FeatherFest Birding and Nature Photography Festival

This event is an annual birding and nature photography festival held during spring migration in Galveston.

FeatherFest — the island’s annual birding and nature photography festival — is the perfect time for birders and people who just enjoy being outside to visit Galveston. Join us for a full week of birding, workshops, field trips and social events.

Date(s): April 24-27, 2025

Event Details

About FeatherFest

FeatherFest is one of the largest birding festivals in Texas and one of the few offering a nature photography track. It offers you many opportunities to view birds in their natural habitats with the expertise of local leaders to guide the way. You can also meet birders and outdoor lovers from all over the nation. Share favorite birding spots, new species you saw during the last year, and unique experiences from behind the binoculars.

Frame Your Perfect Shot

Nature Photography Festival

The Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council preludes the annual event with the Birding & Nature Photo Contest, AKA FeatherFest PhotoFest that offers serious AND casual nature photographers the opportunity to appreciate the spring migration. There are even prizes!

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Birding Hotspot

An Aviary Haven

Galveston, on the Upper Texas Coast, is on the Central Flyway — a migratory flight path from South America to Canada. It offers birds a variety of natural habitats — beaches, wetlands, grasslands, woods, ponds, and bays — for the many that stop on their way north or south, others that winter here, or those that live in Galveston year-round.

Field Trips

Birding Field Trips for the beginner or advanced bird watcher. You’ve so many options to see our fine feathered friends.

Choose by ecosystem, from pines to coastal marshland (though there’s even a trip to see how the urban landscape can serve as an avian home).
Select by species, from the American Bald Eagle to the American Oystercatcher. Or select by birder specialty, from bird identification to introduction to coastal birding.
Time frame: The opportunities to see birds are multifold in these well-organized trips designed for half, whole, or more days.

The website separates out the skill level required, the activity level of the trip and whether you’ll bus or meet at the site.

Details for FeatherFest Attendees

Registration: Activities fill quickly. Register early for photography workshops and birding field trips.
Location: Galveston, Texas — where birds migrating to and from Central and South America stop to enjoy the variety of habitats that the island has to offer.
Lodging: Hotels, condos and vacation rentals are available on Galveston Island. Many offer special guest rates in support of FeatherFest, so make certain to let them know why you’re headed here.