Included in your CFWBF weekend (registration is $250.00)
  • Friday meet & greet 
  • Speakers
  • Welcome folder
  • Saturday morning excursion
  • Saturday afternoon excursion
  • Saturday dinner
  • Saturday raffle
  • Sunday morning excursion
  • Local birding locations guide

Cape Fear Women's Birding Festival Itinerary:

Day 1 
  • Festival check-in
  • Meet & Greet reception at Shell Island Resort
  • Judith Davis - Shorebird Talk
  • Betsy Knowles - The ArtWorks / Wildlife & Bird Painting Exhibition
  • Jennifer Whitt - Falconer Presentation
  • Merchandise & vendor tables 
  • Other presenters/speakers TBD

Day 2 
  • Saturday Morning Field Trip or Workshop
  • Saturday Afternoon Field Trip or Workshop
  • Catered dinner provided at Shell Island
  • After dinner speakers, activities and raffle

Day 3
  • Sunday Morning Field Trip or Workshop

Note: Transportation is the sole responsibility of attendees.

 
Hotel Info:
If you are looking for hotel accommodations, the Shell Island Resort is the home base for the CFWBF. 
  • Special rates for CFWBF attendees ($109.00)
  • All rooms are Oceanfront Suites with a bedroom featuring either 2 double beds or 1 king depending on availability 
  • 1 and a 1/2 baths
  • Living room with kitchenette,  sleeper sofa , dining room table
  • Private oceanfront balcony


FIELD TRIPS  AND WORKSHOPS
Below are descriptions of the various field trips & workshops on offer at the 2027 Cape Fear Women's Birding Festival.
Complete your registration to let us know which excursions or workshops you want for your weekend here: Register 2027 

2027 Festival Workshops

Birding Photography I
Finding the Bird and Getting the Shot
This class covers two key areas of bird photography: finding birds and getting the shot, followed by curating and editing your photos.
We’ll explore where to find birds, from your backyard to less common locations, along with field techniques for getting better shots. We’ll cover basic camera modes and focusing tips to help you capture the moment.
We’ll look at selecting your best images and improving composition, color, lighting, sharpness, and noise. The techniques are software-independent and can be applied to any editing program.
Birding Photography Lab
Hands-on photo editing techniques
​(This stand-alone class does not require Birding Photography I)
Bring your own photos, laptop or tablet, and the editing software you normally use. We’ll work hands-on with your images, applying general post-processing techniques that can be used with any software. I’ll demonstrate both computer- and app-based editing and provide individual guidance throughout the class.
What to bring:
  • Original photo files
  • Laptop or tablet
  • Your usual editing software
  • Fully charged equipment (charge points may be limited)
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Bird Illustration &
Painting Workshop
This workshop is a creative, hands-on painting class focused on the beautiful world of bird illustration.  All skill levels are welcome, so whether you are an absolute beginner or an experienced artist, this class is for you. We’ll cover the fundamentals of basic sketching, bird feather groups, and a variety of painting techniques for using acrylic paint on watercolor paper to capture your favorite birds. All participants will receive a small painting kit to continue your creative efforts after you leave the conference. ($40.00 surcharge)
We are honored to present Katie Boyette as our artist in residence for the 2027 CFWBF. Katie is a native of North Carolina and resident of Boone, NC, Katie is a watercolor artist of phenomenal talent. Her portraits of birds, most often posed in native foliage, are exquisite in their detail and tender in composition. It is truly a privilege to offer her workshop on watercolor portraiture of birds to this year’s festival attendees.
Do not delay your registration for this wonderful opportunity!

Birding 101 Workshop & Field Trip
Bird Identification: From Sighting to ID
​Learn how to turn even a brief bird sighting into a confident identification. This hands-on workshop will guide you through sorting the information you have—including time of year, actual species ranges, immediate habitat, field marks, and overall impressions of size and shape (GISS)—to narrow down the possibilities and arrive at an ID.
We’ll have fun practicing with a series of bird-identification challenges using slides. Weather permitting, we’ll then take our skills outside for some real-world practice with live birds.
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Bird "Yardening" Workshop
Creating an enhanced habitat for home birders
Not everyone has the time or money to be a globetrotting birder. For many of us the area around our home is our wildlife refuge. We can enhance that space for birds and other wildlife by planting native species that provide nesting habitat, shelter, and winter feed. Join us for a workshop on how to diversify year round habitat in your "yarden" to provide a better life for feathered friends and increase your viewing opportunities without leaving home. 
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Mindful Birding Workshop
This session will introduce a new way of birding that shifts the focus from identification, counting, and list-keeping to observation, sensory engagement, and personal well-being. Mindful birding can help with stress and anxiety reduction, improved mood, and mental clarity. Following the introduction, we will take a mindful bird walk.

