In 2008 Bill was awarded a Service Citizen Award from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for his contributions in making the National Wildlife Refuge system more bird and birder-friendly. He was also awarded the Robert Ridgley Award for Excellence in Ornithological Publications from the American Birding Association.
In 2009 he was nominated for a "Heart of Green" award by thedailygreen.com for his work in fighting Nature Deficit Disorder by helping introduce kids to bird watching. Born in Pella, Iowa, Bill encountered his spark bird there at the age of 8, when a snowy owl flew into the Thompson family's front yard. His favorite bird is the red-headed woodpecker. In addition to making the keynote address at the Saturday night banquet, Bill will lead a trip and conduct a workshop.
Latest News
Watch here for events that are filled or that have limited openings left and other announcements.
For more infomation about the pelagic trips click here for descriptions. You may meet the boat at the landing on Point Loma but carefully read the information on the link. Parking at the landing is $5. Free transport is provided from Marina VIllage at the posted departure time.
Limited Openings
F6: North County Lagoons Trip (2 openings)
Sa7: Birding by Kayak on South San Diego Bay 1 (2 openings)
Su5: Native Habitats Trip (2 openings)
Closed Events
T1: Birding 100 Trip #1
T2: Birding Along the Border Trip #1
T3: Baja California Trip #1
T6: Coastal National Wildlife Refuges Trip #1 (5 on standby)
T7: Gulls and Coastal Waterbirds Trip (2 openings)
F1: Birds of the Anza-Borrego Desert Trip #1
F2: Palomar Mountain and Lake Henshaw Trip
F3: Birding Along the Border Trip #2 (1 on standby)
F4: Baja California Trip #2
F15: Raptor ID Workshop
Sa1: Birds of the Anza-Borrego Desert Trip #2
Sa2: Hawk AlleyTrip (2 on standby)
Sa3: Birding at Camp Pendleton Trip (2 on standby)
Sa5: Birding at Rancho La Puerta Trip (3 on standby)
Sa6: Coastal National Wildlife Refuges Trip #2 (1 on standby)
Su1: Birding 100 Trip #2 (1 on standby)
Su2: Torrey Pines Trip (3 on stanby)
Su3: Islas Coronados Pelagic Trip #2
Su4: Coastal National Wildlife Refuges Trip #3
Events
Click on the day or event number to see details, times, and prices of Festival events.
Thursday March 4
T1: Birding 100 Trip #1
T2: Birding Along the Border Trip #1 with Guy McCaskie
T3: Baja California Trip #1
T4: Lake Hodges and Kit Carson Park Trip
T5: Whales, Dolphins, and Birds Trip
T6: Coastal National Wildlife Refuges Trip #1
T7: Gulls and Coastal Waterbirds Trip
T8: Birding By Bike Trip
T9: Avian Collection at Natural History Museum Trip
T10: Spring Wildflowers Workshop
T11: Pelagic Birding Workshop
T12: Beginning Digiscoping Workshop #1
T13: Birding by Sound Workshop
T14: Beer, Pizza, and Birds Mixer
Friday March 5
F1: Birds of the Anza-Borrego Desert Trip #1
F2: Palomar Mountain and Lake Henshaw Trip
F3: Birding Along the Border Trip #2 with Bill Thompson
F4: Baja California Trip #2
F5: Wild Animal Park Trip
F6: North County Lagoons Trip
F7: San Diego's Pacific Rocky Shores Trip
F8: Local Favorites Trip
F9: Digiscoping in Depth Workshop and Trip
F10: Better Birding Workshop
F11: Intro to Birding Oprtics Workshop
F12: Winter Shorebird ID Workshop
F13: Backyard Habitats Workshop
F14: eBird: Birding Records Online Workshop
F15: Raptor ID Workshop
F16: birdJam Workshop
F17: Basic Bird ID Workshop
F18: San Diego River Estuary Walk
F19: Mixer and Optics
Mixer, Optics Fair and Mini Film Festival
Saturday March 6
Sa1: Birds of the Anza-Borrego Desert Trip #2
Sa2: Hawk Alley: Dos Picos Park and Santa Maria Valley Trip
Sa3: Birding at Camp Pendleton Trip
Sa4: Islas Coronados Pelagic Trip #1
Sa5: Birding at Rancho La Puerta Trip
Sa6: Coastal National Wildlife Refuges Trip #2
Sa7: Birding by Kayak on South San Diego Bay #1
Sa8: Birding by Camera Workshop
Sa9: Japanese Brush Painting Workshop
Sa10: Drawing Birds Workshop
Sa11: Raptor Rap Workshop
Sa12: Owl Pellet Dissection Workshop
Sa13: Beginning Digiscoping Workshop #2
Sa14: Bird Calling Workshop
Sa15: Perils and Pitfalls Workshop with Bill Thompson
Sa16: San Diego River Estuary Walk
Sa17: Banquet and Keynote Speaker with Bill Thompson
Sunday March 7
Su1: Birding 100 Trip #2
Su2: Torrey Pines Trip
Su3: Islas Coronados Pelagic Trip #2
Su4: Coastal National Wildlife Refuges Trip #3
Su5: Native Habitats Trip
Su6: Birding by Kayak on South San Diego Bay #2
Birding & Optics Expo--Thursday throught Saturday
The optics, vendors, and nonprofit groups displays will be open from 11 am to 5 pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
Optics representatives planning to attend include:
Leica Sport Optics
Kowa Optimed, Inc.
Eagle Optics
Nikon Sports Optics
Scope City
Swarovski Optik N.A.
Carl Zeiss Sports Optics
in addition to art exhibitors and non-profit groups | 
