Shorebird Festival Opening Night

Now 32 years old, the Oregon Shorebird Festival is a landmark event for birders, wildlife managers and conservationists, and those who are fascinated by the role these avian transients play in our coastal ecology.  This year’s edition takes place Sept. 21-23 in Charleston.

The first night’s event, 7-9 p.m. on the evening of Friday, Sept. 21, features a presentation on avian photography by photographer Tim Boyle.  It takes place in the cafeteria of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (63466 Boat Basin Rd. in Charleston).  Registration for the entire event takes place in the same location 4-6 p.m.  Individual events like this one carry a $15 fee; registration for the entire festival is $35.  To register, go here.

The festival as a whole features expertly guided trips to Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, where visitors will have an excellent opportunity to view the most abundant shorebirds including Western and Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, Semipalmated Plover, and Black-bellied Plover;  a paddle trip along the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve which will accommodate birders interested in seeing Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Belted Kingfisher and Spotted Sandpiper; a field trip through Coos Bay which will treat visitors to Black Turnstone, Wandering Tattler, Surfbird, and Black Oystercatcher; and a five-hour guided pelagic trip offering the opportunity to see Black-footed albatross, Parasitic Jaeger, Sabine’s Gull, Fork-tailed Stormpetrel, Sooty Shearwater, Pink-footed Shearwater, Northern Fulmar, Pomarine Jaeger, Red-necked Phalarope, and Cassin’s Auklet sightings.

Friday and Saturday evenings will feature presentations by expert birders and naturalists.  

For more information about the event, contact Harv Schubothe, Cape Arago Audubon Society, (541) 297-2342, harv@greaterbandon.org