Special Festival Events – Morro Bay Bird Festival

Morro Bay Bird Festival Special Events

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Opening Festival Reception

Friday, January 13, 2023,
5:00 to 6:30pm
Morro Bay Community Center

Enjoy wine and cheese and fellow birders at the Bird Festival Bazaar. Browse the vendor booths featuring optics, books, music, nature art & photography, woodcarvings, jewelry, educational exhibits, and more! If you purchased a copy of David Sibley’s book, What It’s Like to Be a Bird, during the registration process, David will be available to sign your book at this event. Takes place at the Morro Bay Community Center, 1001 Kennedy Way, Morro Bay.

Video running represents festivals over the past 25 year!

Keynote:
David Allen Sibley

Saturday, January 14, 2023, 7:00-8:30pm at the Cuesta College Performing Arts Center

What It's Like to be a Bird

From UV vision, to deep diving, navigation, balance, super-efficient breathing, and more - birds have some amazing "superpowers", and at the same time nearly every aspect of their anatomy, physiology, and behavior has been shaped in some way by the demands of their ultimate superpower - flight. Using a selection of illustrations and information from his new book What It's Like to be a Bird, David will talk about some of the incredible things birds are able to do, and the adaptations that make those things possible.

About David Allen Sibley

David Allen Sibley is the author and illustrator of the series of successful guides to nature that bear his name, including the New York Times bestseller The Sibley Guide to Birds. He has contributed art and articles to Smithsonian, Science, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Birding, BirdWatching, and North American Birds, and wrote an illustrated a syndicated column for The New York Times. He is the recipient of the Roger Tory Peterson Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Birding Association and the Linnaean Society of New York’s Eisenmann Medal. He lives in Deerfield, MA.

Special Guest:
Jon Dunn

Jon will lead field trips:
#'s 106, 137, 206, 315, 343

About Jon

Jon was the chief consultant for the first five editions of National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America and co-authored the sixth and seventh editions.

More about Jon Dunn

Jon's interest in birds developed from the age of eight when he became absorbed with the Hooded Orioles in his yard in the L.A. area in 1962. He has written extensively about birds since the 1970's, often with his colleague, Kimball Garrett. Together they wrote Birds of Southern California, Status and Distribution (1981) and Warblers (1997). Jon also worked extensively with Jonathan Alderfer and together co-authored the Birds of North America by the National Geographic Society up through the 7th edition (2017) and Birding Essentials (2007) and co-edited the three editions of the Complete Birds of North America by National Geographic.. Jon has served on various committees, notably the California Bird Records Committee (30 years), the ABA Checklist Committee and the Committee on Taxonomy and Nomenclature of the AOS (2000 to present). Beyond birds Jon has an interest in history and the music and poetry of Leonard Cohen.

Special Guest:
Richard Crossley

Richard will lead field trips:
#'s 205 and 306

About Richard

Richard Crossley is an internationally acclaimed birder, photographer and award-winning author of ‘The Crossley ID Guide’ series. Richard’s recently published books The Crossley ID Guide: Western Birds, The Crossley ID Guide: Waterfowl, and Ornitherapy April 2021. Richard will be leading two field trips, Learning to Look, and will be onsite for Festival attendees during our Bazaar open hours.

More about Richard Crossley

Born in Yorkshire, he also lived in Japan, and birded worldwide before settling down in the USA. After one of his frequent mid-life crises at the turn of the millennium, Richard decided it was time to spend less time obsessively birding and to focus on paying it forward. Sometimes called crazy (his badge of honor), wildly passionate, and driven, Richard’s focus is youth birding, and connecting people to a fuller appreciation and understanding of nature.

His books continue to connect us all to nature with a stronger appreciation and understanding of our surroundings, including their many health benefits. Self-published, these new guides encourages all outdoor conservation groups to view each other as one.

Richard also co-founded the global birding initiative Pledge to Fledge, Race4Birds and The Cape May Young Birders Club. He served on the board of directors at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. He has contributed to most major birding publications, is frequently heard on radio, and is a sought-after public speaker.

Morro Bay Bird Festival Special Events

Opening Festival Reception

Keynote: David Allen Sibley

Special Guest: Jon Dunn

Special Guest: Richard Crossley

Quick Links

Keynote:
David Allen Sibley

Special Guest:
Jon Dunn

Special Guest:
Richard Crossley