Wading birds like a Tricolored Heron and White Ibis will be a prime focus at January birding festivals in Florida, although each festival offers a variety of birds to observe and photograph.

With the new year a new season of birding festivals begins with a variety of birding activities at exciting locations. With a mix of wintering birds and resident species in southern states, it’s a great time to travel to one of these exciting celebrations of birds, or if you live nearby, by all means plan to attend. The states with the most birding festival spirit during January are California, Florida, and Alabama, although Arizona, Kansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, are offering excellent birding fests to attend! You can enjoy guided field trips, workshops, speakers, and kids’ activities, social opportunities, product expos, and more are part of the activities mix, but you will want to check individual birding festival links to learn more about each exciting event.

For more information about each January birding festival, please refer to the links provided below:

January 10 to 12 – Alabama – Festival of the Cranes, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, near Decator, Alabama; see Festival of the Cranes 2025 — Wheeler Wildlife Refuge Association (friendsofwheelernwr.org)

January 16 to 20 – California – Morro Bay Bird Festival, Morro Bay, California; see Morro Bay Bird Festival – Where world-class birding meets small-town hospitality

January 16 to 18 – North Carolina – Carolina Bird Club Winter Birding Weekend, Emerald Isle, North Carolina; see CBC Winter 2025 (carolinabirdclub.org) CBC Winter 2025 (carolinabirdclub.org)

January 16 to 19 – Arizona – Wings Over Wilcox Birding Festival, Wilcox, Arizona; see Wings Over Willcox Birding and Nature Festival (eventscloud.com)

January 16 to 20 – Florida – Everglades Birding Festival, north Everglades National Park, Corkscrew Swamp, and more; Davie, Florida; see Everglades Birding Festival - Birding Adventures with Paddy Cunningham

January 18 – California – Salton Sea Bird Festival, Salton Sea State Recreation Area & Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge, near Mecca, California; see San Diego Bird Alliance

January 18 and 19 – Kansas – Eagle Days, Kansas City, Kansas; see 23rd Annual Eagle Days | Kansas City, Kansas Public Library (kckpl.org)

January 18 and 19 – Tennessee – Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival, Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge, Birchwood, Tennessee; see Sandhill Crane (tn.gov)

January 22 to 26 – Florida – Space Coast Birding Festival, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and more, Cape Canaveral, Florida; see Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Jan 22-26, 2025 Cape Canaveral (scbwa.net) and Field Trips - Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival (scbwa.net)

January 23 to 26 – California – Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and more, Chico, California; see Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyway

January 24 to 26 and January 31 to February 2 – Alabama – Eagle Awareness Weekends, Lake Guntersville State Park, Guntersville, Alabama; see Eagle Awareness Weekends | Alapark