May 5 - 7, 2017 marks the annual Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature
Festival
Each year, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds stop at Grays
Harbor and nearby beaches to feed and rest on their northbound Spring
migration. Western sandpipers, Dunlins, Semipalmated plovers, Short-billed
Dowitchers and various other shorebirds are seen in abundance. Many of these
birds are travelling from South America to their summer breeding grounds in
Alaska. Some birds fly as much as 15,000 in one round-trip migration.
When the tide is low, the birds disperse throughout Grays
Harbor. They feed anywhere there are nutrient rich mudflats.
When the tide is high, mudflats are quickly inundated
and the birds must congregate together on the highest remaining mudflats to
feed.
The best spot to see shorebirds in abundance during Spring
migration is at the Bowerman Basin unit
of the GHNWR. It is located adjacent to the airport.
Onsite registration for fee events of the Grays Harbor
Shorebird Festival will be open on Friday from 7am to 3pm at the Grays Harbor
National Wildlife Refuge Office. Registration continues at Festival
Headquarters on Friday from 4pm to 7pm, Saturday from 7:30am to 5pm and Sunday
from 8am to 4pm. Check out a list of events here: http://www.shorebirdfestival.com/events/events
for further information: