COASST founder’s talk to highlight Shorebird Festival
By Scott D. Johnston
The deadline is fast approaching for reservations for what may be the second most interesting part of the 22nd Annual Grays Harbor Shorebird and Nature Festival, based in Hoquiam and happening the weekend of May 5-7. The event brings upwards of 2,000 visitors each year to observe the migration of hundreds of thousands of shorebirds that includes a “rest and refuel” stop on the beaches and tidal flats of Grays Harbor.
Friday, April 28 is the cutoff for reservations for the Saturday, May 6 dinner at the Hoquiam Elks Lodge, which features a lecture by renowned citizen science leader and seabird specialist Dr. Julia Parrish. She is a Professor of Ocean Fishery Sciences and the Associate Dean of the College of the Environment at the University of Washington.
In 1999, she created the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), which started with five beaches in southern Washington, including the North Coast area of Grays Harbor County. She started with 12 volunteers, including Ocean Shores resident Dianna Moore, who has been active in the Shorebird Festival for the past 14 years.
“What Dr. Parrish has done for citizen science alone is amazing,” Moore said. She recalled that she and Ocean Shores resident Kathleen Wolgemuth were among the first “birders” on the North Coast to get involved with Dr. Parrish and COASST. Moore added that “her research is directly influencing what we’re learning about die-offs of seabirds.”
COASST operates through UW, and has grown to 800 volunteers working on nearly 450 beaches in northern California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska. The program trains coastal residents, who conduct monthly surveys on specific beaches, with data presently being collected on beachcast birds (dead birds that have washed up on the beach), marine debris, and evidence of human use of the beach environment.
Moore noted that Dr. Parrish drew a standing room only crowd as the Friday night Keynote Speaker at the festival a few years ago, because “she’s a world class speaker who is a leader in her field.”
The dinner schedule has a social hour at 5:30 p.m., dinner by O’Brien’s Catering at 6:30 p.m. and Dr. Parrish’s lecture at 7:30 p.m. There will also be fundraising activities that support the education program at the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge.
Information is available online at www.shorbirdfestival.com. Moore has served as the Registrar for the Festival for several years, and will accept reservations by phone at 360-289-5048 and by email at dlmoor2@coastaccess.com. Tickets are $25.
Of course, the shorebirds themselves are the main attraction of the three-day event. A wide variety of activities are planned including lectures, free family events, and the birding marketplace all at Hoquiam High School, and the “Run for the Birds” that starts at Hoquiam City Hall with registration at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Shorebirds can be viewed from a number of spots at the National Wildlife Refuge, adjacent to the Bowerman Field airport in Hoquiam. During peak viewing times, volunteers with scopes will be available to help answer questions. At the Refuge, shorebirds can be viewed best during the period about three hours before to three hours after high tide.
Another popular activity is the field trips to coastal viewing areas that take place all three days. Trips originate in Hoquiam, run 6-8 hours, cost $35 to $45 and are planned for the South Beach area (Westport, Tokeland and Grayland), as well as Ocean Shores and Huynisisoos, formerly known as Pt. Grenville.
The festival website includes a registration form and Moore will also help folks with that by phone or email. She noted that people who live on the coast can pick up a field trip near or at the beach, but those arrangements must be made in advance by contacting her.
