Wings Over Water Festival
Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival began in 1997 to connect the public with wildlife and wildland experiences in regional national wildlife refuges. Hosted across six refuges in northeastern North Carolina, the festival features about 60 programs, including birding, paddling, photography, and natural history, making it one of the premier East Coast wildlife festivals.
2026 Keynote Speaker: Scott Weidensaul
Scott Weidensaul is the author of nearly 30 books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist, Living on the Wind and his New York Times bestseller, A World on the Wing. His latest book, Return of the Oystercatcher, coming in April 2026, showcases what’s working for bird conservation around the world. Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon magazine, a columnist for, Bird Watcher’s Digest, and writes for a variety of other publications including, Living Bird. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society and an active field researcher, studying saw-whet owl migration for 30 years, as well as winter hummingbirds in the East, bird migration in Alaska, and the winter movements of snowy owls through Project SNOWstorm, which he co-founded.
The Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival supports refuge conservation and education through the Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society.
