“BirdFest registrations continue to pour in,” said coordinator Vanessa Fuller recently, but openings still are available for most field trips and activities planned for the 16th Annual Olympic BirdFest, Friday-Sunday, April 12-14, and for the guided birding and wildlife cruise in the San Juan Islands, Tuesday-Thursday, April 9-11.
The festival offers over two dozen guided trips, workshops, classes, tours and a gala banquet with an auction and raffle. Registration is through the BirdFest website, www.olympicbirdfest.org, which gives the complete catalogue of activities and events along with availability and prices. Raffle tickets for the Viper HD and gear valued at $825 are $5 each at the Dungeness River Audubon Center, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road, Sequim. Proceeds from the raffle and BirdFest activities help support the center’s educational programs.
“Our field trips are designed to accommodate birders at all levels,” said expert birder and trip organizer Bob Boekelheide. He added that three hours of birding at John Wayne Marina, Dungeness Spit or Three Crabs may be more enjoyable and productive for a beginning birder or someone with limited stamina than some of the longer trips.
Play BirdFest/BirdQuest from April 1-14 by finding the birds created by the Sequim High School ceramics class in Sequim’s downtown businesses, free to the public. Find them all and drop off the game card at the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce. The Grand Prize is a Sequim Bay Cruise with “Salty Girls Charters” for up to six people and a one year’s membership to the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society.
Back by popular demand
BirdFest Photo Contest — This contest is open to all photographers; BirdFest registration is not required to participate. Birds must be photographed on the Olympic Peninsula between April 5-17. Submit up to three photographs by email to info@olympicbirdfest.org. The deadline for photo submission is . on Saturday April 20. Include the date, location and bird species in the email.
9 New events this year and extra field trips
• Owls of the Olympic Peninsula — Lecture 6:30 p.m. Thursday
• Drawing Bird Feathers — Class 9 a.m. Friday
• Birds & Brews — Social Event 5 p.m. Friday, free
• Hummingbirds — Lecture 9 a.m. Saturday
• Swallows of the Olympic Peninsula — Lecture 1:30 p.m. Saturday
• Sunday Dawn Chorus — field trip near Port Angeles — 6 a.m. Sunday
• Gardiner Beach & Diamond Point —field trip— 7 a.m. Sunday• Talons & Toast — presentation and snacks — 9:30 a.m. Sunday
• Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue — meet and greet — 11:30 a.m. Sunday, free
• We also added more opportunities for the regular field trips on Friday.
The special tours only available during the festival:
• Totem Tour — tour — 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday (No other tours like this throughout the year. Great way to learn the history of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe)
• Dry Creek Waterfowl Sanctuary — field trip — 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday (Only open to the public for this event once a year)
The guest speaker for the 2019 banquet is John Marzluff and the topic will be ”Welcome to Subirdia.” Kokopelli Grill will be catering the event again with salmon as the main course and That Takes the Cake will provide the dessert cupcakes. The dinner is from 6-8:30 p.m. Saturday April 13, at the tribe’s Red Cedar Hall in Blyn for $50 per person. Advance reservations are required.
To learn more about the Olympic BirdFest, log onto www.olympicbirdfest.org or call the Dungeness River Audubon Center at 360-681-4076.
