In the Media

San Diego Bird Festival has been featured in local and national news, podcasts, and television segments celebrating birding, conservation, and community. Click any title below to read, listen, or watch.

📰 News & Articles

• San Diego Union-Tribune – “Annual San Diego Bird Festival Lands Feb. 21–25” (Feb 17, 2024) Festival announcement article outlining dates, key sessions, and special guests.
• San Diego Union-Tribune – “Super Bowl of Birding: 7 Birds to Watch for as Millions Fly Through San Diego This Spring” (Feb 28, 2024) Feature story tying into the festival, sharing highlight bird species and migration context.
• San Diego Supercomputer Center, UC San Diego – “High School Students Showcase Data Science Project at 2024 San Diego Bird Festival” (Mar 14, 2024) Torrey Pines High School interns presented their research on Western Bluebird data to festival attendees.
• San Diego Union-Tribune – “Lederer on Language at the San Diego Bird Festival: The Bird Is the Word” (Mar 1, 2025) A commentary exploring how bird-watching culture and language intersect at the festival.
• OB Rag – “The Flight of the San Diego Bird Festival at Marina Village Begins Tomorrow, Feb. 25” (Feb 24, 2026) A preview of the 2026 festival and its expanded keynote lineup at venues across San Diego, from the WorldBeat Cultural Center to the Natural History Museum.

🎙 Podcasts

• Looking at Birds – Episode 36 – Jen Hajj + Swainson’s Hawk & San Diego Bird Festival Jen Hajj shares her birding background, her love of Swainson’s Hawks, her music, and a preview of the 2023 festival.
• Looking at Birds – Episode 43 – San Diego Bird Festival 2023 Interviews with participants about the variety of field trips and the community that makes the event special.
• Hannah and Erik Go Birding – “Birds, Food, and Fun in San Diego” The hosts share their firsthand experience attending the festival and birding across San Diego County.
• Out There With the Birds – “Jen Hajj and the San Diego Bird Festival” A conversation with Jen Hajj about festival programming, birding culture, and connecting people to nature.
• Talkin’ Birds – Episode #1,020 – Preview of the 2025 Festival (Jan 12, 2025) Host Ray Brown previews the upcoming festival with interviews from organizers and participants.
• KPBS – The Finest Podcast – “Chasing 100 Birds in 1 Day in America’s Birdiest County: Inside the Birding Boom” (2025) An episode of KPBS’s The Finest podcast featuring the San Diego Bird Festival, exploring birding’s growing popularity in the region.
• Any Bird Any Body – Any Bird Any Body (Podcast Series) A welcoming podcast celebrating birding for all – featuring conversations with birders of diverse experiences and perspectives.

📺 TV & Video

• Orange Audubon Society – Bird Chat: The San Diego Bird Festival (Rick Grove & Jen Hajj) A casual video discussion about the festival’s history and its role in inspiring new birders.
• CBS 8 San Diego – “San Diego Bird Festival Takes Flight This Week” (Morning Extra) A morning-show feature introducing the festival and showcasing local birding attractions.
• NBC 7 San Diego – “Things to Do This Weekend in San Diego” Included the Bird Festival in its weekend round-up of top local happenings.
• KPBS – “Video Diary: The Finest Podcast Chases 100 Birds in 1 Day in San Diego” (2025) A video companion to the KPBS podcast episode, featuring behind-the-scenes footage of the birding challenge and the festival’s connection to it.
• KPBS – “Meet the Top Birders in San Diego, America’s ‘Birdiest County’” (Dec 31, 2025) A profile and video feature from KPBS highlighting some of San Diego’s top birders and the thrill of birding big years in America’s most bird-rich county.

🌎 Event Listings & Partners

• OB Rag – “The 2024 San Diego Bird Festival Begins at Marina Village” (Feb 20, 2024) Community coverage announcing the festival’s kickoff and highlighting guest speakers and field trips.
• Palomar Audubon – “Flight School — 2024 San Diego Bird Festival Lands Feb. 21–25” (2024) Summary of a San Diego Union-Tribune feature on the festival’s programs and conservation mission.
• CNPS San Diego – Chapter Event Post (2025) Promotes the festival’s connection to native plant conservation.
• San Diego Reader – “Outdoors – Bird Festival” (Feb 24, 2025) Feature story highlighting the festival’s activities at Mission Bay and its impact on local ecotourism.
• Times of San Diego – “Weekend Guide: Feb 28–March 2” (Feb 28, 2025) Included as one of the top cultural events in the city’s weekend guide.
• SanDiego.org – Tourism Listing (2026) Tourism Authority event feature emphasizing eco-tourism opportunities.
• KPBS – Festival Listing Official community events calendar listing on KPBS.org.
• Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Birds – National Event Listing Showcases the festival to a national birding audience.

📚 From the Archives

• NBC 7 San Diego – “Birds Gone Wild: It’s a Hoot” (2009) Coverage of the 2009 festival, with keynote David Allen Sibley and blogger Sharon “Birdchick” Stiteler.
• KPBS – “13th Annual San Diego Bird Festival” (Mar 5, 2009) A preview featuring keynote David Allen Sibley and a screening of the documentary Ghost Bird.
• KPBS Midday Edition – “Grab Your Binoculars — San Diego Bird Fest Starts Thursday” (Mar 4, 2015) A radio conversation about why San Diego is a birder’s paradise, ahead of the 19th annual festival.
• North Coast Current – “San Diego Audubon Announces 20th Annual Bird Festival” (2016) The “Sea, Sage, and Sand” festival offered field trips by boat, bike, and even horseback, plus an expanded Family Day.
• Sonoran Joint Venture – 2020 San Diego Bird Festival Announcement (2020) Jen Hajj introduces the 2020 festival and its keynote lineup, including Pete Dunne, Kevin McGowan, Julia Parrish, Nathan Pieplow, and Jason Ward.