HOQUIAM’S SHOREBIRD FESTIVAL – This one is for the birds!
One of the tourist magnets for the town of Hoquiam aside from its rustic but opulent mansions, rich heritage museums and its historic Olympic Stadium, not to forget the internationally famous Logger’s Playday is the annual shorebird festival. The event attracts hundreds if not thousands or ornithologist and amateur bird watchers who salivate at the mere idea of seeing dozens of species of these amazing feathery creatures gathered in their thousands in just one area.
The coastal area around Grays Harbor with its lush marshlands and wide mudflats provide a perfect setting for the species of birds that flock to the locale every spring while in route to their winter breeding grounds in the Arctic. The shorebirds so named because of their obvious adaptation to making a living in the shorelines feed and rest in their thousands in the Grays Harbor estuary.
The shorebirds that come to Hoquiam’s Grays Harbor are not only native species but dozens of species from around the world, with some species coming from as far away as Argentina and others still from fifteen thousand miles. Thousand upon thousands of birds flock to the Grays Harbor estuary and mudflats to fatten themselves up with the myriad of crustaceans and fish that inhabit the coast. This makes the area an august place for bird watchers and ornithology experts alike.
The Grays harbor area and the estuary and the birds were once threatened by progress but thanks to the efforts of most of the residents of Hoquiam, the Grays Harbor Audubon Society and some other private individuals and concerned organizations they were able to convince the federal government to declare most of the area as a wildlife sanctuary, and since 1991, the protected area has been known as the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge. Conservation and protection are the main reasons why Hoquiam’s people through their city government help organize the shorebird festival year after year, aside of course from having a blast while they do so.
This event occurs every year and the people of Hoquiam are mighty elated to host such a spectacular and very special spectacle. The birds can be seen at the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge area and other parts outside of the conservation zone.
The amazing natural show draws people from around the globe to witness this occasion that is of hemispheric importance. The Festival unites people from different walks of life so that this momentous phenomenon can be truly celebrated.
Of course the festival burns money and though the city and the federal government puts some tax dollars in the conservation efforts the Festival itself is a voluntary undertaking and a noble one at that. So, the organizers of the annual event host a banquet and live auction to serenade tourist and locals to part with their hard earned cash for a beautiful and worthy cause and that is to preserve and protect what the festival is celebrating. The beautiful birds of Grays Harbor!
If you’re not yet an experienced bird watcher, better attend one of the shorebird identification classes that Grays Harbor park rangers and Hoquiam locals organize to help visitors maximize their enjoyment. Shorebird species usually seen in huge numbers are; the Killdeer, Black-bellied Plover, Semi-palmated Plover, Greater Yellowlegs, Wandering Tattler, Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit, Ruddy Turnstone, Surfbird, Red Knot, Sanderling, Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher.
Learn more about Wade Entezar and the township of Hoquiam and how it evaluate the past and makes big changes.
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