Space Coast : The Place to Be Jan. 23-28, 2013
What began as a friendly birding competition in 1997, Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival has evolved into one of the best-known birding festivals in the U.S. Combining an ideal location with excellent facilities, world-class educators, and an impressive array of opportunities for birders and photographers, this festival needs to be on your calendar, tout suite!
For many of us, late January is a perfect time to be in a place other than our own wintery environs. And yes, that includes our feathered friends. You just get yourselves down to Cape Canaveral, Florida–the birds will be waiting for you! Space Coast has field trips, boat tours, classroom presentations, and speakers aplenty to help you immerse yourself in all this unique area has to offer. You’ll be walking alongside, listening to, and learning from some of the most knowledgeable people in the birding industry. Sounds like a once in a lifetime experience, doesn’t it? Yet once you go, you’ll want to return year after year. This festival is habit forming!
There are diverse habitats in the Titusville/Merritt Island area: estuaries, islands, creeks, mangrove canals, and rivers are legendary for birds (Space Coast boasted 200 species spotted in 2011), but also wildlife study and observation. Therefore, you could well be treated to viewings of Bottle-Nosed Dolphin, manatees, alligators, and other mammals and reptiles. The nearby Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is not to be missed; it’s an important sanctuary, and home to the threatened Florida Scrub-Jay, a species found only in this region. Bring your binocular, scope, and camera and prepare to take your birding to the next level. Meet new friends from far and wide who have come for the same reasons. That’s what Space Coast is all about!
A proud, long time sponsor of the festival, Eagle Optics will be there again this year, ready to show you optics from every major manufacturer. Stop by our booth in the vendor area, try out a spotting scope, and treat yourself to the astonishing details scopes can provide. Need a binocular upgrade? We have what you need, along with the expert advice and friendly service you deserve.
You know, the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival might just be the highlight of your winter. Check out the festival website and make plans to attend this January. We’d love to see you in Florida!
Originally published on July 13, 2012