Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival in Harlingen, Texas

Awesome. There’s no better word to describe a birder’s experience at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival. Of course the birds are great – where else can you see White-collared Seedeater, Ferruginous Pygmy-owl, Green Parakeet, Green Jay, and many, many others? But there was also the Birder’s Bazaar, a huge area where dealers, organizations, optics companies, and others could show their wares. I was very pleased to find many books among them! And of course there were the seminars, workshops, and keynote speakers (including a wonderful one on warblers by none other than Kenn Kaufman).

But one of the best things about my week in Texas was meeting many fellow birders. It’s been said many times, but it bears repeating: birders are a wonderful group of people! It was truly great to meet and bird with all of you.

I’m not much of a photographer, so I don’t have many pictures to share. But here are a few places where you can get your fill:

• Birdchick
• Round Robin
• Born Again Birdwatcher
• Flying Mullet
• Wildbird on the Fly
• 10,000 Birds
• Bill of the Birds
• Birding to the EDG
• Eagle Optics

I need to specifically mention one exhibitor – Burning Hawk Wine. Earlier this year, a hawk in California was killed by some power lines and sparked a fire in a vineyard. This event inspired Nick Papadopoulos to do something about it. In just a short while, a multitude of individuals and groups rallied behind the cause. They are now marketing special bottles of wine to raise money to combat this problem. The story, and what they are trying to accomplish, is truly inspiring. Check them out to find out more about them, and how you can help.

Between my time in Texas and some work-related training this week, I haven’t had much time to work on reviews or anything else. Hopefully I can start to make a dent in the ever-growing stack of books that need reviewing…

Posted by Grant McCreary on November 14th, 2008.