Celebration of Flight

The 20th annual Celebration of Flight at the Hazel Bazemore County Park will take place September 28-30, 2018.

This festival is a celebration of raptor migration at the Corpus Christi HawkWatch.  This is a family-friendly event with free activities in the park that coincide with peak Broad-winged Hawk migration in September.  Thanks to our partners Swarovski Optik, Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi, and the many volunteers who make this festival possible.

Hawk migration is a true spectacle of the natural world and Corpus Christi HawkWatch has the largest and most diverse in the country.  All events will be held at Hazel Bazemore County Park and are open to the public free of charge. Volunteers will be on hand to show and identify hawks for visitors.

Make sure to get your limited edition 2018 Corpus Christi HawkWatch t-shirt at the festival!

Timmae's Snack Bar food truck will be on site throughout the festival for food and snacks, and will be donating a portion of all sales to HawkWatch International to support raptor migraiton!

Schedule

Friday, September 28

• 1:30 PM - Live raptor program by Sky Kings Falconry
• 3 PM - Raptor education program by Jesse Watson

Saturday, September 29

• 7-9 AM - Bird Walk
• 9:30 AM - Live raptor program by Sky Kings Falconry
• 11 AM - Raptor education program by Jesse Watson
• 1:30 PM - Live raptor program by Sky Kings Falconry

Sunday, September 30

• 7-9 AM - Bird Walk
• 9:30 AM - Live raptor program by Sky Kings Falconry
• 11 AM - Raptor education program by Jesse Watson
• 1 PM - Native American Blessing Ceremony

Event Descriptions

Jesse Watson, Research Biologist, HawkWatch International

Join HawkWatch International’s Research Biologist Jesse Watson as he talks about the importance of migration monitoring, what HWI has learned in over 30 years of counting and some focused research efforts that havelaunched in part due to findings from migration counts- including some work in the Coastal Bend.

Live Raptor Programs

Sky Kings Falconry was founded by Kevin Gaines in 2009 in order to answer a growing public interest in raptors. Kevin uses ancient techniques of falconry combined with modern methods to offer highly entertainingand educational programs. Much of these programs will take place ABOVE the audience and are sure toimpress and delight any crowd. 

Bird Walks

Join us for early morning bird walks around Hazel Bazemore County Park. This small park has a bird checklist of over 340 species. The list includes South Texas specialties like Green Jay, Great Kiskadee, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Olive Sparrow and so muchmore. The pond sometimes has Green Kingfisher, shorebirds and waders. And we will get you back without missing any hawks.

Native American Blessing Ceremony

Join in this time honored blessing for our “Hazel” site by the elders.  Area drum groups, singers and dancers will gather to honor the birds of prey and those who follow their paths. 

Directions

Directions to Hazel Bazemore Park

The park is located in the northwest corner of Corpus Christi in the community of Calallen.  Highways 37 and 77 intersect and run together for a short distance, the first exit south on Hwy 77, less than one half mile south of this intersection, is FM 624 (Northwest Blvd.).  Go west on 624 for .7 mile and take a right on County Road 69 to the entrance of the park and just follow the signs to the site.