White-eyed Vireo. Photo by Annalise Kaylor, Audubon Photography Awards.
georgia bird fest 2025
April 11 to May 16
Patron Registration Opens: March 4, at 7:00 AM
Birds Georgia Member Registration Opens: March 11, at 7:00 AM
Non-member Registration Opens: March 18, at 7:00 AM
Birds Georgia Member Registration Opens: March 11, at 7:00 AM
Non-member Registration Opens: March 18, at 7:00 AM
Birds, y’all! It’s almost time for Georgia Bird Fest, Georgia’s largest bird and nature festival. The 2025 event is scheduled for April 11 to May 16, and we're assembling a great lineup of trips, events, and webinars. There's something for everyone at Georgia Bird Fest 2025!
As Georgia’s largest bird and nature festival, Georgia Bird Fest features a month of activities, including guided field trips to Georgia’s best birding hotspots, nature-based workshops, and guest speakers. We are also hosting our second Bird Fest Summit on April 25 and 26, with bird watching field trips, breakout sessions, and keynote speakers, hosted in Jekyll Island, Georgia, at the Villas by the Sea Resort.
Your participation in Georgia Bird Fest supports the conservation, education, and community engagement work being done by Birds Georgia, where birds and people thrive.
As Georgia’s largest bird and nature festival, Georgia Bird Fest features a month of activities, including guided field trips to Georgia’s best birding hotspots, nature-based workshops, and guest speakers. We are also hosting our second Bird Fest Summit on April 25 and 26, with bird watching field trips, breakout sessions, and keynote speakers, hosted in Jekyll Island, Georgia, at the Villas by the Sea Resort.
Your participation in Georgia Bird Fest supports the conservation, education, and community engagement work being done by Birds Georgia, where birds and people thrive.
Join Us for the Georgia Bird Fest Summit
April 25 and 26, 2025
Wings of the Coast: Bridging Borders, Tides and Trails
Keynote Address by Janisse Ray
Villas by the Sea
Jekyll Island, GA
April 25 and 26, 2025
Wings of the Coast: Bridging Borders, Tides and Trails
Keynote Address by Janisse Ray
Villas by the Sea
Jekyll Island, GA
Snowy egrets. Photo by Robert Brian Rivera, Audubon Photography Awards.
The Georgia Bird Fest Summit is headed to the coast! We'll convene at Villas by the Sea on Jekyll Island on April 25 and 26 for the second annual Georgia Bird Fest Summit.
Villas by the Sea Resort – Bird Fest Summit
1175 Beachview Drive North
Jekyll Island, GA 31527
United States
Reservation Phone: 912-635-2521
Registration will open to current Birds Georgia Members on Tuesday, March 11, at 7:00 AM.
Villas by the Sea Resort – Bird Fest Summit
1175 Beachview Drive North
Jekyll Island, GA 31527
United States
Reservation Phone: 912-635-2521
Registration will open to current Birds Georgia Members on Tuesday, March 11, at 7:00 AM.
Birds Georgia is thrilled to welcome author and naturalist Janisse Ray as our 2025 Georgia Bird Fest keynote speaker.
Janisse Ray is an acclaimed writer, naturalist, and environmental activist whose work blends personal narrative with ecological themes. Born in 1962 in Baxley, Georgia, her deep connection to the southern Georgian landscape profoundly shapes her writing. In addition to her memoirs, Ray has authored poetry and essays featured in over 40 anthologies, with her works translated into multiple languages. She lives on a family farm in southern Georgia, practicing organic farming and seed saving, aligning her lifestyle with her environmental values. An inductee of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame and recipient of a Pushcart Prize, Ray inspires through her writing and teaching, championing stories as tools for ecological and social change.
Janisse Ray is an acclaimed writer, naturalist, and environmental activist whose work blends personal narrative with ecological themes. Born in 1962 in Baxley, Georgia, her deep connection to the southern Georgian landscape profoundly shapes her writing. In addition to her memoirs, Ray has authored poetry and essays featured in over 40 anthologies, with her works translated into multiple languages. She lives on a family farm in southern Georgia, practicing organic farming and seed saving, aligning her lifestyle with her environmental values. An inductee of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame and recipient of a Pushcart Prize, Ray inspires through her writing and teaching, championing stories as tools for ecological and social change.
Rooms are available at Villas by the Sea for our event, but if you’d like to arrive earlier or stay later, there are other hotel options in the area to fit your travel plans. Field trips will take place on Friday, with the earliest starting at 10 AM, so be sure to plan accordingly!
Reservations at Villas by the Sea
Rates are subject to 7% Sales Tax, 5% Hotel Occupancy Tax & 5% Resort Fee. 2-night minimum stay.
RESERVATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY March 25, 2025 THEREAFTER ROOMS NOT PICKED UP OR WITHOUT A DEPOSIT WILL BE RELEASED.
Options:
Reservations at Villas by the Sea
- Guests must call the Villas by the Sea to make their own reservations. Reservation Phone: 912-635-2521
A credit card is required to guarantee reservations. Please mention Group Code BIRDS when calling. - Guests are responsible for their own charges.
- All lodging room accounts with a balance must be paid in full at check-in.
Rates are subject to 7% Sales Tax, 5% Hotel Occupancy Tax & 5% Resort Fee. 2-night minimum stay.
RESERVATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY March 25, 2025 THEREAFTER ROOMS NOT PICKED UP OR WITHOUT A DEPOSIT WILL BE RELEASED.
Options:
2025 Georgia bird fest t-shirt
Scott Partridge is the artist for the 2025 Georgia Bird Fest T-shirts.
