Sandhill Cranes are a popular species celebrated at many birding festivals across America (photo by Paul Konrad).

As we near the holiday season, birding festivals close the year with a bang, featuring one of the top-rated birding events of the year – The Festival of Cranes – that attracts people from throughout the nation and beyond to Bosque National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, New Mexico to witness the expansive flocks of Sandhill Cranes, along with Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, and other birds like Greater Roadrunners and Aplomado Falcons. In Florida, the North Shore Birding Festival takes place in the most popular inland birding area – the Lake Apopka North Shore – along with Wekiwa Springs State Park and other locations near Orlando, where 370 species have been listed. And as the newest Bird City in Texas, Galveston is hosting its own Sandhill Crane festival: Holiday with the Cranes!

December 1 to 3 – The Festival of Cranes – Socorro, New Mexico. Rated among the top birding and photography events in North America, this nationally recognized festival offers more than 100 events during the first 3 days of December; see festival of the cranes - Friends of Bosque del Apache

December 1 to 5 – the North Shore Birding Festival – north of Orlando, Florida. The North Shore of Lake Apopka, the most popular inland birding area in Florida, boasts more than 370 species of birds. Sponsored by the Orange Audubon Society, see North Shore Birding Festival

December 10 & 11 – Holiday with the Cranes features Sandhill Cranes wintering on Galveston Island, Texas, which is always a great birding destination on the Gulf Coast; see Homepage - Galveston Island Nature Tourism Council (galvestonnaturetourism.org)