists.
$15.004/22 6pm Keynote David Sibley
In What It’s Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. David Sibley’s exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author. For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized.
$15.004/22 6pm Keynote Extra Guest
In What It’s Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. David Sibley’s exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author. For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized.
$20.004/23 6am Trip-Barnhart Ranch
The Ranch is situated in the Texas Ecoregion transition zone from the Post Oak Savannah to the Tamaulipan Thornscrub Ecosystems near the town of Berclair. Some of the notable birds are Green Jay, Great Kisskadee, Crested Caracara, and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks to name a few. In addition to the abundant birdlife, the Ranch plays host to a wide diversity of other wildlife including bobcat, coyotes, armadillos, Texas Horned lizards, Indigo snakes, and a multitude of other animals. Box Lunch
$110.004/23 6am Trip-Aransas Refuge
6:00 - 3:30 This refuge north of Rockport is an important stopover for many migrants, while being well known among birders for its exceptional variety of resident and transient birds. The refuge has documented 93 nesting species and nearly 400 birds overall. Wear protective clothing, and bring bug spray and sunscreen. This adventure includes some light hiking on mostly level ground, so wear comfortable shoes. We’ll provide lunch, which includes a vegetarian option.
$95.00Sold Out4/23 6am Trip-Guadalupe Delta
6:00 - 3:30 There are no restrooms on this tour. This is one of the top five birdiest spots in the nation, based on the annual Christmas Bird Count. More than 350 bird species have been recorded within the wildlife management area. The tour takes visitors through freshwater marshes, where they are likely to spot the Fulvous Whistling-Duck. We will walk along a road through a lush riparian forest within the Guadalupe River floodplain.
$95.00Sold Out4/23 6:30 Trip-Rockport/Fulton
6:30 - 3:30 This full-day trip does not include lunch. We will pick up sandwiches at a Subway (or other restaurant) then enjoy a picnic, if the weather is nice. This field trip has it all, beaches, coastal prairie, freshwater ponds and marshes, oak mottes, and so much more. It’s got shorebirds, waders, sparrows, and, of course, neotropical migrants.
$85.004/23 6:30 Trip-Knolle Farm
6:30 - 12:30 Local birders have long known about this birding area’s rolling hills and open pastures, a peaceful spot for viewing raptors and sparrows. The former dairy farm stretches for 300 acres along the Nueces River. It’s especially good this time of year, for spotting the Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Green Jay, Great Kisskadee, and Black-crested Titmouse. The enchanting forest of ancient towering oaks, dripping with Spanish moss, creates an idyllic rural setting.
$75.004/23 7am Trip-Shorebirds
7:00 - 12:00 The Coastal Bend holds an enviable number and variety of shorebirds. So, this field trip is designed especially for folks with a fascination and curiosity for water birds, but who also may find identifying them difficult. Consider this outing a workshop for honing your skills with a shorebird expert. Master birder, Mel Cooksey, will guide you through the subtle physical and behavior traits of these birds.
$70.004/23 7 Trip- Birding w/ Sibley
7:00 - 12:00 David Allen Sibley is the author and illustrator of the series of successful guides to nature that bear his name, including the New York Times best seller, The Sibley Guide to Birds. He has contributed art and articles to Smithsonian Science, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Birding, Birding, Birdwatching, and North American Birds. He is the recipient of the Roger Tory Peterson Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Birding Association.
$110.00Sold Out4/23 7:30 Trip-Pollywog Pond
7:30-11:30 MEET AND LEAVE FROM PONDS U-Drive Field Trips. More detailed directions and maps available at Registration booth when you pick up your packets. This field trip boasts lush vegetation and marshy areas that consistently hold a remarkable variety of birds in any season. Least Grebes are here year-round. Green Kingfishers are known residents. Watch for unusual strays here, such as Masked Duck and Piratic Flycatcher. According to eBird 325 species have been found at Pollywog.
$35.004/23 8am Trip-Skimmer
8:00 - 12:00 This tour departs from Fulton Harbor in Rockport-Fulton, which is about an hour’s drive from the Botanical Gardens. Transportation to the harbor is not provided. This is a fun and relaxing tour at the end of the festival. If home is north of Corpus Christi, it may even be on your way. Join Capt. Tommy Moore on the Skimmer for this comfortable four-hour spectacular. You will visit four rookery islands for colonial waterbirds to observe their magnificent spring rituals.
$85.004/23 8am Walk-Blucher Park
8:00 - 11:00 Each April weekend, members of the Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi lead bird walks at this little jewel of an urban park. Records of these walks beginning in 2002 total 183 species. If you are startled by what seems like a giant moth flushing close in front of you, try not to scream. It’s just a Chuck-will’s-widow and they do that to us all the time in the Spring.