We're excited to launch our 2025 Georgia Bird Fest T-shirts featuring an American Oystercatcher. This eye-catching design was created by Scott Partridge, an artist whose work focuses on the natural world through a modernist geometric style and often with surrealist undertones. He seeks to illustrate the experience of nature itself and/or use his subjects as a metaphor for human characters and experiences more broadly. Check out Scott's work on his Instagram profile.
This year, we're distributing our T-shirts through Bonfire, and purchasers may choose to print this design on short- or long-sleeved T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and more. Prices begin at $24.99 plus sales tax and shipping for short-sleeved T-shirts. Items will be direct shipped to you via Bonfire.
Special Note for Patrons and trip leaders: Georgia Bird Fest Patrons and trip leaders will receive a complimentary T-shirt. Please do not purchase a shirt through the Bonfire website, as one will be provided to you at no cost.
Sales will begin on Friday, January 31.
This year, we're distributing our T-shirts through Bonfire, and purchasers may choose to print this design on short- or long-sleeved T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and more. Prices begin at $24.99 plus sales tax and shipping for short-sleeved T-shirts. Items will be direct shipped to you via Bonfire.
Special Note for Patrons and trip leaders: Georgia Bird Fest Patrons and trip leaders will receive a complimentary T-shirt. Please do not purchase a shirt through the Bonfire website, as one will be provided to you at no cost.
Sales will begin on Friday, January 31.
Become a Georgia Bird Fest Sponsor or patron
Birds, y'all! As Georgia's largest bird and nature festival, Georgia Bird Fest features a full month of activities, including guided field trips to Georgia's best birding hotspots, nature-based workshops, and guest speakers. Events are tailored to all levels of bird, nature, and outdoor enthusiasts—there's something for everyone at Georgia Bird Fest!
Your participation in Georgia Bird Fest supports the conservation, education, and community engagement work being done by Birds Georgia. Where birds thrive, people thrive.
Your participation in Georgia Bird Fest supports the conservation, education, and community engagement work being done by Birds Georgia. Where birds thrive, people thrive.
sponsorship and patron opportunities
We invite you to support our mission of building places where birds and people thrive through your corporate sponsorship or individual Patron support of Georgia Bird Fest.
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Corporate Sponsorship of Georgia Bird Fest begins at $1,000 with recognition benefits to highlight your support of important conservation, education, and community engagement programming across Georgia.
> Download Sponsor Information (pdf) |
Individual Patron support of Georgia Bird Fest can be enjoyed at the $250 or $500 level. Benefits include Patron recognition, early patrons-only event registration access, Georgia Bird Fest T-shirt, Habitat Restoration Site Tour, and tickets to the Bird Fest Summit.
> Download Patron Information (png) |
thank you to our 2025 sponsors
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THANK YOU TO OUR patrons
Anonymous (1)
Laura Adams and Andrew Feiler
Brickworks Gallery
Mary Claire and Doug Allvine
Michael and Lori Ayling
Bill Bell and Sarah Tunkle
Sally and Greg Bergquist
Laura and Sam Breyfogle
Mary Ellen and Neil Brigham
Carolyn and Max Brown
Hope and Todd Burtner
Robert Cain and Molly Lay
Mike and Maxine Chriszt
Anne Clark
Coastal Georgia Audubon Society
Jay Davis
Courtenay and George Dusenbury
Linda DiSantis and Bob Kerr
Ann Eggert
Joshua Gassman
Brynne and Marc Goncher
Diane Hawkins-Cox
Scott Hayes and Scott Porter
John and Jean Hess
Mary Campbell Jenkins
Susan Jones
Mary Kimberly and Gavin MacDonald
Mary Anne and James Lanier
Melinda Langston
Paige Martin and Arjun Srinivasan
Erin Kelly Masciotra and Anthony Masciotra
Ellen Miller
Sally and Jim Morgens
Jay Pakchar
Jeanne Riggall
Carla Roncoli and Tom Painter
Irena Rowe
Steve Phenicie and Lisa Slotznick
Sally Sears and Richard Belcher
Donna Shapiro
Jensy Shell
Melissa Sisson
Laura Stanford
Esther and Jim Stokes
Wayne and Jane Thorpe
Jared Teutsch and Angela Trethaway
Susan Utley
Melanie and Keith Vickers
Michael Weaver
Lynn and Winkler Weinberg
Diana Worthington-White
Laura Adams and Andrew Feiler
Brickworks Gallery
Mary Claire and Doug Allvine
Michael and Lori Ayling
Bill Bell and Sarah Tunkle
Sally and Greg Bergquist
Laura and Sam Breyfogle
Mary Ellen and Neil Brigham
Carolyn and Max Brown
Hope and Todd Burtner
Robert Cain and Molly Lay
Mike and Maxine Chriszt
Anne Clark
Coastal Georgia Audubon Society
Jay Davis
Courtenay and George Dusenbury
Linda DiSantis and Bob Kerr
Ann Eggert
Joshua Gassman
Brynne and Marc Goncher
Diane Hawkins-Cox
Scott Hayes and Scott Porter
John and Jean Hess
Mary Campbell Jenkins
Susan Jones
Mary Kimberly and Gavin MacDonald
Mary Anne and James Lanier
Melinda Langston
Paige Martin and Arjun Srinivasan
Erin Kelly Masciotra and Anthony Masciotra
Ellen Miller
Sally and Jim Morgens
Jay Pakchar
Jeanne Riggall
Carla Roncoli and Tom Painter
Irena Rowe
Steve Phenicie and Lisa Slotznick
Sally Sears and Richard Belcher
Donna Shapiro
Jensy Shell
Melissa Sisson
Laura Stanford
Esther and Jim Stokes
Wayne and Jane Thorpe
Jared Teutsch and Angela Trethaway
Susan Utley
Melanie and Keith Vickers
Michael Weaver
Lynn and Winkler Weinberg
Diana Worthington-White