2027 Festival Field Trips

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Airlie Gardens
Airlie Gardens is a private garden with public access. The gardens are built around an enclosed tidal creek, thereby offering salt water habitats, fresh water habitats, dense shrub cover, open parkland lawns, and truly ancient enormous live oaks, all within nearly one 360 degree view. Rarities are regularly found in the many thickets throughout the gardens and somewhat site specific birds such as Red-headed Woodpeckers can be found reliably. Paths are asphalt for the most part and the gardens can be enjoyed even shortly after the sometimes torrential rains of the Southeast. A visitor center, gift shop, and restrooms are beautifully maintained. ($10.00 surcharge)
Handicapped accessible restrooms available.
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Southport - ALL DAY
The Southport daylong trip includes a roundtrip ferry from Ft. Fisher to Southport. Waterbirds such as loons, cormorants, and grebes can be observed from the ferry as it crosses the Cape Fear River, as well as wading birds such as Ibis and Egrets, and even occasionally a Bald Eagle. Passerines can be found throughout the town, along the historic Riverwalk, pier, and yacht basin. This is an all day excursion that combines birding, an historic coastal town, and beautiful tidewater scenery. ($15 surcharge)
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Fort Fisher
The Ft Fisher area combines multiple habitats in a small area. The new visitor center is surrounded by old live oaks and the wooded area around the visitor center is an open, accessible space to bird for small passerines. Directly through the trees a path extends from the Coquina Rocks to the parking lot overlooking the ocean at the Monument. The only area of North Carolina with a rocky shoreline, this is a great area to scope for ocean birds. There is also a parking lot adjacent to the Basin Trail, a combination of woodland, dune, and marsh access to a wide variety of birds, from Painted Buntings to Clapper Rails.
The nearby Ferry terminal is often good for sparrows, some uncommon in the state and rarities are always possible as this is the end of the mainland.
Handicapped accessible in part, restrooms available.
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Mason Inlet Waterbird Management Area
The northern tip of Wrightsville Beach and the inlet between Wrightsville beach and Figure Eight Island is rich in avian fauna. Shorebirds abound, both in the breeding season and in winter. Tern nesting colonies are present and sightings of the endangered Piping Plover are not uncommon. Black Skimmers, Brown Pelicans, as well as many species of terns and gulls loaf on the spit and across the inlet. Depending on the season, the inlet waters themselves can be entertaining, loons, grebes, and sometimes alcids can be seen at fairly close range. While this experience is enhanced by the use of a scope, it’s a mile hike to the point and most birds are well within the range of binoculars. Alongside the hike are dunes, behind which are marshes, featuring the sparrows unique to seaside marshes, rails and wading birds. Ospreys can be seen hunting over the tidal waters. With easy access from Shell Resort, this is a favorite spot for birders and photographers, especially in winter. 

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Carolina Beach Lake
Carolina Beach Lake is a body of fresh water just yards from the ocean. It is maintained by volunteers and has a paved walking path completely surrounding the water. Utilized by species from swallows to terns to ducks to wading birds, it is an excellent stop over to see the unexpected. Easily accessible by car, the path is somewhat handicapped accessible (walkers and canes, not good for wheelchairs) and restrooms are available. If notable species are present the group may stop at the now defunct Carolina Beach pier, where wintering species can be found around the pilings of the old pier. This site is often in transition with construction in the area and a more or less rustic parking area. No amenities here, but the viewing area is very close to the parking spots, so for some it may be worth the inconveniences to spot a male Harlequin duck amongst the Buffleheads. 
Handicapped accessible restrooms available
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Johnny Mercer’s Pier and Masonboro Inlet
Johnny Mercer’s Pier in Wrightsville Beach  is one of the few piers off the coast of North Carolina constructed of concrete. Because of that and its proximity to the nearby Coquina Rocks, there are often ocean ducks feeding on the pilings in and under the pier. In winter large aggregations of Loons, Grebes, Gannets and sometimes Alcids can be seen on the ocean off the pier. Skeins of sea ducks pass by in both migration seasons and in winter. Scopes allowed. ($2.00 surcharge)
Handicapped accessible restrooms available.

Between the southern shore of Wrightsville Beach and the northern edge of the undeveloped Masonboro Island, the inlet is flanked by two large rock jetties. In winter these are often utilized by rock loving species that have restricted habitat elsewhere in the area. Great Cormorants and Purple Sandpipers have been seen on top, while Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, and Harlequin Ducks have been found feeding along the base. This is a good area for unusual gulls as well, and the occasional alcid. A very short walk from parking, there are restrooms and access to the inlet as well as the sound. Sometimes, delightfully, the paths are decorated with student artwork featuring conservation themes.
Handicapped accessible restrooms available.