$5.004/23 8am Walk-Goose Island
8:00 - 11:00 $5.00 Entrance Fee – Pay at the Park. Your park hosts will lead you around the varied habitat in this gem of a coastal park. Per eBird, 340 species of birds have been recorded here. Migrants should be teeming at this time. Lingering Whooping Cranes are a possibility in the coastal wetlands around the park. In 2011, birders flocked here to see a Yellow-faced Grassquit. If you like, stick around after the hike and watch the feeders or explore more of the park and adjacent areas.
$0.004/23 10am Photo Workshop
10:00 - 12:00 TBD
$15.004/23 1pm Pres-Native Plants
1:00 - 2:00 Food, water, and shelter for your landscape can make a huge difference in the number and variety of birds you attract. Learn how to entice specific birds to your yard using native plants, and which birds you are likely to see in South Texas.
$5.004/23 3pm Pres: Whooping Crane
3:00-4:00 The Texas Coastal Bend is the Winter home of the only naturally occurring flock of wild Whooping Cranes in the world. Learn the factors that have impacted the steady recovery of this endangered species, while discovering the efforts focused on overcoming the challenges they face. For decades, people, institutions, and government agencies have worked to minimize negative impacts on the cranes. Hear what’s left to be done and how you can help.
$5.004/24 6:30 Trip-Fulton/Hilltop
6:30 - 11:30 This industrial corridor is not easy to bird for those not familiar with it. It is mostly refineries on one side and a wonderful saltwater marsh with some open water on the other side. The habitat at nearby Hilltop Community Center could not be more different. The mile and a quarter wide, paved hiking trail goes thru grassy areas, scrub-thorn brush, and is treed along the creek.
$70.004/24 7am Trip-Texas Scramble
7:00 - 12:00 A scramble is a fieldtrip designed to capitalize on the most coveted birds seen during preceding fieldtrips throughout the festival. If there is a fallout, the trip will concentrate on neotropical migrants. If a particular rare bird was spotted earlier, we’ll hunt for it. If you need a certain species for your life list, let the tour guide know.
$70.00Sold Out4/24 7am Trip-Chasing Warblers
7:00 - 12:00 For many, this is what the spring migration is all about. Around here, April is an enjoyable, and sometimes exhausting, time to chase migrating land birds that flit and feed throughout the area. We’ve lessened the challenge by narrowing down the places to look. The birders who lead these trips know the most likely hot spots to find the species you want to see.
$70.004/24 8am Trip-Skimmer Boat
8:00 - 12:00 This tour departs from Fulton Harbor in Rockport-Fulton, which is about an hour’s drive from the Botanical Gardens. Transportation to the harbor is not provided. This is a fun and relaxing tour at the end of the festival. If home is north of Corpus Christi, it may even be on your way. Join Capt. Tommy Moore on the Skimmer for this comfortable four-hour spectacular. You will visit four rookery islands for colonial waterbirds to observe their magnificent spring rituals.
$85.004/24 8am Walk-Blucher Park
8:00 - 11:00 NO TRANSPORTATION TO SITE. Each April weekend, members of the Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi lead bird walks through this little urban jewel. According to records kept since 2002, visitors have spotted 183 species. You might be startled by what appears to be giant moth that flushes from underfoot. Try not to scream. This happens nearly every spring, when the Chuck-will's-widows inhabit the park.
$5.004/24 8am Walk-Botanical Garden
8:00 - 11:00 Your Birdiest Festival host and organizer is the Botanical Gardens, which spans 182 acres of shrub and grassland, with a lake and a pond. You may find a variety of bird species here year-round, and in spring, anything could be present. As mentioned earlier, this site sits along a prime migration corridor, so simply look skyward for swallows, hawks, anhingas, and White Pelicans that commonly pass over on their way northward.
$5.00Post-Trip - Upper Texas Coast
April 25-28. Our first ever Post-Trip will be to the upper Texas coast that is legendary for songbird migration to places like High Island. It is also great for shorebirds. A day in the pineywoods should produce several specialties. The lodging for this trip is the Oyster Bayou Hunt Club that includes breakfast and sack lunch. The hunt club is only four miles from the entrance of Anahauc NWR. The leader is David Sarkozi.
$850.00Sold OutPost-Trip - Rio Grande Valley
April 25-28. We are pleased to again offer a four-day pre-trip this year to the Rio Grande Valley, home to many specialty birds that can only be found in deep South Texas. Last year this trip produced 193 species and found most of the target species. Our lodging for this trip is the Alamo Inn, a birder- centric lodge in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley.
$850.00
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