[obol] 21st Oregon Shorebird Festival

[dawn_grafe at fws.gov]

Plovers and Oystercatchers Featured at the 21st Annual Oregon Shorebird
Festival

The Oregon Shorebird Festival, one of the longest running bird festivals in
Oregon, will celebrate 21 years over Labor Day Weekend. Birdwatchers of all
skill levels are encouraged to join in and experience firsthand the wonder
of shorebird migration on the scenic south coast from August 31 through
September 2, 2007. The festival is headquartered at the Oregon Institute of
Marine Biology in the small fishing community of Charleston, OR. The
festival attracts visitors from all over the nation but primarily from the
Pacific Northwest. This festival is small compared to the larger wildlife
festivals that have premiered in the past ten years. Keeping the festival
intimate ensures that visitors are able to interact more closely with field
trip leaders, guest speakers and other festival attendees.

Activities include expertly guided field trips to Bandon Marsh National
Wildlife Refuge and the Coos Bay area; a pelagic trip hosted by The Bird
Guide, Inc.; ocean watches for seabirds and marine mammals by Shoreline
Education for Awareness and evening programs on current bird research.  A
Friday evening presentation will be given by Benjamin Grupe, Biomonitoring
Assistant for the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.  Titled
“Opportunistic Oystercatchers at the All-You-Can-Eat Sea Urchin Buffet,”
the talk will focus on a unique ecological event at Cape Arago in 2006 that
led to large-scale predation of sea urchins by Black oystercatchers and
other predators. Benjamin will use photographs and video to illustrate
Black oystercatcher foraging behaviors and describe a fascinating set of
food web relationships. The Keynote presentation on Saturday features Ron
LeValley, Senior Biologist with Mad River Biologists. Mr. LeValley will
present "Conversations with a Snowy Plover and other shorebird writings of
William Leon Dawson."

Bring your best pair of binoculars as Bandon Marsh and Coos Bay are
renowned for shorebird watching and each year a few rarities have delighted
festival attendees, rarities have included Ruff, Curlew sandpiper,
Mongolian plover, and Hudsonian godwit.  Regular migrants include
Black-bellied plover, Semi-palmated plover, Pacific golden-plover, Western
sandpiper, Least sandpiper, Dunlin, Whimbrel, Long-billed dowitcher, and
Red-necked phalarope.  Come on down to the southern coast of Oregon for a
weekend of birding fun and challenges.  To register for the festival or for
more information please visit our website at
www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/shorebirdfestival.htm or contact Dawn Grafe at
541-867-4550.