Blue Wall
Birding Festival

Upstate South Carolina
April 25 - 28, 2024

Blue Wall Birding Festival

Upstate South Carolina
April 25 - 28, 2024

Spring Birding in Beautiful Upstate South Carolina

South Carolina Parks, Recreation, and Tourism is proud to present the annual Blue Wall Birding Festival, held in Upstate South Carolina from April 25 to 28, 2024. Our home base for the event will again be Table Rock State Park. From there, we will branch out and bird some of the best hotspots for spring migration in northwestern SC. At this time of year, we should find a great variety of migrating birds as well as a nice selection of the region's breeding birds, such as Swainson's Warbler, and perhaps a few lingering winter residents. All trips will be led by knowledgeable local birders. This year we will again have workshops for bird identification by call, as well as a field trip to focus primarily on butterflies, of which the Upstate has a great variety.

Table Rock State Park
Table Rock State Park

Throughout the weekend we hope to showcase the great birding and parks that Upstate South Carolina has to offer, as well as some of the conservation work that is under way here. Field trips will visit a great variety of habitats, from the open country landscape of the Townville area, to the striking mountains of Table Rock and Caesars Head State Parks, to the pristine and beautiful Lake Jocassee.

Participation will be limited to 50 attendees in order to keep the field trip group sizes small, so sign up quickly.


Schedule

THURSDAY, APRIL 25

Thursday night we will gather together to introduce some of our trip leaders, discuss the logistics for the weekend, play a bird-focused version of Jeopardy, and enjoy chatting about birds. Snacks and drinks will be provided.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26

SATURDAY, APRIL 27

SUNDAY, APRIL 28


Accommodations

Participants are encouraged to stay at the cabins at Table Rock State Park, which will be held for attendees of this festival until April 1, 2024.

NOTE: Since the cabins are held for festival participants, they will not appear available online. Please call the park at (864) 878-9813 instead and tell them you are registered for the festival in order to reserve one of the cabins.

Table Rock also has several campsites available. To reserve a campsite, visit the park website or call 1-866-345-PARK (7275).

In addition, the following state parks in the area have cabins or campsites available, as specified:

There are also several hotels available in Clemson, Seneca, and Easley.


Cost

The cost for the event is $125 per person, and includes guides for all trips, admission to Thursday night's presentation and to any state parks included as part of a field trip itinerary, as well as snacks at the Thursday and Saturday evening events. For those interested, it also includes admission to Table Rock State Park after hours for Friday night's owling excursion, and a guided tour of Conestee Nature Preserve on Sunday morning (Trip 8). All registrants will also receive a festival coffee mug and T-shirt.

For those interested in Trip 9, Devil's Fork State Park and Lake Jocassee, there is an additional cost of $65 per person to cover the boat tour portion, allowing close looks at Loons and Grebes, a chance at seeing the Peregrine Falcons nesting along the cliffs, and a very enjoyable and relaxing ride on a beautiful lake in the mountains.

Not included in the registration fees are accommodations, meals, and transportation, with the exception of Trip 5, covering Table Rock State Park, The Mountain Bridge Wilderness, and Tall Pines WMA, which will use the State Parks van for transportation.


Registration

Registration is open until April 1, 2024. Details for how to sign up can be found on our Registration Page.



Partners

The Blue Wall Birding Festival is being brought to you by the following organizations:

South Carolina State Parks

The Greenville County Bird Club

The Keowee-Clemson Bird Club

Jocassee Lake Tours