Black Belt Birding Festival was a blast. I am so grateful I was able to attend and be a part of it this year’s Fest. This is the second year it has run.
This festival was pulled together by a group of birders that wanted to share their joy of birding and share the history and land of the Black Belt of Alabama. The Joes, @birdsandnaturetours, wanted to share their Black owned Family Farm, the Joe Farm, and the Kites that show up and Meg Ford wanted to bring awareness to the history of the land. These were two of the original folks that brought this together along with Alabama Audubon.

The event kicked off with a get together at a local park, to share local organizations, vendors and music. It was a lively event that set a tone of we are having fun! I so appreciate everyone that came out and supported the event and my work.

Freya McGregor, the creator of Birdability, came to the event, so we finally got to meet in person and chat.

Day two was all about birding. We started early with birding field trips. I chose to attend one led by Alex Troutman and Wes at the Perry Lake Park & Barton’s Beach Cahaba River Preserve. It was a hidden gem of a spot, with cypress swamp, low land hardwood forests, and river beaches. I got to see my first Cottonmouth!

Then we headed to the Joe Farm! All the morning field trips ended in time to get to the Joe Farm in time to watch Mr Joe mow the field and draw in the Kites. It was truly special to get to be at this family owned farm. Read more about the farm here.

A lunch special was hosted by Abadir’s, the food was delicious.

The event continued with a Keynote by Dr. Rashidah Farid and afternoon field trips, wrapping up Saturday night.

Can’t wait for next year, I hope to see more folks.