It's Sunday morning at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo in Austin, Texas. As many people are still attending church, the crowds are at their lowest numbers during any of the hours in which the expo has or will be open this weekend. Even so, there are presently more people on the site than I have seen at the largest birding event I have attended in the U.S.

The size if this event beggars the imagination. Marquee tent after marquee (the photo shown only depicts the entry road with its exhibit tents; the full event would require aerial photography to capture it all) tent packed full of exhibitors, outdoor activities for the entire family, and major sponsors, such as Toyota, with displays all their own that rival any I've seen anywhere. It is estimated that as many as 40,000 people may visit the expo over the two days of its operation.

However as I have walked the grounds before opening time, one thing has become clear – there is precious little attention given to wildlife observation here. Remember, this is in Texas, one of the major avitourism destination states in the U.S. National Audubon has no display here, neither does American Bird Conservancy, Cornell Lab, or Partners in Flight. Only Travis County Audubon is represented.

In England, the British Bird Fair attracts 25,000 people to a birding specific event much like the Texas Expo, but I realize the geographic scale of the U.S. Makes this more difficult for a single activity focused event, or so goes the common wisdom. However as I have spent my time here representing Wingscapes and the BirdCam, talking nearly nonstop with those expressing an interest in birds and other backyard wildlife, I can personally attest that there is interest in birds here at the expo.

Perhaps the bird watching community cannot manage an event of this size all by ourselves, but why do most of our cornerstone organizations and product producing companies not attend this one and "evangelize" those who have interest but may not have yet been fully "converted?" Think of the benefit of bringing even a percentage of the 40,000 people here into, for example, the Audubon family or at least increasing their positive feeling toward the Audubon cause. It seems to make more sense than establishing a display at an event where most in attendance are already supporters.

Moblogging from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo, peace and good bird watching.