Organizers of the first Monterey Bay Birding Festival were ecstatic about turnout for the weekend event, which was sold out for nearly all 31 events.
"It’s just been overwhelming," organizer Dave Brockman said Saturday afternoon.
Among the 214 participants, most hailed from the Bay Area, while others came from as far afield as Corvallis, Ore., and Yakima, Wash. About 80 people turned out for the opening lecture by Clay Kempf on the rich variety of birds in the Pajaro Valley, entitled "From the Mountains to the Sea."
Birders from outside the area especially appreciated the chance to check out some of the 200 species on the Central Coast, Brockman said. The festival featured expert tours of Watsonville Slough, Elkhorn Slough Reserve, Pinto Lake and Big Sur, as well as family and bilingual trips.
One avid birder waved the cover of a birding magazine with a bird on the front, exclaiming, "I saw this one!" at the festival headquarters outside the Red Roof Inn in Watsonville, Brockman said.
"Everybody benefits from this — the businesses, the birders — and that’s part of the whole plan to expand eco-tourism here," he said.
In the festival’s second year, organizers hope to increase the number of trips and may also offer kayaking and boating trips, Brockman said.
The festival coincided with the release of local birder Todd Newberry’s book "The Ardent Birder."
"That was wonderful timing; we were able to promote the book and the festival," said Christina Glynn, communications manager for the Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitor’s Council.
John Vernon, president of the Friends of Pajaro Dunes, also helped organize the festival. He said his beginner birding trip during the festival made him further appreciate his own back yard — the Watsonville Slough outside his home at Pajaro Dunes.
Roughly 80 percent of festival participants were regular birders, while the rest were new to the hobby, Vernon estimated.

Reprinted from the Register Pajaronian, http://www.register-pajaronian.com