‘Everyone’s a birder’ as popular Morro Bay Bird Festival returns. What’s on the schedule?
Nestled into a nook of Morro Rock, a peregrine falcon shifted out of the shadows and poked his head into the sun — revealing itself to a group of hushed birdwatchers hoping to catch a glimpse of the once-endangered bird of prey.
The bird-watching group had signed up to tour the area as part of the 28th annual Morro Bay Bird Festival, which started Thursday and lasts through Monday.
“It is the best bird festival in the world,” festival board president Chris Cameron said. “It’s beautiful weather, beautiful birding, it’s a beautiful town built for hospitality.”
How to attend the Morro Bay Bird Festival
The Morro Bay Bird Festival started on Thursday and lasts through Monday, Cameron said.
About 750 people had registered for the event as of Thursday, with a few hundred volunteers signed up to work at the event. Cameron expected about 1,000 people would flock to the festival this year, he said.
The Morro Bay Bird Festival features about 250 events across the county led by 141 experts.
Events include bird walks, kayak trips, classes in nature journaling and photography, and even destination field trips to the Carrizo Plain and Point Buchon, the website said.
Registration for one day of the festival costs $98, while registration for the full weekend costs $186, the website said. Of the offered events, 192 were included with the cost of registration and 65 included an extra fee.
The bird festival will also host a free family day at the Morro Bay Community Center on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Events include nature journaling, owl pellet dissection and watercolor painting.
To register for the festival, stop by the Morro Bay Community Center at 1001 Kennedy Way on Friday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. or Saturday and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Birding at Morro Rock
As brown pelicans glided on the breeze, a cluster of birdwatchers raised their binoculars to watch a flock of black-faced cormorants socialize at Morro Rock.
Birding podcasters Erik Ostrander and Hannah Buschert co-led the bird walk for beginners around Morro Rock early Thursday morning.
“We love people and getting people engaged with birds,” Ostrander said. “You get to show somebody something they’ve never seen before, and that’s special.”
Morro Bay is a stop on the Pacific Flyway, a migration route for birds that stretches from Alaska to Patagonia, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This makes the seaside town an excellent place for birding, Cameron said.
With good weather and a variety of habitat, “there’s something for every bird here,” he said.
The Morro Coast Audubon Society spotted about 187 different bird species in Morro Bay during the Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 14. This number could change, as the Audubon Society is still working to finalize the count, Cameron said.
Morro Rock is home to a once-endangered bird: the peregrine falcon.
The bird was listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1970, after the pesticide DDT caused falcons to lay eggs with thin shells that didn’t properly protect the embryo, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The peregrine falcon population rebounded when DDT was banned. After significant restoration efforts, two mating pairs of peregrine falcons now live on Morro Rock, Cameron said.
Last year, each pair of falcons hatched three babies.
“This is a very, very special, almost sacred place for the falcons,” he said.
Ostrander said he was excited to share the joy of birding with newcomers. He advised new birders to grab a pair of binoculars and get started.
“If you enjoy it — the more you do it, the better you’ll get.” Ostrander said. “Everyone’s a birder. If you go out and enjoy birds and look at birds, you’re a birder.”
