Tufted Puffins - Photo: Dow Lambert

The North Olympic Peninsula, a strip of prairie and forest between million-acre Olympic National Park and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is widely known as a great place for bird watching.

The April date of Olympic BirdFest is timed to overlap wintering birds such as Harlequin and Long tailed ducks, songbirds, and seabirds with spring migration.

Rufous Hummingbirds arrive in this area from South America with the blooming of wild red-flowering currants in early April.

Field trips are planned for Sequim Bay, Port Angeles Harbor, Ediz Hook, Dungeness Spit and the Elwha River, as well as trips through wooded areas and fields to view songbirds.

A cruise around Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge is available on Sunday morning.

In addition to the field trips, birders may participate in presentations, workshops and a banquet with a speaker and raffle. Thursday night’s Kick Off is followed by a presentation on owls; the Saturday night banquet features speaker Scott Pearson’s “A Tale of Two Puffins,” about Tufted Puffins and Rhinoceros Auklets.

Sequim is the ancestral home of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe (a partner of the non-profit Dungeness River Nature Center). Their Tribal headquarters are at the head of Sequim Bay at Blyn. A tour explaining traditional Northwest Coast totemic art (totem poles, masks, and signage) at the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Center and their Seven Cedars Resort properties will also be offered.

Visit the Olympic BirdFest website for more information and to register.