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Home Media SECOND ANNUAL FLORIDA BIRDING FESTIVAL SCHEDULED SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 3 --Success of ’98 Florida Birding Festival drives expansion to include Nature Expo-- CLEARWATER, FL, July 1999 -- From September 30-October 3, the Florida Birding Festival (FBF) is back as the Florida Birding Festival & Nature Expo featuring the best of Florida birding - and an all-new birding, nature and outdoor recreation products exposition with more than 100 exhibitors from across the country. Scheduled to coincide with the autumn migration, which brings an astounding variety of species to join Florida’s many endemics, the Florida Birding Festival is one of the nation’s first urban birding festivals. Most of the more than 150 festivals across the national are in rural settings. “The Florida Birding Festival & Nature Expo is back as the definitive birder’s event created by birders for birders,” said Gian Basili, Director of Ornithology and National Wildlife Refuge Campaign Organizer for the Florida Audubon Society. “Our chapters in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater are delighted to support a bigger, better festival and conservation program. This is good business for people and birds.” The Festival is quickly becoming a “don’t miss” event for birders around the country. Last year’s 600-plus participants spotted more than 177 species, including the Reddish Egret, Red-shouldered Hawk, Purple Gallinule, Snowy Plover and more. As a state, Florida boasts among the greatest diversity of bird life found in the nation. More than 480 species have been reported, half of which occur along the Gulf Coast This year’s Festival will feature keynote speakers such as George Archibald, Director of the International Crane Foundation; Rudy Mancke, host of South Carolina Educational Television’s Nature Scene; and nationally recognized hummingbird experts Bob and Martha Sargent. An expanded and diverse lineup of more than 40 field trips, workshops and seminars for novice and professional birders alike - all led and directed by the finest local, regional and national experts. Back by popular demand are field trips to Shell Key, Ft. De Soto, Honeymoon Island, an all-day area-wide birding tour called Florida Specialties; and a birder’s boat tour titled In Pursuit of Pelagics. New in the lineup is a Butterflies field trip and many others. Workshops and seminars will cater to diverse interests and levels of experience with sessions on Bird Photography, Landscaping for Wildlife, Birds of Prey, The Birds and the Bugs, Florida’s Important Bird Areas and a much requested session on buying and using birding optics. Four participating hotels offer attractive “Florida Birding Festival Rates” for registrants (all rates are per night, per room, single or double):
“With more than 600 registrants, last September’s inaugural Florida Birding Festival (FBF) ranks as one of the most successful first-year nature festivals in the nation, according to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,” noted Carole Ketterhagen, Executive Director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The FBF has become a linchpin of our area’s increasing range of events and sites for experiencing sustainable nature-based tourism.” “As the most popular tourism destination on Florida’s west coast with three of the top beaches in the United States, the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area offers birders a birding travel experience unlike any other,” Ketterhagen continued. “We are becoming a leader in the development of Florida nature-based tourism, helping our visitors to join us in appreciating and conserving our treasure of natural resources.” A portion of the proceeds from the ’99 FBF & Nature Expo will be contributed to a fund for the continuing purchase of pristine Shell Key, which ranks among the five most important areas in Florida for both nesting and wintering shorebirds. Cosponsors of the FBF & Nature Expo are the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners and the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau; the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and their successful Partners in Flight program. The National and Florida Audubon Societies, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Center for Marine Conservation, Tampa BayWatch and many others provide the essential core of birding and conservation expertise. Registration To register call (toll free) 1-877-FLA-BIRD. For Festival information call 1-800-822-6461; for accommodations call 1-800-345-6710. A daily fee of $5 will be charged for persons wishing to attend the Nature Exposition only (included with festival registration). Tickets will also be available at the door. For more information on the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area, write to Dept. DCI, St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 14450-46th Street North, Suite 108, Clearwater, Florida 33762 For a Visitor Discovery Guide call 1-877-FL-BEACH (1-877-352-3224). |
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