Celebration of Flight

Join HawkWatch International on September 27-29, 2019, at the 21st-annual Celebration of Flight at the Corpus Christi HawkWatch.

This festival is a celebration of raptor migration of the Corpus Christi HawkWatch at Hazel Bazemore County Park. 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!

Lion's Den 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 27

• 1 pm Raptor Education with HawkWatch International
• 2:30 pm Wildlife Revealed with Sky Kings Falconry

Saturday, September 28

• 10 am-2 pm Children in Nature Programs

• 10:30 am Wildlife Revealed with Sky Kings Falconry

• 1 pm Raptor Education with HawkWatch International

Sunday, September 29

• 10 am Wildlife Revealed with Sky Kings Falconry

• 11 am Raptor Education with HawkWatch International

• 1 pm Native American Blessing Ceremony

Children in Nature Schedule

Saturday, September 28

• 10 am Children Activities and Booths Open
• 10:30 am Botanical Garden Reptile Show Raptor Show
• 11 am Nature Walk for Kids*
• 11:30 am Pond Walk for Kids*
• Noon Botanical Garden Reptile Show
• 12:30 pm Pond Walk for Kids*
• 1 pm Nature Walk for Kids*
• 1:30 pm Botanical Garden Reptile Show
• 2:30 pm Raptor Show

* Kid Walks will last about 20 minutes

Event Descriptions

Raptor Education with HawkWatch International
Join HawkWatch International Executive Director Nikki Wayment as she talks about the history of migration at HawkWatch International and our large network of sites, and the origin of citizen science and how HawkWatch International is utilizing citizen science volunteers to help us collect important scientific data.

Wildlife Revealed with Sky Kings Falconry
Sky Kings Falconry was founded by in 2009 in order to answer a growing public interest in raptors. Educator Victor Lawrence uses ancient techniques of falconry combined with modern methods to offer highly entertaining and educational programs.

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 to Hazel Bazemore County Park

Take FM624 west from SH77 for about 1 mile. Take a right onto County Road 69 at the stop light (look for the park sign), which takes you to the park. Go in the park entrance, make a left as soon as you get across the speed bump, and follow the winding road to the crest of the hill (past the restrooms, a covered picnic pavilion and around the next bend).