Participants in the 6TH Laredo Birding Festival — including birders from across Texas and the United States, and some from other countries — are poised to discover the avian beauty of the rich and diverse eco-system of the Río Grande.
The festival, which headquarters at historic La Posada Hotel downtown, runs from February 7 to 10.
Laredo is home to hundreds of species of local and migratory birds, among the most prized the White-collared Seedeater, Scaled Quail, Gray Hawk, Audubon’s and Altamira orioles, Green Parakeets, Muscovy Duck, Red-billed Pigeon, Clay-colored Thrush, and many more. Laredo is described as the only place in the U.S. to have four species of Kingfisher: the Ringed, Belted, Green, and Amazon.
Birders will have the opportunity to select from a variety of full-day scenic trips. Escorted by professional field guides and members of the local Monte Mucho Audubon Society, birders can deepen their birding knowledge of South Texas, and explore areas along Laredo’s river front, creek systems, nature trails, and private ranchland.
Carefully selected public green spaces and private ranchland will provide visitors the chance to visit sites that have never been birded.
The Laredo Birding Festival includes field trips, special talks and this year, an evening of fun with “Birding Trivia.”
Festival favorites include “Bird ’til you Drop, Webb County” (Thursday only), “Bird ’til you Drop — Zapata County” (Friday only), and two different kayak trips, “Floating Under Flyways I & II: Birding on the Rio Grande” (Friday and Saturday only).
Participating ranches will provide an even greater diversity of scenic getaways that can be explored during the three-day 2018 Laredo Birding Festival.
In 2010, and again in 2016, a particular celebrity of note was the female Amazon Kingfisher, a \rare beauty and a first North American sighting. Both appearances were at Las Palmas Nature Park, Zacate Creek’s intersection with the Rio Grande.
The festival’s keynote speakers include Bryan Calk on “Beyond Birds: Other Unique Wildlife to Look for in South Texas, on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Tesoro Room of La Posada Hotel; and Dr. J. Drew Lanham on “Watching Birds with the Right Brain — Confessions of a Lapsed Lister” on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Tesoro Room.
The festival is sponsored by the City of Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau, Monte Mucho Audubon Society, and the Río Grande International Study Center.
For further information on accommodations, field trips, and registration, go to www.rgisc.org
