Explore the Monterey Bay Birding Festival

The Monterey Bay Birding Festival begins Thursday and runs all weekend in and around Watsonville. 

The ninth-annual event features field trips throughout Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito Counties. Most of these trips run from 6:30 a.m. until noon., though a few last all day. 

Participants can fill their afternoon hours with workshops and trips to the Vendor Faire, which is open noon to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday on the top floor of the Civic Center on Main Street in Watsonville.

Each evening, enjoy a speaker who is well known in the birding world. The lectures also will be on the fourth floor of the Civic Center.