General Birding Resources

Birding Code of Ethics (American Birding Association) View Here

Birding Tips for Photographers (National Audubon Society) View Article

What binoculars are best for observing birds? Cornell's Lab of Ornithology offers useful information on selecting binoculars for birding. Also, see this article on choosing binoculars.

Nine Tips for Beginning Bird Watchers. Cornell's Lab of Ornithology provides some useful tips for beginners.

Where to place your bird nest boxes? -- Cornell's Lab of Ornithology provides a concise description of nesting and habitat requirements for cavity-nesting birds, along with links to their species accounts.

Being a Responsible Bird Lover

Worth Reading

• Reducing Birding Impacts on Buildings

• ABC Bird-Friendly Building Guide

• US Fish and Wildlife Service -
  Preventing Bird Strikes at Home

• You Can Save Birds

• Lights Out Salem - Light pollution fact sheet

• ABA Birding Ethics

Local / Regional Birding / Wildlife Resources

• Ankeny Hill Nature Center

• Neighborhood Naturalist

• Chintimini Wildlife Center

National Resources

• American Birding Association

• American Bird Conservancy 

• American Ornithologists' Union

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird
  online database of bird observations

• North American Bluebird Society

• National Audubon Society

• Dark Sky --Light Pollution Awareness

State Resources

• Audubon Society of Corvallis

• Audubon Society of Lincoln City

• Birding Alliance of Oregon

• Cascades Raptor Center

• East Cascades Audubon/Oregon Birding Locations Map

• Institute of Applied Ecology

• Oregon Department of Wildlife: Living with Wildlife

• Oregon Department of Wildlife: Wildlife Rehabilitation --

• Oregon Birds Online Message Board (OBOL)

• Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation

• Oregon Birding Association
  (formerly Oregon Field Ornithologists)

• The Willamette Valley Birders' Message Board

Birding Festivals

Some of the best festivals take place at or near national wildlife refuges

It’s hard to beat a bird festival for a fantastic nature show. Some of the best bird fests occur at or near national wildlife refuges. That’s unsurprising, given that these public lands are such birdy places.

National wildlife refuges, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have resident bird experts and dedicated wildlife viewing areas.

Some of the best festivals take place at or near national wildlife refuges.

 Bird Festival Planner information courtesy US Fish & Wildlife Service.

JANUARY
Wings of Winter
Buchanan, TN
The festival traditionally includes field trips to the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge and the Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge. Take part in workshops on wildlife photography, beginning birding, and journaling/poetry writing about birding.

Festival of the Cranes
Decatur, AL
See wintering sandhill cranes, whooping cranes, and white pelicans at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama. Wheeler Refuge boasts the state’s largest population of wintering ducks. Enjoy workshops, nature walks, live raptors, and kids’ activities.

Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway 
Chico, CA
You can see thousands of birds lift off from Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and Delevan National Wildlife Refuge. Some years, a field trip to Colusa National Wildlife Refuge is also included.

Winter Wildlife Festival
Virginia Beach, VA
Cap off a month-long celebration of coastal wildlife with three days of guided tours. These include trips to Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge.  

Sparrow Fest 
Marble Falls, TX
The central Texas Hill Country is a great place to see America’s native sparrows in late winter. The annual Sparrow Fest is hosted by the Friends of Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. Visit the refuge and learn about the 20-plus native species regularly seen in central Texas.

FEBRUARY
Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival
Cape Canaveral, FL
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is a field trip destination for this annual bird festival, billed as one of the country’s largest.

San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival
Vallejo, CA
The annual festival celebrates the more than a million shorebirds, hundreds of thousands of ducks, hawks, and other wildlife that pass through the Bay Area. It traditionally includes field trips to the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

San Diego Bird Festival 
San Diego, CA
The festival traditionally offers field trips to San Diego National Wildlife Refuge, San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge. Workshops, sea bird trips, and cultural activities are also featured.

Winter Wings Bird Festival 
Klamath Falls, OR
The three-day festival offers visitors the chance to visit one or more of the nearby Klamath Basin Refuges — Lower Klamath, Upper Klamath, Tule Lake, Klamath Marsh, Bear Valley, and Clear Lake — as well as Crater Lake National Park and other area birding hotspots.

Whooping Crane Festival
Port Aransas, TX
About 90 minutes from Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Port Aransas bills itself as “America’s Birdiest Small Coastal City.” Festival-goers have a chance to see cranes in their winter habitat.

Florida Scrub-Jay Festival 
Volusia County, FL
Spring 2022 
The festival celebrates the only bird species unique to the Sunshine State. Florida scrub-jays are found at Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Enjoy live music, guided nature walks, live animal displays, children’s crafts and environmental exhibits. 

APRIL
FeatherFest 
Galveston, TX
The festival traditionally includes field trips to Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, and Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.

