By Scott D. Johnston

It’s the stuff storytellers salivate over — an epic quest for survival that stretches the length of continents, with an enormous cast of hundreds of thousands, sharing a single vision.

It includes incredible imagery with inconceivably complex choreography precisely performed. Witnesses offer exclamations like “amazing!” and “inspiring!” and tell friends, “you’ve gotta see this for yourself!”

The 22nd Annual Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival — Friday through Sunday, May 5-7, based at the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge adjacent to the Bowerman Field airport and at nearby Hoquiam High School — presents an opportunity to experience the annual migration of hundreds of thousands of shorebirds that includes a “rest and refuel” stop on the beaches and intertidal flats of Grays Harbor. It has given rise to a multi-faceted event that brings as many as 2,000 visitors from as far away as Florida and Maine.

The Shorebird Festival was started by the Grays Harbor Audubon Society and is supported by the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Complex, of which the Grays Harbor Refuge is a part, and the city of Hoquiam. Many activities are planned, including lectures, free family events, a students’ poster contest with over 600 entries and the birding marketplace, all at Hoquiam High School; field trips to North Beach and South Beach coastal viewing areas; and the “Run for the Birds” with registration at 9 a.m. Saturday at Hoquiam City Hall for a 2-mile walk/run and 5K and 10K runs.

The keynote speaker Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the high school is award-winning wildlife photographer Tim Boyer. Other lecture topics are “Shorebird Identification Basics,” “Antarctica: Past, Present and Penguins,” and “The Peregrine Falcon: Hunter and Scavenger.”

The birds themselves are the main attraction, and there will be plenty of viewing opportunities at the Refuge. Glynnis Nakai, Nisqually Refuge Manager, said “the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge was established primarily to protect habitat for migratory shorebirds.” The intertidal mudflats that get uncovered when the tide goes out are a prime feeding area for 15-20 bird species during their migration from South America to their breeding grounds in Alaska.

For humans, the Refuge’s Sandpiper Trail is a mile-long boardwalk that leads to a large viewing area. During peak viewing times, volunteers with scopes will be available to help answer questions. At the Refuge, shorebirds can be viewed best during the period about three hours before to three hours after high tide. That means the best viewing times for the Festival are approximately 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Arnie Martin, Grays Harbor Audubon Society President, said the field trips to coastal viewing areas are his favorite element of the event, and he enjoys coordinating the itineraries and recruiting guides each year. He’s been involved with the festival since 2007. Field trips originate in Hoquiam, run 6-8 hours, and cost $35 to $45. There will be a Friday field trip to Tokeland, Grayland and Westport, and another to Ocean Shoes. Saturday field trips go to Ocean Shoes and Huynisisoos (Pt. Grenville) and Sunday to Westport.

Dianna Moore, who has helped coordinate the Festival for 14 years, serves as registrar for the field trips, as well as lectures at a Saturday night dinner with speaker. Information is available at www.shorbirdfestival.com. The website includes a registration form and Moore will also help folks with that by phone or email. She noted that people who live on the coast can pick up a field trip near or at the beach, but those arrangements must be made in advance by contacting her. Moore can be reached at (360) 289-5048 and by email at dlmoor2@coastaccess.com. Moore said the event offers a rare opportunity to experience “what the world recognizes as one of the most important birding areas… one of the few places anywhere that people can go to see this.”

The Festival also includes a chance to hear citizen science leader Dr. Julia Parrish, professor of Ocean Fishery Sciences and the Associate Dean of the College of the Environment at the University of Washington. In 1999, she created the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), which started with five beaches in southern Washington, including the North Coast area of Grays Harbor County, and has grown to 800 volunteers working on nearly 450 beaches in northern California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska.

Dr. Parrish will speak at the Saturday night dinner at the Hoquiam Elks Lodge. Tickets are $25 and include a social hour at 5:30 p.m., dinner by O’Brien’s Catering at 6:30 p.m. and Dr. Parrish’s lecture at 7:30 p.m. Shorebird Festival Schedule

Friday

6:50 a.m.-12:50 p.m. Best Shorebird Viewing at Grays Harbor NWR

7 a.m. – 3 p.m. Festival Information and Registration at Grays Harbor NWR on Airport Way

7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Field Trip to Tokeland, Grayland, and Westport

8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Field Trip to Ocean Shores

9 a.m.-11 a.m. Guided Walk at Grays Harbor NWR

4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Festival Information and Registration at High School

6:45 p.m. – 9 p.m. Keynote Speaker and dessert reception

Saturday

7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Festival Information and Registration at High School

8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Shuttle Bus to Refuge

8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Best Shorebird Viewing at Grays Harbor NWR

8 a.m. – 9 a.m. Lecture on Shorebird Identification Basics

8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Field Trip to Ocean Shores

9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Field Trip to Huynisisoos

9 a.m.-10 a.m. Shorebird Festival Run for the Birds

9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Birding Marketplace with Vendors and Exhibitors

9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Nature Fun Fair

9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Mudflat Meals at Nature Fun Fair

9:15 a.m.-11:45 p.m. Field Trip to Grays Harbor NWR – Birds for Beginners

1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Poster Contest Awards Ceremony

2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Be A Shorebird and Procession of the Shorebirds

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Lecture, Antarctica: Past, Present, and Penguins

5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Social Hour with no-host bar

5:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. Annual Dinner and Speaker

Sunday

8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Festival Information and Registration at High School

8 a.m. – 3 p.m. Shuttle Bus to Refuge

8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Field Trip to Westport

8:50 a.m. – 2:50 p.m. Best Shorebird Viewing at Grays Harbor NWR

9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Birding Marketplace with Vendors and Exhibitors

9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Nature Fun Fair

11 a.m.-1 p.m. Guided Walk at Grays Harbor NWR

2 p.m. – 3 p.m. Lecture, The Peregrine Falcon: Hunter &Scavenger

More information: www.shorebirdfestival.com

(Gabe Green | The Daily World) Birdwatchers participating in a guided tour view a variety of shorebirds Friday morning along the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge boardwalk during the first day of this year’s Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival.