Audubon's Lake Okeechobee Science Coordinator Dr. Paul Gray reports from the Big "O" Birding Festival in beautiful Labelle, Florida. Did you attend this year's event? What did you think? More importantly, what did you see?! Let us know in the comment section below or on our Facebook Page. Enjoy:

The Big "O" Birding Festival was held March 27-31 in LaBelle and was the largest and best event yet.  About 180 people attended from across the United States and were treated to field trips, book signings, workshops, lectures, a banquet, and perhaps best of all, genuine rural Florida hospitality.  Plus, the Florida Audubon Society’s Board met at the hotel during the meeting and I got to speak to them about our Okeechobee Program.

I had the privilege to help guide two field trips. The first had two stops, Harney Pond Canal on Lake Okeechobee and the Fort Center Indian Mounds in the Fisheating Creek Wildlife Management Area.  Premiere birder David Simpson helped with birds and Butch Wilson, curator of the Clewiston Museum, interpreted the Indian mound site for us.  We got 67 species of birds, including a Short-tailed Hawk, making it one of the longer lists of the festival.  The second field trip was based on the Venus Bird Loop in Pranty’s “Birder’s Guide to Florida.”  Dave Goodwin helped lead this, and we netted 50 species.

One of the things that makes this festival special to me is that it is put on by local people who are not primarily birders, but love the land and are very in tune with natural Florida.  Local ranchers host many tours, giving people buggy rides through places they otherwise could not go.  In addition, there are boat rides on Lake Okeechobee and the Caloosahatchee, a dinner at Gatorama (open since 1957), the famous STA-5 tours, and just a lot of “real” experiences.  One participant told me they have been to many festivals and couldn’t believe all the attention the hosts “lavish” (their word) on the guests.

There were Everglade Snail Kites working a retention pond by the hotel and breeding herons and Anhingas on a pond across the road.  The festival wrapped up with a banquet and keynote talk on the festival’s theme bird, the Wood Stork, by Jason Lauritsen, Assistant Manager at Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

If you want a festival that will show you inland Florida first hand, and that is fun and laid back, this one is for you.  There are more photos and posts on the Hendry-Glades Audubon Society Facebook Page. Also, check out my blog from last year's event.

For a full species list from Dr. Gray's birding adventures at the Big "O" Birding Festival, please click here.