Rio Grande Valley

[Brian Rice]

This is not a bird report. I'm searching for the best way to meet birders going to bird festivals. I went to Sax-Zim Bog, and was lucky to meet a birder, from Toledo OH, near Magee Marsh. I'd like to go to the birding festival in South Texas and am looking for a small group to share expenses with (i.e gas and lodging). I know we have some serious Iowa birders who have traveled far and wide, and I'm gradually expanding my birding footprint. 

Any info would be appreciated. Someday soon I'd like to travel to Central or South America.

[Wendy VanDeWalle]

Hi Brian, 

The best place to meet birders is at the next  Iowa Ornithologists Union’s fall get-together in Oskaloosa on August 23-25th. 

https://iowabirds.org/IOU/Meetings/NextMeeting.aspx

OR 

If you chase rare birds.   :-)

Do you use Ebird’s rare bird alerts? 

Wendy VanDeWalle

Buchanan Co

On Tue, Jul 9, 2024 at 4:16 PM Brian Rice <ric...@gmail.com> wrote:

This is not a bird report. I'm searching for the best way to meet birders going to bird festivals. I went to Sax-Zim Bog, and was lucky to meet a birder, from Toledo OH, near Magee Marsh. I'd like to go to the birding festival in South Texas and am looking for a small group to share expenses with (i.e gas and lodging). I know we have some serious Iowa birders who have traveled far and wide, and I'm gradually expanding my birding footprint. 

Any info would be appreciated. Someday soon I'd like to travel to Central or South America.

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[Ric Zarwell]

Hi Brian:

I feel the best way to meet other birders who pursue birds throughout the US is to go to birding festivals and go on as many field trips as possible.  Introduce yourself to field trip participants who seem to be both serious about finding new/different birds, and are also willing conversationalists / informal instructors.  

The Rio Grande Birding Festival in Texas in November was the largest or second largest festival in the nation.  A key location!  The Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival in Florida in January is usually either first or second in # of participants as well as in field trips, indoor lectures, vendors, etc.  I worked for Rockjumper Worldwide Birding Adventures at each of these venues for 5-6 years, where I co-led field trips with local experts, learned a lot over the years, and enjoyed these times tremendously.  There are many other festivals in the U.S. some really good, a number of others rather poor.  Use Google a lot.

As far as foreign birding goes, much of Central and South America that you mentioned are great destinations - and sometimes nearly overwhelming - places for birding.  I strongly recommend Rockjumper Worldwide Birding Tours ( https://www.rockjumperbirding.com/  ) and their long list of tours throughout the world.  Pre-covid we offered approximately 300 tours each year to all continents and about 100 nations.  Give them a look!  And, good luck with this form of recreation.

Ric

Ric Zarwell

Email:  Birdi...@gmail.com 

Mobile:  563-419-4991

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[Fawn Bowden]

I've went on several good trips with Indiana Audubon.  They're always well-organized and they have trips all over the place- in the US as well as other countries.  Their birding festival in the spring (Indiana Dunes Birding Festival) is top notch!  I've made many friends on these trips and a portion of the money paid goes to local to the trip Audubon or nature-oriented organizations.  The Big Blue Stem Audubon club here in Iowa used to do trips, but stopped once their leadership changed, so I'm not aware of an Iowan organization that does trips.  There may be one in Illinois as well, but I've stuck with the IN group since I've had such good luck with them.

Fawn in Riverside