By SCOTT D. JOHNSTON
Even when it starts on a chilly, breezy, misty morning, as it did this year, the annual Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival brings flocks of visitors, varied by their backgrounds and everyday endeavors, but united in their passionate pursuit to witness the natural wonder of the yearly migration of millions of shorebirds.
In its 23rd year, the Shorebird Festival offered a wide variety of activities and experiences, running Friday through Sunday, April 27-29, at Hoquiam Middle School and the nearby Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, located next to the Bowerman Field airport.
A highlight was certainly a visit to the Refuge’s Sandpiper Trail, a one-mile boardwalk that ends in a large viewing area built over the tidal mudflats. This is the easiest opportunity for folks to see the amazing flights of huge flocks of birds as they enjoy a vital “rest and refuel” stop on the beaches and intertidal flats of Grays Harbor, during their annual migration from their winter homes in South America. It’s staffed by friendly volunteers, who happily share their spotting scopes and detailed knowledge, from the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Complex, near Olympia, and the Grays Harbor Audubon Society, which created and produces the event.
And for the true-blue “birders” who simply cannot get enough of our fine feathered friends, the ultimate experience is taking one or more of the day-long field trips to prime viewing areas on the coast. The Festival this year offered two trips to Westport and points south, two in Ocean Shores and one north to Huynisisoos, formerly known as Pt. Grenville, at the Quinault Indian Nation.
Ocean Shores is touted by Festival organizers as hosting “some of the best birding spots on the West Coast with more species per location than anywhere else in the state of Washington.” The two dozen birders were warmly dressed and well equipped with ultra-long lenses and expensive spotting scopes Friday morning as trip leaders Dave Richardson and Whittier Johnson made Bill’s Spit the group’s first stop.
A tidal flat about six miles down the peninsula on the bay side, Bill’s Spit lived up to its reputation. The group reported a total of 42 species observed during about 90 minutes as the rising tide drove birds closer to shore.
The count included several land-based birds that were observed too. A highlight was the unusual sighting of several Red Crossbills, which are not shorebirds, a hundred yards inland.
Seattleite David Wilson has been interested in birds for a while: “I just think shorebirds are beautiful and I’d like to learn more about them.”
Garrett Haynes came from Auburn, WA, to his first Shorebird Festival. As a novice birder, he was excited: “A lot of these birds are new to me. I enjoy looking at all the different types… a lot of variety. It’s interesting watching their behavior, listening to their cool songs… really fun to watch.” He booked the Huynisisoos field trip Saturday and Westport Sunday.
Haynes and others reported their observations at www.ebird.org, logging in 24 birds in the Ocean Shores Marina and Damon Point area, 20 around the sewage treatment plant, 16 off of Burrows Road, and 11 at the jetty, where they watched and photographed another rarity, a Hermit Thrush. Richardson said that species is “very unusual to be in this place at any time. They’re usually up near Mt. Rainier.”
A Nisqually Wildlife Refuge volunteer for 13 years, with many Shorebird Festival fields, Richardson said the experience is all about “the joy and the aesthetics of interaction with nature.”
The company and shared enthusiasm of fellow birders always is enjoyable, and field trips are “also a treasure hunt. To see a new bird is always a thrill!”