Harney County Migratory Bird Festival 
Burns, OR
Celebrate birds’ spring migration through southeast Oregon’s Harney Basin. Hundreds of species of birds pass through the high desert area. Nearby Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is a traditional field trip destination. Enjoy tours, workshops, and other events.

“Ding” Darling Day
Fort Myers, FL
This annual conservation festival, previously held in October at J. N. “Ding’’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel, was rescheduled and moved to Fort Myers to better serve local communities and draw a wider audience. Events include bird walks, bring-your-own bike tours and family activities.

Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival
Hoquiam, WA
Each spring, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds pause on their way north to rest and feed along the Washington coast and in the Grays Harbor estuary. Some of these Arctic-bound shorebirds come from as far south as Argentina, making them among the world’s longest-distance travelers. Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge and other local birding hotspots traditionally have a role in the festival. 

MAY
Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival
Homer, AK
This large Alaska wildlife-viewing festival honors the spring migration of shorebirds through Kachemak Bay. The Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges and the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge sponsor the festival.

Horicon Marsh Bird Festival
Marsh Haven Nature Center, WI  
Enjoy guided birding hikes, bus tours, paddles, bird-banding demos, special exhibits, and kids’ activities. Horicon Marsh Bird Club, Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and Marsh Haven Nature Center sponsor the festival.

The Biggest Week in American Birding
Northwest Ohio
Organized by Black Swamp Bird Observatory, the festival coincides with the peak of spring bird migration in the state’s Lake Erie marsh region. The festival traditionally features field trips to Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and Magee Marsh Wildlife Area.

Great Salt Lake Bird Festival
Farmington, UT Field trips will have attendance caps and will be self-driven to protect the safety of attendees, volunteers, and partners. Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is among the festival’s traditional field trip destinations. The event headquarters are at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area on the edge of the Great Salt Lake.

World Migratory Bird Day
The United States and Canada traditionally celebrate the second Saturday in May as World Migratory Bird Day. The annual event celebrates the migration of nearly 350 migratory birds between North American nesting habitats and non-breeding grounds in Latin America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Many wildlife refuges take part in the celebrations.

Festival of the Birds
Detroit Lakes, MN   
Detroit Lakes is in a transition zone between tallgrass prairie, northern hardwood, and conifer forest, which means there are many kinds of birds. On-site tours include trips to Hamden Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge, and other conservation areas. The festival will kick off with birding by boat.  

Tualatin River Bird Festival
Sherwood, OR 
Health conditions permitting, this free festival will resume its usual in-person, family-friendly format. Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge and its Friends group plan the annual event.  

Down East Spring Birding Festival
Trescott, ME
The spring migration and breeding season festival includes guided hikes, boat tours, and presentations, all led by knowledgeable local guides. This festival traditionally includes field trips to Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, an event sponsor. The Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife named the festival one of the country’s best.   

SEPTEMBER
Arctic Refuge Virtual Bird Fest  
Alaska
More than 200 bird species have been recorded at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Birds that breed there have ranges that reach five other continents and all 50 states. This virtual festival connects people across the globe to this remote yet iconic landscape.

Wings Over Willapa Festival
Long Beach, WA
The festival includes tours, presentations, and workshops celebrating birds and Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. Field trips traditionally go to Leadbetter Point, Long Island, other refuge units, Cape Disappointment State Park, Willapa Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. 

OCTOBER
Ridgefield Birdfest and Bluegrass
Ridgefield, WA
Celebrate fall and local wildlife with Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and Friends of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. The annual festival highlights the refuge, nature, and the region’s cultural history. In past years, events have included bird shows, music, hikes, family arts and crafts, and educational activities.

John L. Borom Alabama Coastal BirdFest      
Spanish Fort, AL
This Gulf Coast event traditionally includes guided birding tours at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama and Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi. 

NOVEMBER
Festival of the Cranes
Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, NM 
Thousands of sandhill cranes and snow geese overwinter at picturesque Bosque del Apache Refuge, about an hour’s drive south of Albuquerque. This famous bird fest celebrates the birds’ arrival and draws visitors worldwide. The festival, hosted by the Friends of Bosque del Apache Refuge, includes workshops, tours, and wildlife photography lessons.

Fall Flight Festival
Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge, NM
From 8 a.m. to noon each Sunday, visitors can take a self-guided tour of wetlands and bird habitat along a 4 ½ mile wildlife drive normally closed to the public. Volunteer roving naturalists are on hand with spotting scopes to help identify birds, including waterfowl, eagles, and sandhill cranes. The annual festival is co-hosted by the Friends of Las Vegas Refuge.  

DECEMBER
Eagle Days
Forest City, MO
Celebrate the annual Eagle Days at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge. Drive the auto tour route and visit interpretive and outreach stations. See eagles, ducks, geese, and trumpeter swans.