2024 Wings Over Willapa Festival |
8:00 - 11:00am
Leadbetter Adventure Sold Out
Oysterville Beach Approach
$10
8:00 - 10:00am
Meet the Giants of Teal Slough Sold Out
Willapa NWR - Cutthroat Creek
*Free
Look, Its a Loon! Sold Out
Oysterville Beach Approach
*Free
8:00 - 10:00am
Good Morning Birds Sold Out
Willapa NWR - Tarlatt Slough, South Bay Trails
*Free
9:00am - 11:00am
Julia Butler Hansen Refuge
*Free
10:00am - 1:00pm
Bird Baths from Clay Sold Out
Ilwaco Artworks
$35
* Free Event/Registration Required **Free Event/No registration required *** Discovery Pass Required to park |
⏎ Leadbetter Adventure
Sunday, Sept. 22; 8:00 - 11:00am
Oysterville Road Beach Approach in Ocean Park
Journey along with staff of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge for an exciting trip to the outermost tip of the Long Beach Peninsula, Leadbetter Point! This wild place with limited human access results in a sanctuary for wildlife, rare plants, and hundreds of bird species, including the federally threatened western snowy plover and streaked horned lark. Bald eagles and peregrine falcons are often seen. Fall migration also brings shorebirds to estuaries and sandy beaches. The guided tour includes information about the local ecology and ongoing habitat restoration activities by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Western Snowy Plover by Roy W. Lowe
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⏎ Meet the Giants of Teal Slough
Sunday, Sept. 22; 8:00 - 10:00am
Willapa NWR - Cutthroat Creek, located north of mile marker 24 on Highway 101
This forested slope at the northern tip of the Bear River Ridge in the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge protects a handful of giant trees that were spared from the saw. Massive in girth and height, these giants provide habitat for marbled murrelets. Join refuge staff on a walk to learn more about these incredible trees and listen and look for birds along the way.
Photo by Andy Zahn
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⏎ Look, It's a Loon!
Sunday, Sept. 22; 8:00 - 10:00am
Oysterville Road Beach Approach in Ocean Park
Join Cindy McCormack for a guided walk to look for and learn about the birds of our nearshore ocean and sandy shoreline. Loons, grebes, gulls, and shorebirds are often seen on this trip. The two-hour bird walk starting with a short walk on the beach to scan the horizon for a variety of ocean loving birds. Then you’ll hop back into your cars and migrate over to the northern-most Leadbetter Point parking area on Stackpole Road. The hike will continue on Bay Loop Trail on Willapa National Wildlife Refuge which provides viewing opportunities for shorebirds, waterfowl, and songbirds along the shoreline through a shore pine forest.
Cindy is a monitoring biologist for Columbia Land Trust and spends much of her free time outdoors. Her previous experience includes other wildlife and botanical fieldwork in the Pacific Northwest. She leads field trips and bird walks for Vancouver Audubon and Washington Ornithological Society, serves on the Washington Bird Records Committee, and volunteers as a eBird regional reviewer.
Photo by Alan Hack
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Good Morning Birds
Sunday, Sept. 22; 8:00 - 10:00am
⏎ Willapa NWR - Tarlatt Slough, South Bay Trails, end of 95th Street, Long Beach
Join Sarah Swanson and Max Smith for an early morning walk to look for and listen to birds of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. During this 2+ mile stroll along Tarlatt Slough and South Bay trails you’ll visit three different habitats including forest, estuary, and grassy meadow. Songbirds, shorebirds, ducks, and birds of prey are most likely to be encountered. Highlights are bald eagle, great blue heron, western sandpiper, cedar waxwing, spotted towhee, and pacific wren.
Sarah cares deeply about the conservation of birds and their habitats and has pursued this passion as an author of bird books, an environmental educator, and a fundraiser and event manager for conservation nonprofits. Sarah’s most recent books are: Best Little Book of Birds: the Oregon Coast and Best Little Book of Birds: the Cascade Range and Columbia Gorge. Max is an ecologist working for the Rocky Mountain Research Station on projects related to water and wildlife in the western U.S. He loves birding with Sarah, especially at the coast and in central Oregon.
Photo by Ram Papish
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⏎ White-tails and Red-tails
Sunday, Sept. 22; 9:00am - 11:00am
Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer. 46 Steamboat Slough Road. White-tail trail parking lot. Trailhead is 2 miles NE of the refuge office along Steamboat Slough Road.
Hike with refuge manager Jake Bonello at the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer. Our sister refuge offers a chance to see unique habitat and wildlife along the lower Columbia River. Jake is an avid birder and photographer and will share stories about the refuge as you walk three miles along a trail rated as easy. The trip will take you along a corridor of open water, intertidal wetlands, lowland forest, and open pastures that offer the opportunity to see the threatened Columbian white-tailed deer and many species of migrating birds such as cackling geese, shorebirds, and birds of prey.
Photo by Jake Bonello
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⏎ Bird Baths with Clay
Sunday, Sept. 22; 10am - 1:00pm
Ilwaco Artworks, 109 First Ave N, Ilwaco
Learn hand building techniques to create your own Bird Bath or Pollinator Dish out of clay! Working with clay is a great way to connect with yourself, exploring your creativity and focusing your attention to the task at hand. This is a fun-filled class, and no experience is necessary! Ages 14+ solo, and ages 10-13 with an adult. Participants will create a bird bath or pollinator dish during the class, then it will be fired and glazed by the studio. Items will be available for pick-up approximately 2-3 weeks after event.
Photo by SF Gate
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