Birds of a feather will flock together for the 16^th Annual San Diego Birding Festival held at the Marina Village Conference Center from March 1-4, 2012.

The 2012 Bird Festival will feature keynote speaker Kenn Kaufman, a field editor for Audubon magazine and a contributor to every major birding magazine. He is also author of Kingbird Highway, Flights Against the Sunset, and Lives of North American Birds. The keynoter banquet is Friday, March 4, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Another special festival guest is Richard Crossley, internationally acclaimed birder and photographer, and author of the new field book series The Crossley ID Guide: Eastern Birds, and The Shorebird Guide. He will share his secrets for successful bird identification in a combination workshop and walk to the San Diego River Estuary for field observation on Saturday, March 3, 6:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Returning festival favorites include social mixers, a silent auction, and the Birding & Optics EXPO. The EXPO is free and open to the public from 12 to 5 p.m. daily. The social mixers are on Thursday and Friday, 5 to 8 p.m. each night. Family Free Day on Sunday, March 4, will feature kid-friendly activities with no pre-registration required.

With more than 500 bird species in San Diego County, the San Diego Audubon Society is offering four pelagic trips during the festival. Just steps away from the San Diego River estuary, Terry Hunefeld, pelagic birding expert, and his co-leaders will take participants birding aboard the Grande.

Holbrook Travel will also be offering a week-long post-festival trip to Costa Rica, March 5-11.  Program highlights include visits to Selva Verde Lodge and Rainforest Reserve, La Selva Biological Station, Braulio Carrillo National Park, and a day trip to Bosque de Paz cloud forest. Participants will also take a boat ride on the Puerto Viejo River for bird and wildlife observation at close range and learn the importance of coffee to the Costa Rican economy in a visit to a shade grown coffee plantation. This program, sponsored by the San Diego Audubon Society, includes carbon offsetting with ClimateSafe.

For more information or to register for the San Diego Birding Festival, visit http://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/index.php/events/bird-festival.