Welcome to the 30th Annual Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival!

The Festival will offer over 120 field trips for the five days, keynote speakers, afternoon presentations, a rousing trade show (called Birders Bazaar), a whopping silent auction, a souvenir booth, and fabulous art and photographs from local students. Come reunite with birders from across the country - seeing old friends and making new ones. Be sure to plan your trip to arrive on Tuesday to attend the Welcome Reception Tuesday evening. Music, noshes, and sips!

Schedule of Events

Morning Trips

Aplomado Alley - Old Port Isabel Road
Fee $75 / Thursday, Friday, Saturday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Arroyo Colorado Unit - Tpwd Wildlife Management Area With Ernesto Garcia-Ortega
Fee $60 / Thursday, Friday / 6:30am - 12:00pm

Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park
Fee $80 / Friday, Saturday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Big Day Vans
Fee $135 / Saturday / 6:00am - 4:30pm

Bird Banding - Quinta Mazatlan With Mark Conway
Fee $50 / Sunday / 7:00am - 12:00pm

Birding For New Birders With Hannah Buschert & Erik Ostrander
Fee $75 / Wednesday, Friday, Sunday / 7:00am - 1:00pm

Birds And Battlefields With Jon Dunn
Fee $75 / Sunday / 7:00am - 1:00pm

Birds, Resacas, Lunch! With Dave Irons
Fee $100 / Wednesday, Friday / 7:00am - 2:30pm

Boca Chica - The Tip Of Texas
Fee $75/ Thursday, Saturday, Sunday / 6:30am - 1:00pm

Breakfast Birding At The Cactus Café On Cactus Creek Ranch
Fee $100 / Sunday / 6:30am - 11:30pm

Brush Country Sparrows and More
Fee $80 / Wednesday, Sunday / 6:00am - 1:00pm

Butterflies - Rgv Jewels
Fee $75 / Wednesday, Friday, Sunday 9:00am - 3:00pm

Cactus Creek Ranch
Fee $85 / Thursday, Friday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Colley's "Private" Island With Scarlet And George Colley
Fee $ 135/ Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday / 6:00am - 1:00pm

Easy (But Not Less!) Birding Tours
Fee $ 75/ Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday / 7:00am - 1:00pm

Edinburg Scenic Wetlands And Hidalgo Pumphouse
Fee $85 / Wednesday, Friday / 7:00am - 1:00pm

Estero Llano Grande State Park
Fee $85 / Friday, Sunday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Flycatcher Workshop At Sabal Palm Sanctuary With Cin-Ty Lee
Fee $110 / Thursday / 6:30am - 1:30pm

Gray Hawk Natural History Tour With Mike Stewart
Fee $95 / Sunday / 7:00am - 12:30pm

Harris's Hawk Natural History Tour With Brooke Poplin
Fee $95 / Friday / 7:00am - 12:30pm

King Ranch Norias
Fee $ 150/ Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday / 6:00am - 1:00pm

Kleberg County Wetlands
Fee $100 / Wednesday, Thursday / 6:00am - 4:30pm

Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge - Bahia Grande Unit
Fee $75 / Wednesday, Saturday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge - Lakeside Drive
Fee $75 / Wednesday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge - Steve Thompson Wildlife Drive
Fee $75 / Thursday, Friday, Saturday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Laguna Madre Bay Cruise And Los Fresnos Nature Park
Fee $100 / Saturday / 7:00am - 1:00pm

Learning To Listen With Michael O'brien And Louise Zemaitis
Fee $75 / Wednesday, Saturday, / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Masterclass Birding With Jon Dunn, Field Guide Author
Fee $ 85/ Wednesday, Saturday / 7:00am To 1:00pm

National Butterfly Center & Anzalduas Park
Fee $ 85/ Thursday, Sunday / 7:00am - 1:00pm

National Butterfly Center & Pixie Preserve
Fee $85 / Friday / 7:00am - 1:00pm

Port Mansfield - Willacy County Wandering
Fee $95 / Friday, Saturday / 6:30am - 3:00pm

Raptor Banding
Fee $85 / Saturday / 7:30am - 12:00pm

Rarity Roundup!
Fee $100 / Sunday / 6:30am - 1:00pm

Rio Grande Pontoon And Quinta Mazatlan
Fee $100 / Thursday, Saturday / 6:00am - 1:00pm

Sabal Palm Sanctuary
Fee $80 / Thursday, Saturday / 6:30am - 1:30pm

Salt Lakes And Brush Country - Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge With Stephanie Bilodeau, Usfws Biologist
Fee $75 / Wednesday / 6:30am - 1:00pm

Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
Fee $75 / Thursday, Saturday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Santa Margarita Ranch
Fee $110 / Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday / 5:00am - 2:00pm

Shorebirding Made Easy!
Fee $80 / Thursday, Friday / 6:00am - 1:00pm

South Padre Island Birding, Nature, And Alligator Sanctuary
Fee $80 / Wednesday, Saturday / 6:00am -1:00pm

Southmost Preserve - The Nature Conservancy
Fee $75 / Thursday, Friday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Upper Rio Grande - Salineño And Falcon State Park
Fee $90/ Thursday, Friday / 5:00am - 2:00pm

Valley Raptors Expedition
Fee $95 / Wednesday / 6:30am - 4:00pm

Waterbird Conservation On The Arroyo And Laguna Madre With Justin Leclaire, Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program
Fee $100 / Thursday, Friday / 6:30am - 12:30pm

