October Florida Birding and Nature Festival Speakers and Events
Best-selling author and world-renowned conservationist Carl Safina and woodpecker expert Stephen Shunk will be the keynote speakers at this year's Florida Birding and Nature Festival Oct. 20-23. The festival will be headquartered at the Suncoast Youth Conservation Center, 6650 Dickman Road in Apollo Beach. The annual event coincides with the peak migration of more than 180 species and features expert-led field and boating trips to the best wildlife sites in West Central Florida. Trips include the Cross Bar Ranch in Spring Hill; Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County; Egmont Key and Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve in Hillsborough County; and Honeymoon Island and Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County. A cross-Florida bus trip will offer participants the chance to see a wide variety of birds, including rarities such as the Crested Caracara and the Florida Scrub Jay. One outing will identify butterflies. Some of the trips are to areas normally not open to the public. Space is limited, s