Florida birding festivals: Fine place for bird lovers to flock

Last updated on February 6th, 2026 at 11:59 am

If you spend time outdoors in Florida, there’s a good chance you’ll end up seeing and appeciating birds.

Florida is such a bird-y spot! It’s so big and varied — forests, grasslands, wetlands — plus it has the longest coastline of any state in the lower 48.

Birders from beginners to pros gather each year to share their passion, learn new skills and join in outdoor adventures at Florida birding festivals.

There a lot of birds to see. The Audubon Society says 516 species have been recorded in the state, including more than 100 species who stop in Florida on their migration journey.

These events occur all over the state attracting both Florida residents and visitors. (Dare I call them snow birds?)

Burrowing owls at Brian Piccolo Park in Cooper City.

Here’s a roundup of major Florida birding festivals. If we missed yours, please add it to the comments field at the bottom of this article or email floridarambler@gmail.com.

North Shore Birding Festival, Apopka area, December 11-15, 2025

This festival has moved for 2025 to the Wekiwa Springs State Park Youth Camp in Apopka.

A highlight of this festival are field trips on the Lake Apopka North Shore property. This 20,000-acre St. Johns River Water Management District’s lake restoration area is currently the second top eBird hotspot in Florida, only passed by Fort DeSoto Park after Hurricane Ian. Over 370 species of birds have been sighted on the Lake Apopka North Shore, more than any inland site in the U.S., including the Everglades.

The event attracts top speakers and guides and includes field trips by car, boat, kayak and foot to a wide variety of places, including Blue Springs State Park, the Dora Canal and Emeralda March.

14th Annual Everglades Birding Festival, no 2026 event; returning in 2027

Where: Holiday Inn Express, 2540 Davie Road, Davie, in Broward County.

What: This South Florida festival focuses on the beautiful cypress swamps and Everglades prairies where you can spot wintering species such as waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors. South Florida is considered one of the top 10 birding destination in the country. Organizer Paddy Cunningham is a birding professional; her company Birding Adventures takes small groups of birders throughout Florida and to such tropical birding destinations as Jamaica and Colombia.

Florida birding festials: White pelicans on the mud flats of Snake Bight near Flamingo in Everglades National Park, (Photo: Bonnie Gross) — Some run field trips to Everglades National Park. These white pelicans were on the mud flats of Snake Bight near Flamingo. (Photo: Bonnie Gross)

Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, Cape Canaveral, Jan. 21-25, 2026

This is the 27th year for this festival, and there’s a good reason for that. Its location near Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, is one of the best places for birding in Florida. If you’re lucky, you might even spot an American Flamingo. Flamingos were blown into Florida by a 2023 hurricane and have stuck around. They are often spotted by birders at Merritt Island NWR.

The 2026 event will be headquartered at the Radisson Resort at the Port. Festival activities include birding field trips and speaker presentations, connections with Central Florida wildlife, workshops, photography, and unique birding-by-boat trips.

Rookery Bay Festival of Birds, Naples, January 15-18, 2026

Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center, 300 Tower Road Naples, Florida 34113

Rookery Bay, a 110,000-acre reserve that stretches from Naples to Ten Thousand Islands, is a terrific place for birding in the winter. Its festival offers boat tours and field trips to many nearby birding hotspots. Field trips include birding walks, boat trips, kayaking adventures, swamp tromps, swamp buggy excursions, a moonlight hike, boardwalk walk, biking and car caravan to locations such as Six Mile Cypress Slough, Bunche Beach, Clam Pass, Corkscrew Swamp, CREW Marsh Trails, Eagle Lakes Park, Fakahatchee Strand, Six Mile Cypress Slough, Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Harns Marsh, Rookery Bay Research Reserve and Tigertail Beach. There are three new adventures this year – Picayune Strand Forest, Sunrise Walk; Tigertail Beach, Sleuthing the Lagoon; Big Cypress, Birding Caravan and Wet Walk in the Swamp and Rookery Bay Research Reserve, Sunset Kayak Trip.

Scrub Jay Festival, March 21, 2026

Scrub jays are charmers — curious, friendly and beautifully blue. It is the only bird endemic to Florida (found only in Florida.) All those are good reasons to celebrate with the Annual Scrub Jay Festival, this year combined with an Earth Day Festival.

Where: Oscar Scherer State Park, 1843 S. Tamiami Trail, Osprey, 34229. The festival will take place at the Lake Osprey picnic area from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Park entry and the event are free. There is a fee for a guided tram tour.

You can join a guided hike and learn about the scrub habitat while in search of scrub-jay sightings. The event includes live music on the park stage; kids activities and games; food vendors; and family-friendly booths and exhibitors. A scrub-jay presentation will include a Q&A.

Florida Birding and Nature Festival, Tampa Bay area, April 9-12, 2026

The four-day Florida Birding and Nature Festival is being moved from the fall to April 9-12, 2026, at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center, 6650 Dickman Road in Apollo Beach (just south of Tampa).

The annual event features field trips, boat excursions, seminars by experts, nationally renowned keynote speakers and a free nature expo. Previously scheduled to coincide with the peak of fall migration, it now coincides with the peak of spring migration. More than 180 species have been observed during previous festivals and the new dates are expected to be equally productive for birders.

Festival organizers decided to move the festival after hurricanes Helene and Milton caused widespread damage to Florida’s West coast in 2024. The festival was held successfully, though flooding and tree damage caused the cancellation of some field trips. But the storms’ catastrophic effects on the lives of thousands of residents and the uncertainty it caused countless others prompted the move to a season where dangerous weather is much less likely.

The field trips, led by knowledgeable guides and in some cases the managers of the nature habitats visited, include walking, wagon, boat and kayak trips and a bus tour of Central Florida birding hot spots. Some field trips explore sites normally not open to the public.

Expeditions are being finalized, but past field trip destinations include Egmont Key, the Cross Bar Ranch in Spring Hill, Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve, Fort DeSoto Park, Coffeepot Bayou, the Alafia Bank Bird Sanctuary, and the Lower Green Swamp Nature Preserve.

Past keynote speakers include such renowned natural history artists, photographers, and authors as Kenn Kaufman, David Allen Sibley, Jack Davis, and Carlton Ward.

The festival also will offer two days of in-person and Zoom-broadcasted seminars, with experts covering fascinating nature topics.

A free Nature Expo on Friday, April 10, and Saturday, April 11, at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center will feature displays from numerous environmental organizations, nature-related businesses, and artists. Exhibitors will sell binoculars, artwork, bird boxes and native plants that attract birds and butterflies.

For information and registration, see https://www.floridabirdingandnaturefestival.org/

Florida’s Birding & Photo Fest, St. Augustine Beach, April 22-26, 2026

Celebration Hall, St. Anastasia, 5205 A1A South, St. Augustine Beach

This is for birders who are also avid photographers. It offers 100+ photography and birding events including field workshops and classroom sessions. There are many opportunities for boat tours, many speakers and multiple classes and field options every day for five days. One of the unique locations where photographers capture images is the historic St. Augustine Alligator Farm, which has a bird rookery that is full of nesting birds right off the boardwalk in April.