The sixth annual BLACK BELT BIRDING FESTIVAL will take place July 31 through August 2, 2026. Highlighting the birds, history and heritage of Alabama's Black Belt region, the festival brings together the joy of birding with the benefits of ecotourism to a region of profoundly important ecology and civil rights history.
Tickets and detailed event information can be found at ALAudubon.org.
"We are thrilled that our festival is now attracting birders from across the country," said Dr. Scot Duncan, Executive Director of Alabama Audubon. "With its combination of distinctive birdlife, unique landscapes, and globally significant human rights history, there's nothing quite like it anywhere. Nowhere else can you see flocks of Swallow-tailed Kites and Wood Storks swirling over a landscape where civil rights foot soldiers marched for freedom and democracy."
The Black Belt is the largest natural grassland region in the eastern U.S. Named for its dark prairie soils, grassland and wetland birds thrive here among the region's ranches, farms, and restored prairies. Alabama Audubon's Black Belt Birding Initiative aims to bring the economic and environmental benefits of bird-based ecotourism to one of the country's most economically challenged rural areas, with major support for the program from Alabama Black Belt Adventures, Alabama Power Foundation, Alabama Department of Tourism, The Daniel Foundation of Alabama and the Drax Foundation.
The festival begins the evening of Friday, July 31st, at 5 p.m., with a free kickoff event at Project Horseshoe Farm (1202 Main Street, Greensboro) – a regional nonprofit focused on community health – featuring a welcome speech by Alabama Audubon's Executive Director Dr. Scot Duncan, live music by Alabama singer-songwriter Rachel Edwards accompanied by jazz guitarist John Holaway, and refreshments.
The Festival's 2026 Keynote Address will be presented by American Birding Association's Nate Swick at the Greensboro Opera House on Saturday, Aug. 1. Host of the highly popular weekly podcast, The American Birding Podcast, Nate leads in-depth conversations with birding experts and enthusiasts, and showcases rare bird roundups and breaking bird news. Author of A Beginner's Guide to Birding, as well as the ABA Field Guide to Birds of the Carolinas, Nate also serves on the North Carolina Bird Records Committee, which he previously chaired, and he is an eBird reviewer for the state.
Guided field trips begin Saturday morning across Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Marengo, Perry, Sumter, and Wilcox counties, including birding from a 100-ft birding tower designed by Auburn University's Rural Studio at Perry Lakes Park near Marion, and a beginner's bird walk in Selma while learning about the region's role in the Civil Rights Movement with Terry Chestnut, Jr., whose father was Alabama's first Black lawyer and represented Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Joe Farm, a 4th generation Black-owned cattle ranch, is among the most popular events of the weekend, where Swallow-tailed and Mississippi Kites put on an exciting show while snatching insects out of the air behind Mr. Cornelius Joe's tractor. The Joe Farm has been featured internationally as a premier birding destination in Alabama, with coverage on BBC Travel, NatGeo's Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper, and most recently, in Living Bird, Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology magazine.
Opportunities to bird and learn local history, culture, and ecology stretch well into Sunday, with events at Old Cahawba Archaeological Park, a trip to the Hall Family Farm, a campsite in Dallas County used by foot soldiers during the historic Selma to Montgomery March for Civil Rights in 1965, and a partnership with the Cahaba River Society to bird by canoe on the oxbow lakes at Perry Lakes Park.
With 30 events across the weekend, attendees can build their own itineraries, and experience a sampling of some of the best the Black Belt has to offer.
Throughout the weekend, visitors and Black Belt residents can enjoy community-based programming including bird-related fine art at Aaron Sanders Head's Sumac Cottage (1107 South St., Greensboro) and the Engle Gallery (1301 Main St, Greensboro), and a special historic exhibit entitled Feathers in Fashion at Magnolia Grove (1002 Hobson St, Greensboro) in collaboration with the Alabama Historical Commission and guest curator Ian Crawford from the University of Alabama's Department of Clothing, Textiles, and Interior Design.
"We're proud to support Alabama Audubon in this festival, which continues to demonstrate that birding in Alabama's Black Belt is a powerful tourism driver," states Pam Swanner, Director of the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association. "The festival's growth year after year generates sustainable revenue for our rural communities, directly supporting the livelihoods of those who live and work here. The national and international attention it attracts delivers a strong return on investment — earning the kind of high-value exposure that traditional advertising simply can't match."
Birders of all ages, skill-levels, abilities, and interests are welcome to join Alabama Audubon for an unforgettable weekend in the beautiful Black Belt region of Alabama, where opportunities to experience, learn, and bird abound!
ABOUT ALABAMA AUDUBON: Founded in 1946 as the Birmingham Audubon Society, Alabama Audubon has since grown to become the state's leading nonprofit promoting conservation and a greater knowledge of birds, their habitats, and the natural world. Alabama Audubon's Black Belt Birding Initiative works to bring the economic and conservation benefits of bird-based ecotourism to one of the country's most economically challenged rural areas.
A certified chapter of the National Audubon Society and an independent 501(c)(3) organization, Alabama Audubon's mission is to promote conservation and a greater knowledge of birds, their habitats, and the natural world. Find out more at alaudubon.org or follow us on social media @alaudubon (Facebook, Instagram).