Los Cabos is better known for whales and marlin, but its birds are getting their own celebration. The second International Bird Festival of Los Cabos opened on Thursday, October 8, at the Krystal Grand Los Cabos hotel in San José del Cabo, and runs through Saturday, October 10.

The municipality describes a program of talks, workshops, birdwatching outings and family activities, focused on research, citizen science and the conservation of seabirds, shorebirds and land birds, along with the habitats they depend on. Activities are open to the public. This year’s theme is “Las aves nos unen entre el mar y la sierra,” roughly “birds bring us together between the sea and the mountains.”

Why birds, and why here?

Around 340 bird species have been recorded in the municipality, according to figures presented when the program was announced at the Los Cabos campus of the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS). The festival itself was born in 2025, the year Los Cabos received the Bird City recognition from the Bird City Network.

It’s a joint effort: the organizing committee brings together the municipal Tourism and Ecology departments, the Los Cabos Tourism Board, the Los Cabos Hotel Association, UABCS and civil groups such as Isla. Organizers expected participants from Brazil, Panama, the United States and Canada, as well as from across Mexico. Municipal tourism director Ana Gabriela Navarro González pointed out that birdwatchers tend to stay several days, which makes this kind of low-impact nature tourism attractive for the destination.

Birding on your own

If you miss the festival, the estuary in San José del Cabo is a good place to start looking for birds. Our guide to sightseeing in San José del Cabo covers it, along with the rest of the town. For schedules and registration, the municipality points visitors to the festival’s official social media accounts.

Get directions: Krystal Grand Los Cabos, Carretera Transpeninsular Km 29, San José del Cabo, B.C.S.

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