FeatherFest 2022

Galveston Birding with Kevin Karlson
April 21 @ 8:00 am – 12:30 pm
We’re happy to welcome back Kevin Karlson for FeatherFest 2022! You’ll enjoy this trip that could go anywhere on the Island based on where the birds are! Kevin will decide the destinations depending on what he’s scouted out before the festival. He’ll check out Corps Woods, Lafitte’s Cove, the East End Flats, Sportsman Road and sites all the way to San Luis Pass so that he’ll be able to take you to all the best birding spots on the Island.

Coastal Birding Workshop & Field Trip
April 21 @ 12:30 pm – 4:45 pm
Birders will find this workshop/field trip combo the perfect introduction to coastal birding. During the workshop, your guides will give a brief discussion about the diversity of species, as well as various techniques to identify birds on the Upper Texas Coast. We will then board our bus and proceed to the East End Lagoon Nature Preserve beach area where you’ll see Black Skimmer, American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, and many species of shorebirds, gulls, terns, sandpipers, plovers, and more. Stops along the way will highlight birds preferring marsh habitat.

Galveston Bay Birding, the Flip Side #1
April 21 @ 1:00 pm – 4:30 pm
This is your opportunity to explore “the other side” of Galveston Bay. We head over the causeway bridge to explore birding areas on the Mainland side of Galveston Bay in the Tiki Island, Texas City, and La Marque areas. One of our best kept secrets and most under explored areas, participants will be surprised at the number and variety of birds seen on this outing. Birding locations may include some privately-owned land with fresh water ponds that provide easy observation of migrating shorebirds and ducks. American Golden Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and Wilson’s Phalarope are often seen at this location during migration.
Additional dates/times may be available, check online for specific registration.

Songbirds on the West End #1
April 21 @ 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
This field trip searches for the spring songbird richness found on West Galveston Island, with a special emphasis on warblers, vireos, tanagers, orioles, grosbeaks and buntings. Guests will walk through Lafitte’s Cove Nature Preserve, Galveston’s crown jewel for migrating songbirds. Several species of vireos and warblers were seen in the oak mott last spring. Freshwater ponds at the entrance to the preserve provide up-close views of migrating shorebirds, ducks, both species of dowitchers and yellowlegs, Solitary and Pectoral Sandpipers, Marsh…
Additional dates/times may be available, check online for specific registration.

Greet the Dawn at Virginia Point
April 22 @ 5:30 am – 11:30 am
During this field trip we will visit some areas not normally publicly accessible. Virginia Point is a historic peninsula location across Galveston Bay comprising the wonderful 3,000 acres of mainland bay margin which SCENIC GALVESTON, Inc. (SG) has acquired for permanent conservation protection. Visitors coming into or out of Galveston on I-45 (the O’Quinn Estuary Corridor) see the results of this non-profit’s work on both flanks, and those areas are open to the public.

Galveston Island Birding with Greg Miller
April 22 @ 6:30 am – 3:00 pm
Greg is so much fun to bird with that we decided to add a trip where he will concentrate on just Galveston Island! We’ll let Greg decide where he wants to go depending on what he’s scouted out before the festival. He’ll check out Corps Woods, Lafitte’s Cove, the East End Flats, Sportsman Road, and sites all the way to San Luis Pass so that he’ll be able to take you to all the best birding spots on the Island.

E-bike Birding #1
April 22 @ 7:00 am – 11:00 am
Enjoy zipping along on a quiet and easy electric bike that allows you to get up close and personal with the resident and migratory birds species seen at this time of year. This nearly effortless ride allows you to immerse yourself in the natural beauty of our wetlands and beaches.
Additional dates/times may be available, check online for specific registration.

Birding by Ear
April 22 @ 8:00 am – 11:00 am
Ever chase a bird song in the canopy of tall oaks then chase it until the bird stops singing? Ever sit in your backyard and hear a strange bird song in the distance? In both cases you had no chance to see the bird. In both cases you wondered what it was. All birds vocalize and for songbirds’ song is necessary for species survival. A unique biology found only in birds lies behind bird song and communication. The genetics that drive bird vocalizations are not very different than humans.

West Isle Marsh and Shorebirds Field Trip by Bus
April 23 @ 7:15 am – 11:15 am
Participants will travel by bus to Galveston Island’s West End shorebird hot spots to bird the freshwater ponds, coastal marshes, and bay waters. We begin the field trip with herons and egrets, migrating shorebirds and waterfowl in the wetland areas so numerous in this section of the island. We may encounter Clapper Rail, Black-necked Stilt, Common Loon, diving ducks and “peeps.” There is also excellent viewing of American Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone, dowitchers, gulls and terns that gather on the private piers on Sportsman Road. From there we travel to Lafitte’s Cove to walk the paths in search of migrating and nesting songbirds in the oaks and wading birds in the ponds.

Moody Gardens Birding Hot Spots
April 23 @ 8:00 am – 11:00 am
Join Greg Whittaker on a guided tour of the birds of Moody Gardens. This unique combination field trip will include a guided tour through the canopy level of the Tropical Rainforest exhibit as well as a viewing of the Penguins in the Aquarium Pyramid. You will learn everything you wanted to know about how our Life Science and Exhibit Operations team manages a diverse collection of tropical species within the Rainforest biome as well as the 7 species of penguins…

East Beach Field Trip with Kevin Karlson
April 23 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Join Kevin for a relaxed birding experience at Galveston Island’s East Beach area. We will tour though East End Lagoon Nature Preserve, catching views of a precious and increasingly rare ecosystem. We will explore 684 acres of Galveston’s largest undeveloped habitat including one of the few remaining sizable tracts of coastal prairie. The site contains both tidal and nontidal wetlands, beach dunes, a freshwater pond, black mangroves, and upland prairie, along with an extensive marine coastline.

East Island Birding with Greg Miller
April 23 @ 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Bird Galveston’s East End with one of the world’s most famous birders! In 1998, Greg zig-zagged 130,000 miles across the USA hoping to reach at least 700 species of birds in one calendar year.