2008 Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival - May 8-11

Welcome to the celebration, by Christina Whiting, Festival Coordinator

Hola, bonjour, ciao, hallo, 喂, het hallo, aloha, oi, hei, привет, hello and welcome to the 16th Annual Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, a celebration of spring and the more than 25 species of shorebirds that migrate to Kachemak Bay to join our thousands of resident seabirds, waterfowl and woodland birds. This year’s Festival theme is Shorebirds as International Ambassadors: Connecting Birds, Habitats and People. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced birder, or even the nonbirder in your group, you’ll enjoy this fun-for-the-entire-family weekend celebration.

Expand your knowledge of birds and birding in Kachemak Bay and around the globe during this year’s Festival, from tracking Godwits, to birding opportunities in Bolivia and Taiwan. Our expert speakers, naturalists and guides will share their extensive wealth of birding knowledge as they lead you through the many field events, workshops, presentations and boat tours offered. Activities include shorebird viewing stations, guided bird walks and hikes, shorebird identification by sight and by sound, a nature writing workshop, bird, wildlife and Bay tours by boat and kayak, optics and digiscoping education, live bird presentations, harbor dock tours, a tour of Homer’s Hot Spots, and so much more.

After birding, relax and unwind with our great lineup of entertainment, including Bruce Cockburn in concert, the Salty Dawg’s bird calling competition, the Keynote Welcome Reception, a Birders’ Fashion Show, the Arts & Education Fair, Mr. Whitekeys’ 2nd Annual multimedia performance, the Birders’ Beer Bash, Sunrise Kilcher-Sjoberg & Friends’ On the Wing Concert of Poetry & Song, just to name a few.

Happy birding!

Christina M Whiting, Festival Coordinator

Keynote Speaker

Richard Crossley is considered one of North America's top experts on shorebirds, and is well known for his quick and long-distance bird identification skills, relying on bird size, structure and behavior, rather than color. Influenced by art and his travels throughout the world, Richard's photographs depict movement and the beautiful, varied patterns of nature. Richard is passionate about the future of birding, and he and his wife recently formed the Cape May Young Birders Club, with the goal of bringing youth and community together to encourage a love of birding and the outdoors. Richard's Keynote Address on Saturday is "Past, Present & Future" - from his travels around the world to time spent living in Cape May, Richard Crossley will share lessons he learned while growing up in the wild British birding scene. Told in a Yorkshire brogue and through a camera lens that loves color and art, this presentation just might change your thoughts on birding in the future. Richard's Sunday presentation "Birding Exposed" will be an informal discussion on "birding, from beginner to expert", and will give hope to birders of all skill levels, as he shares just how surprisingly slight the differences between the two can be, and what it takes to move from beginner to expert.

There will be several opportunities to interact with this year's Keynote speaker. Meet Richard during the Keynote Welcome Reception on Friday at the Pratt Museum, take in his Saturday Keynote Address "Past, Present & Future" following the Arts & Education Fair at the High School, and hear his final Festival presentation "Birding Exposed" during the Birders' Coffee on Sunday at the Islands & Ocean Visitor Center. And, get your tickets to be one of the 15 lucky lottery winners to join Richard on Saturday morning for a fun and unique, hands-on photography experience, with the "In the Field with Richard Crossley Photography Workshop Lottery", open to all ages and photography skill levels.

Learn more about Richard Crossley.

Announcements


  • 2008 Kachemak Shorebird Festival Survey
    Complete survey for your chance to win prizes.
  • 2008 Shorebird Festival Amateur Photo Contest
    Are you an amateur photographer? Be sure to enter this contest. Entry form is available on line or you can pick the form up at NOMAR or Eagle Eye Photo.
  • 1st Annual Kachemak Bay Big Day Birding Challenge
    Entry form, Rules and Bird Checklist will be available April 11th. Check out the poster and stay tuned for additional information.
  • Homer Area Birding Website!
    Find out about birding opportunities, bird count results and species listings on the new birding website for the Homer Area at http://birdinghomeralaska.org

Website Festival photos courtesy of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service,
unless otherwise noted.