Where The Locals Bird - Hidden Gems
Fee $90
Cameron County: Wednesday, Friday, Sunday / 6:30am - 1:00pm
Hidalgo County: Wednesday, Saturday / 6:30am - 1:00pm

Afternoon/Evening Trips

Afternoon Birding: Just Find Water!
Fee $65 / 2:00pm - 5:30pm
North Harlingen: Wednesday, Thursday
South Harlingen: Friday, Saturday

Parrot Palooza!
Fee $50 / Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday / 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Campfire Chat And Critter Walk At Cactus Creek Ranch
Fee $85 / Thursday / 5:00pm - 9:00pm

Night Hike At Estero Llano Grande State Park
Fee $60 / Thursday / 5:00pm - 7:30pm

Sunset Shenanigans At Resaca De La Palma State Park With Land Sea And Sky & Kowa Optics
Fee $60 / Friday / 5:30pm - 9:00pm

Hugh Ramsey Nature Park - Harlingen World Birding Center With Local Volunteers
Free / Saturday, Sunday / 8:00am & 10:00am

San Benito Wetlands With Local Volunteers
Free / Thursday, Friday / 8:00am & 10:00am

Phototrack

Laguna Seca Ranch
Fee $160 Per Session, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 6:15am-10:30am Or 2:15pm-5:30pm

Sunsets, Birds, And More! With Clay Taylor, Swarovski Inc.
Fee $60 / Wednesday, Friday 3:30pm - 9:00pm

Martin Refuge
Fee $165 / Thursday, Saturday 7:00am - 12:45pm

Digiscoping From The Deck With Clay Taylor, Swarovski Optik Ltd.
Fee $20 / Thursday 2:00pm -5:00pm

Photographing Shorebirds With Paul Denman
Fee $50 / Friday 6:30am - 10:30am

Evening Photography At The South Texas Ecotourism Center With Ruth Hoyt
Fee $50 / Friday 3:30pm - 6:30pm

Getting Close To Things With Wings Hands-On Close-Up Field Trip With Melody Lytle
Fee $50 / Saturday 7:00am - 11:00am

Keynote Speakers

Flycatcher Workshop With Cin-Ty Lee
Fee $20 Or Free With Kiskadee Pass / Wednesday 6pm

100 Years Of Coastal Conservation And How People Can Support Coastal Birds With Yvette Stewart
Fee $20 Or Free With Kiskadee Pass / Friday 6pm

Home Range Dynamics And Juvenile Dispersal Of Gray Hawks (Buteo Plagiatus) In The Lower Rio Grande Valley With Mike Stewart
Fee $20 Or Free With Kiskadee Pass / Saturday 6pm

Afternoon Seminars

The Beauty Of Terns With Cameron Cox
Fee $15 Or Free With Kiskadee Pass / Wednesday 2:00pm -3:00pm

Conservation Around The World
Free / Friday 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Photography For Conservation And Education With Krisztina Scheeff
Fee $15 Or Free With Kiskadee Pass / Saturday 2:00pm -3:00pm

Into The Realm Of Harris's Hawks: Exploring Social Dynamics In South Texas With Brooke Poplin
Fee $15 Or Free With Kiskadee Pass / Saturday 3:30pm - 4:30pm

Phototrack Seminars

Setting Up An Outdoors Photo Studio (For Birds And More) With Ruth Hoyt
Fee $15 Thursday 1:00pm - 2:00pm

When And Where To Photograph Birds On South Padre Island With Paul Denman
Fee $15 /Thursday 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Digiscoping Demystified With Clay Taylor, Swarovski Optik Ltd.
Fee $15 / Thursday 3:30-5:00pm

Working With Birds In Photoshop With Esperanza S Chapa
Fee $15 / Friday 1pm - 2:00pm

Getting Close To Things With Wings (Close-Up Photography) With Melody Lytle
Fee $15 / Friday 2:30pm - 3:30pm

Lightroom Basics For Bird Photography With Ruth Hoyt
Fee $15 / Saturday 2:00pm - 3:00pm

Special Events

Welcome Kick-Off Reception
Free With Registration/Tuesday 6:00pm - 8:00 Pm

Kiskadee Kordials
Free With Registration/Thursday, Friday, Saturday 5:00pm -6:00pm

Birders Bazaar Trade Show at Kiskadee Ballroom/Harlingen Convention Center
Free! Open To The Public/Thursday-Sunday (12:00pm- 6:00pm, Sunday Until 4:00pm)

Legends Of Conservation Gala at Kiskadee Auditorium /Harlingen Convention Center
Fee $100 / Thursday6:00pm- 8:00pm

Silent Auction
Thursday-Saturday, Trade Show Hours/Bidding Closes 4:30pm On Saturday

Free Shows/Activities For Children And Families

Sky King Falconry
Free / Thursday-Saturday, Trade Show Hours With Outdoor Presentations At 1pm & 3pm

Live Birds Of Prey Flight Show
Free / Thursday - Sunday 1pm & 3pm In The Pavilion Area

Children's Art Writing And Photo Winners On Display In Birder's Bazzar
Free / Thursday-Saturday, Trade Show Hours

Children's Nature Nook
Free / Saturday & Sunday 10am - 4:00pm

Art/Writing/Photo/Contest Awards
Free / Sunday 1pm - 3:30pm

Date: November 8-12, 2023

Location:
Harlingen Convention Center,
701 Harlingen Heights Dr.,
Harlingen, TX 78552.

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