South Sound birders might want to consider making a trip to the Astoria area May 1.

A celebration will be held at Fort Stevens State Park to recognize the recent designation of the Columbia River estuary as one of the Western Hemisphere’s significant sites for wide-ranging shorebirds.

May 1 also happens to be International Migratory Bird Day, which commemorates the annual journey of birds in the Western Hemisphere between their summer and winter homes.

The event, free to the public, starts with a ceremony at 9:30 a.m. at the park near Astoria, followed by three different field trips to observe the estuary and its birds. The event will emphasize the importance of the estuary being added to the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

Participants will get a chance to learn more about the estuary and its shorebirds during three different field trips offered after the opening ceremony:

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists will lead a walking tour in search of shorebirds around Fort Stevens State Park’s South Jetty and at sites around the estuary. The tour is expected to last two to three hours and no pre-registration is required.
• Oregon State University biologists will lead a boat trip to East Sand Island near the mouth of the river to view migratory shorebirds in Baker Bay and nesting colonial water birds on the island. These include Caspian terns, double-crested cormorants, Brandt’s cormorants and several gull species. The trip will last about three hours and pre-registration is required.
• Wildlife Service biologists will lead a boat trip to Lois Island of the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge to look for shorebirds. Pre-registration is required the trip, which will take about one to two hours.

To sign up for one of the boat trips please contact Vanessa Loverti at
Vanessa_Loverti@fws.gov by April 28. Please include your name and contact information, including a cell phone or message contact number. Participants are advised to wear proper clothing for the elements.

Here is the rest of the news release:

Launched in 1984, the network is a conservation strategy that aims to protect key habitats throughout the Americas in order to sustain health populations of shorebirds. The network includes 29 million acres of shorebird habitat, made up of 82 sites in 13 countries. It is a voluntary, non-regulatory approach to protecting shorebirds at all stages of their annual migratory life cycle.

“The addition of the Columbia River estuary to this international
conservation network recognizes the estuary’s importance to thousands of shorebirds,” said Robyn Thorson, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region. “The designation will enable participating landowners and agencies to apply for grants, coordinate their efforts and get technical assistance and other support to protect and enhance vital habitat.”

The Columbia River estuary hosts more than 20,000 shorebirds during the annual spring migration, including spotted, western and least sandpipers, marbled dogwits, whimbrels, black-bellied and semi-palmated plovers, red knots, short-billed dowitchers and red-necked phalaropes, among others. The Site of Regional Importance includes the shoreline and islands from river mile 60 at Crims Island to the mouth of the Columbia River estuary in both Washington and Oregon.

The recognition of the estuary as a Site of Regional Significance enhances opportunities to involve more landowners who wish to protect vital shorebird habitat. Click here for more information about the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve System.