Birding Festival of the South

10/16/2026

🐦 Today's is for all those missing the Birding Festival of the South! Re-live the birdiest weekend around with these images from the inaugural festival.

We had the best time with our special guests, including live bird calls by Samuel Henderson at Bridge St. LIVE!, a meditation and bird walk with Bonner Black at Garvan Woodland Gardens, bird ID with Beasts of Birdin, live musical performances by Melissa Carper, Bonner Black, and Extremely Accurate Birds, bird walks with Birding By Ear, Ted Floyd, Extremely Accurate Birds, and Badgerland Birding at the Northwoods Trails, Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery, Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail, and beyond!

Thank you to our incredible attendees for a sell out first year; from those who had just started their birding journey, to those who had been birding for years. And of course a huge thank you to Oaklawn Hot Springs for being the presenting sponsor of the inaugural Birding Festival of the South in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas! 💙

10/10/2026

🐦 Happy and Day 2!

Field Guide Friday highlights the incredible birds (and birders) that can be found right in Arkansas and today we’re highlighting just that: BIRDERS in the wild! Birders can often be seen holding their binoculars steady, gazing up at a 60 degree angle, while frequently checking their Merlin or eBird Apps.

📸👀 Share your birding photos from today’s field trips and events in the comments below. Don’t forget to tag Birding Festival of the South when sharing your bird fest adventures!

10/09/2026

The Birding Festival of the South presented by Oaklawn Hot Springs is thrilled to welcome bird caller Samuel Henderson to Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas!

10/08/2026

🐦🗺 Where do I go for field trip transportation? Where's the African Penguin encounter? Where can I find awesome Birding Festival of the South merch?

Save this map to know where to find everything happening at the Hot Springs Convention Center during the Birding Festival of the South, presented by Oaklawn Hot Springs.

📍 Free parking can be found within walking distance to the Grand Lobby on Convention Blvd and Church Street.

10/07/2026

🐦🎶 Two world-touring musicians who have vowed to write a song about every living species of birds join the lineup for the Birding Festival of the South, presented by Oaklawn Hot Springs, October 8 -10!

Extremely Accurate Birds (two musician/songwriters) will be at the Birding Festival of the South on Friday and Saturday, October 9 & 10, for a musical performance, songwriting workshop, and a bird walk on the Hot Springs Greenway.

Extremely Accurate Bird Songs will perform Friday night in addition to leading a bird walk on The Greenway and hosting a songwriting workshop. Extremely Accurate's goal is to write a song about every bird species and document the process in podcast form. Since there are only 11,145 species, their goal shouldn’t be too tough.

Together they have created “Extremely Accurate Bird Songs,“ a comedy/nature podcast dedicated to learning about bird species with the most absurd and high-effort method imaginable. In each episode they do an irreverent (but largely factual) deep dive on a specific bird species, followed by the worldwide debut of an original, bird-specific parody song meant to fully capture the bird’s unique essence. The song is then presented to a bird expert guest who decides if the song is “Extremely Accurate” (or not).

Friday, October 9
5 p.m. - Musical Performance by Extremely Accurate Bird Songs

Saturday, October 10
9 a.m. - Bird Walk on The Greenway with Extremely Accurate Birds
1 p.m. - Songwriting Workshop with Extremely Accurate Birds

10/07/2026

🐦 The Birding Festival of the South, presented by Oaklawn, welcomes Beasts of Birdin, a family-led birding show and podcast that brings birdwatching, conservation, music, and outdoor adventure to a new generation!

Based on Fremont Farm just outside Nashville, Tennessee, the Fremont family shares their love of birds through field adventures, bird identification, nature education, original music, and plenty of good-natured competition. Beasts of Birdin reaches a growing online community of more than 272,000 YouTube subscribers, along with audiences across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and their biweekly podcast.

At festivals, the team offers a lively mix of family presentations, interactive bird ID challenges, current bird news, nature journaling, music, guided birding, and hands-on activities. Their goal is simple: to help families experience the fun, wonder, and community of birding together.

⏰ Don't miss Beasts of Birdin - Bird ID Challenge on Friday, October 9 at 2PM in the Hot Springs Convention Center!

10/06/2026

🐦 A little birdie told us.. the Birding Festival of the South field trip registration deadline is Thursday, October 8 at 10AM!

🔗 Find a full list of available field trips and register now at: https://hotsprings.swoogo.com/birding/sign-in?a=1

The Birding Festival of the South is presented by Oaklawn Hot Springs, October 8 - 10! 📸 Tim Kauffman

10/06/2026

10/05/2026

🐦 Birding Festival of the South, presented by Oaklawn Hot Springs, is excited to welcome the brother duo dedicated to making birding accessible to every level of experience, Badgerland Birding, October 8 - 10!

Badgerland Birding will give a presentation on ‘The Changing World of Birding’ and lead a field trip at the Andrew Hulsey Fish Hatchery. The festival will open at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 8, with a free public concert by nationally acclaimed country singer Melissa Carper in the Bridge Street Entertainment District.

Derek and Ryan Sallmann are the brother duo behind Badgerland Birding, a popular birding media brand and YouTube channel dedicated to making birding approachable, exciting and educational for all experience levels.

The Badgerland Birding YouTube channel has surpassed 135,000 subscribers and 24 million views. The brothers bring a unique perspective on how the birding world has evolved — and where it may be headed next.

Through their videos, podcast (The Badgerland Birding Podcast), and field-based storytelling, they highlight bird species, share tips for beginner birders, review birding products, and document birding adventures at hotspots across North America and beyond.

Their content blends entertainment with education, helping to grow interest in birding among both new and experienced birders. They first became actively interested in birding in 2014 after watching the film The Big Year, which inspired them to share the excitement of the hobby and ultimately launch their YouTube channel in 2016.

Friday, October 9
1 p.m. - The Changing World of Birding Presentation - Badgerland Birding

Saturday, October 10
8 a.m. - Field Trip to the Andrew Hulsey Fish Hatchery with Badgerland Birding

The festival is now SOLD OUT! Find more information on the Birding Festival of the South at: hotsprings.org/events/birding-festival-of-the-south/