Annual bird watching festival to go fully virtual this year Feb. 12, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail Visitors visiting town for the annual Birding Festival had an opportunity to view some painting and drawings local birds at Laredo Center For the Arts on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020.Diana Garro / Laredo Morning Times file One of the Gateway City’s premiere tourist events will go fully virtual this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that the number of cases in the city continues to be high. The ninth-annual edition of the Laredo Birding Festival is set to take place Saturday. Although the event will not partake in their yearly expeditions around the city — as locals and tourists gather to go bird watching — they will hold bird watching expeditions virtually for those that do attend.