We celebrated World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) on Saturday, May 13th, with a whole host of great activities! After starting the day with a bird walk and picnic at Sitka Sedge State Natural Area, we headed back to Lincoln City for our Migratory Bird Day Festival at Oregon Coast Community College.
Taft High School Osprey by Ernie Rose
This year’s theme for WMBD was Water: Sustaining Bird Life, and being where we live, we know that people and wildlife alike share a deep connection to the water that surrounds us. With this theme in mind, we decided to feature the Osprey and Snowy Plover at our event, two migratory birds that rely heavily on water for survival. Luckily for us, the community college is just a short jaunt away from one of our local Osprey nests! So, after gathering at the college, we walked to Taft High School to view the nest. We were happy to see the resident Osprey pair in action, seemingly undisturbed by the group of onlookers below.
Making Osprey art by Ernie Rose
Back at the college, we had about 50 people turn up for activities including playing the “Migration Game” and making Osprey masks. Several of our community partners set up information tables, and the Peregrine Falcon and American Kestrel ambassador birds escorted by Chintimini Wildlife Center were especially big hits. People were excited to collect our “Lincoln City: Home of the Osprey” decals as well as hard copies of our map to the Osprey nests in Lincoln City.
As we moved into the evening, 21 people stayed for the presentations. Roy Lowe, retired manager of USFWS National Wildlife Refuges, did a great job of updating us on the recovering Snowy Plover populations in Lincoln and Tillamook counties. Nora Sherwood (ASLC education coordinator) and dawn villaescusa (ASLC president) talked about the Osprey of Lincoln City, sharing our new Osprey web page and story map. If you’re interested in learning more about Ospreys and their nests in Lincoln City, you can see our web page here and story map here!
Altogether, it was a great day to celebrate our beloved migratory birds! Thanks to USFWS National Wildlife Refuge System, MidCoast Watersheds Council, Friends of Otter Rock, and Chintimini Wildlife Center for making this event a success. We hope to see you for World Migratory Bird Day next year!