Shorebird festival delights with birds and birders

142 species counted during annual festival

By Michael Armstrong • May 12, 2021 2:30 am

Birds and birders descended on Homer last weekend for the 28th annual Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. The festival sold 347 festival passes and 253 additional family member passes, said shorebird festival coordinator Melanie Dufour.

Dufour said the demographics of the festival seems to be shifting, with more families attending. People visited from all over Alaska, including Talkeetna, Willow and Wasilla.

“My favorite was the teens who were ‘totally stoked’ and excited to show pictures of the birds they spotted,” Dufour said.

Birders tallied 142 species. Rare birds seen included snow and emperor geese, blue heron, solitary sandpiper and Baird’s sandpiper.

Shorebirds fly over Mud Bay on Friday, May 7, 2021, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

A greater yellowlegs feeds at Green Timbers on the Homer Spit on Saturday, May 8, 2021, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

A lesser yellowlegs feeds in Beluga Slough on Sunday, May 9, 2021, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

A least sandpiper feeds in Beluga Slough on Sunday, May 9, 2021, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

A savannah sparrow feeds along the beach near Green Timbers on the Homer Spit on Saturday, May 8, 2021, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

A greater white fronted goose feeds at Green Timbers on the Homer Spit on Saturday, May 8, 2021, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Two trumpeter swans feed in Beluga Lake on Sunday, May 9, 2021, in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Birders check out shorebirds on the outgoing tide on Saturday, May 8, 2021, at Mud Bay on the Homer Spit in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)