The Everglades Birding Festival

09/05/2025

"The truth of the matter is, the birds could very well live without us, but many – perhaps all – of us would find life incomplete, indeed almost intolerable without the birds."
— Roger Tory Peterson

One minute, you're just living your life, and the next, you're mimicking bird calls. Here’s how it happens: https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jSPKeM

06/20/2025

A tiny part.

If you're having trouble finding my new book A BIRDING DICTIONARY, try Bookshop.org! It's running low in many stores but you can get it online and Bookshop gives money to small bookstores, which I love.

06/03/2025

We're heading to Miami this weekend for the Native Plant Sale at the Tropical Audubon Society with some of our best traditional and tropical flavors of jam, as well as some of the jams that we've made during this year's Mango Madness. Come by and say hi!!

Avoid feeling JELLY if you miss out on our annual Go-Native Plant Sale and come join us on June 7, 9am-4pm!

For the very first time, you can purchase We-Be-Jammin ALL NATURAL Jams, Preserves and Chili Sauces made from the freshest fruits and produce. Can't wait to see you there!

RSVP and learn more: https://tropicalaudubon.org/calendar/go-native-plant-sale-2025

03/18/2025

I am excited about a wonderful opportunity for you to go deeper into learning more about birding and bird identification from July 14-18, 2025.
I will teaching a 5 day course at the Mountain Institute of Lifelong Learning on the beautiful campus at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C.
Held in the valley, surrounded by mountains,the campus has many birding opportunities right there.
https://mountaininstitute.warren-wilson.edu/nature-sustainability-on-campus-courses/textiles-c2mzr-x4edb-bndw3-yr8cw-wb58f

Through this course YOU WILL GAIN: birding knowledge and increase identification skills by learning a 12-step strategy approach to identifing birds, while having fun. The strategies include: creating a birding desktop, family groups, behavior, silhouette, habitat, fieldmarks, commonality/abundance, seasonality, birding by ear, getting in a rut/knowing your neighbors, doing your homework, use of technology-MERLIN, ebird,checklists and apps. The course will include a daily morning walk, and a morning and afternoon workshop. You will be given numerous handouts to help support information covered in the course. You will have access to all the PowerPoints given for further study. We will also do a more extensive field trip to apply growing skills.

What is nice, for an additional fee you can stay on campus and have a full meal plan of EXCELLENT, locally sourced, fresh made food. We stayed on campus last year and it was really yummy, convenient and reasonable for what you got for "room and board."
It also occurs during the Swannanoa Gathering Celtic Week which includes nightly concerts with top Irish and Scottish musicians. It was enchanting last year to hear the beautiful music filtering through the woods as we walked the trails.

Katherine Graham of NYU,
"I loved your strategy for learning birds. It is so nice not to think that memorizing field marks is the backbone of successful ID. So many online birding courses, even those in the Lab of O’s Bird Academy, are hard for me to get thorough because they mainly focus on field markings, and I am terrible at that kind of memorization. You taught me that other factors, such as habitat, commonality, behavior, etc. are essential keys to success. While I did know about those, I had never formally put them into a strategy for ID. A big THANK YOU for making ID so much more than memorization. It is an immense help!"

01/05/2025

EVERGLADES BIRDING FESTIVAL CANCELLED due to death in the family.
See BELOW for further information

12/21/2024

EBF 2025 CANCELLED due to FAMILY EMERGENCY
It is with deep sadness to inform you that I must cancel the Everglades Birding Festival for 2025. I have the most urgent sad family emergency in that my dear sister has now been put on the Hospice hot list and is not expected to live for more than 3 weeks. I am flying out the day after Christmas to assist in her care and unfortunately when she passes, it is most likely the funeral will be on Martin Luther King weekend in that it will be easier for people to travel.

I am happy to tell you that there is a PLAN B for those still hoping to get our wonderful South Florida birds and to explore the Everglades. Our lead guide and I believe the best birder in Florida, David Simpson of Birding with David Simpson can accommodate people for private guiding for Thursday-Sunday. Depending on the interest he could pick birders up at the festival hotel-Holiday Inn Express. If there is a lot of interest he could guide up to 12 people in a van and possibly more on Saturday and Sunday with another fellow guide. ALL arrangements will be made with David and fees will vary in that it will now be private guiding not a festival. No festival activities such as lunch provided, evening dinners and programs will be offered. David be contacted at (321) 720-5516.
[email protected] https://birdingwithdavidsimpson.com/
We at the Everglades Birding Festival have enjoyed sharing the uniqueness of the Everglades, its birds and natural ecology for 16 years with birders. Once again, we were looking forward to all the great birds and fun times but cancelling it for the first time cannot be helped.
Thank you for your understanding in my family’s time of deep sadness.
Paddy Cunningham
Event Coordinator

Website for Birding with David Simpson

11/22/2024

Loggerhead Shrikes are probably the most badass birds ever!

Happy November!

11/16/2024

An older comic about trying to draw a Canada goose.

10/24/2024

Spooky bird stories. Happy Halloween!

10/11/2024

This comic is making the rounds on social media so I thought I'd repost it. Have you seen any yellow-rumped warblers (butterbutts) lately?

10/11/2024

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN.
NEW FIELD TRIP replacing SOUTH FLORIDA EXOTICS on SATURDAY
EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK (NORTH) - 7:00a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Visit the northern part of this International Biosphere starting with the famous Anhinga Trail to find Purple Gallinule, lots of alligators and possible American Bittern along the boardwalk. The close by Gumbo Limbo trail can be a great place for winter warblers, flycatchers and overhead views Short-tailed Hawks. The breathtaking view from the Pa-hay-okee overlook out to the Shark River Slough will give you an amazing view of this unique ecosystem. Lunch at West Lake can provide views of wintering waterfowl and the nearby mangrove trail, wintering warblers. Along the Mahogony Hammock boardwalk, see some of the biggest native trees in Florida, and a chance for Barred Owl and Black-throated Green Warblers, plus more. 8 Required min.

10/11/2024

Registration for the Everglades Birding Festival will officially open on October 15th. We are removing the South Florida Exotics trip on Saturday and we will be replacing it with Everglades National Park - North. Unfortunately, due to the 2 recent hurricanes, we are experiencing difficulties in changing it to include this new trip and new prices for the trips.

Thank you.