Commune with mother nature and God's flight creatures in the backyard of the technological center for spacecraft--the Space Coast near Titusville, Florida.

Bird and nature enthusiasts from across the country will gather on Florida ’s Space Coast this Jan. 27 – Feb. 1 for the 13th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival presented by the Brevard Nature Alliance.

Recognized as the nation’s most popular birding festival, the six-day event at Brevard Community College ’s Titusville campus offers attendees a variety of activities designed to bring together and educate bird and wildlife devotees. Activities include presentations from some of the world’s preeminent bird and wildlife experts, field trips that highlight the best in regional wildlife and an exhibit hall featuring more than 70 participants including artists, crafters, wildlife and birding organizations as well as nature-specialty businesses featuring photography, optics and nature-touring companies.

Among this year’s many presenters are Bill Thompson III, editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest; David Allen Sibley, author of the acclaimed The Sibley Field Guide to Birds, and Kenn Kaufman, author of the Kaufman Field Guide Series and 1992 winner of the American Birding Association’s Ludlow Griscom Award. Topics of discussion include the “Art of Identification”, “The Life of Birds” and “Raptors of Florida”. There is also a special series of presentations dedicated to photography, digiscoping and optics.

New to the 2010 festival will be the North American Gull Conference, a gathering of the top gull experts for the purpose of sharing information about this fascinating bird common to Florida ’s Space Coast . Activities include a gull ID workshop at the Brevard County landfill, a beach gull watch and a round table discussion on gull habitat and identification.

Located on the Atlantic Flyway, the Space Coast is within close proximity to 40 sites on the Great Florida Birding Trail and is an ideal place to watch for migrating species. Numerous festival field trips take advantage of this location offering themed outings from “Beginning Birding” to “Birding by Ear & Habitat”.

Other festival activities include a silent auction, Sunday social and boat tours.

Registration for the Brevard Nature Alliance’s 13th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival is open to the public. For more information or to register, please visit www.nbbd.com/fly.

What: 13th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival

When: Jan. 27 – Feb. 1, 2010

Where: Florida ’s Space Coast
Brevard Community College , Titusville Campus
1311 North U.S. Highway 1
Titusville , FL 32796

Cost: Festival Registration Fee is $25
One-Day Registration Fee is $10.
Presentations and field trips are an additional cost. Many activities are free. Please visit web site for more information.

Web site: www.nbbd.com/fly

Contact: 321-268-5224 or festival@brevardnaturealliance.org

Located 35 miles (56 km) east of Orlando , Florida ’s Space Coast is home to Orlando ’s closest beaches. A family-friendly destination with more than 10,000 guest rooms, the area is an ideal, value getaway offering adventure, history and nature.

With 72 miles (110 km) of beaches, the longest stretch in the state, and 250 square miles of wildlife refuge, the Space Coast is one of the largest intact eco-systems in Florida . Home to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center , it is the only place in the country where one can watch a live Shuttle launch--and growing up with the first launch--I can tell you it's exciting to watch history in the making!

Encompassing Cocoa Beach , Melbourne Beach , Palm Bay and Titusville , the Space Coast also is noted for surfing, its numerous history and art museums, and a popular cruise port, Port Canaveral. If you have never been to the Space Coast, take advantage of this event to absorb the beaches (Playalinda), the bird festival and the Space Center. You'll leave saying "Wow--it's more than I expected!"

For more information, contact the Space Coast Office of Tourism at (877) 572-3224 or visit http://www.space-coast.com/.