Godwit Days announces full online schedule
Final online festival schedule announced
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The 2021 Godwit Days Spring Migration Bird Festival is virtual and free. The event will consist of 13 sessions, spread over the three days of April 16 through 18. Sign up at www.godwitdays.org to access the entire festival via Zoom. The schedule for 2021 is:
April 16
• The bird banding session originally scheduled for Friday morning has been canceled. Instead, to kick off the festival, there will be a session on the history of Godwit Days from 10 to 11 a.m., featuring wildlife artist Gary Bloomfield and Godwit Days chair Alex Stillman.
• “Curiosities and Oddities in the Humboldt State Wildlife Museum,” a tour with curator Tamar Danufsky from 2 to 3 p.m.
• “Humboldt Birding: Past, Present and Future, A Birds & Beers Social Zoom” with Frank Fogarty, Rob Fowler, Greg Gray, Tony Kurz, Gary and Lauren Lester, Tom Leskiw, Sean McAllister, Jude Power and Keith Slauson. This includes presentation of 2020’s Humboldt County Bird of the Year award at 5:10 p.m. The entire event runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
• “Surveying Shorebirds of Humboldt Bay,” a plenary lecture by Humboldt State University wildlife professor and shorebird researcher Mark Colwell from 7 to 7:30 p.m.
April 17
• “The Big Hour” at the Arcata Marsh with Rob Fowler of Fowlerope Birding Tours and Gary Bloomfield from 8 to 9 a.m.; also accessible via Facebook Live through the Godwit Days page.
• “Bird Songs and Calls,” an identification workshop with birder/biologist David Juliano from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
• “Snowy Plovers” with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Olyvia Childress from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
• “Shorebird Fly-off at the Arcata Marsh,” with Mark Colwell and Rob Fowler from 4 to 5 p.m.; also accessible via Facebook Live through the Godwit Days page.
• “The Language of Birds,” keynote lecture by Nathan Pieplow, blogger on recording, identifying and interpreting bird sounds from 7 to 8 p.m.
April 18
• “Seeking Amphibians in Del Norte County’ with California State Parks biologist Tony Kurz from 9 to 10 a.m.
• “Spotted Owl Search” with Green Diamond Resource Company staff, Rob Fowler and Gary Bloomfield from 11 a.m. to noon.
• “Tips and Techniques for Sketching Birds” with Gary Bloomfield from 1 to 2 p.m.
• “A Tribute to Dr. Stanley Harris: Memories of HSU Ornithology Prof ‘Doc’ Harris” from 6 to 8 p.m. People who have photos to contribute to a PowerPoint presentation or memories of Harris they’d like to share during the session are asked to contact Rob Fowler at migratoriusfwlr@gmail.com.
All sessions will be recorded and uploaded to a Godwit Days YouTube channel. Watch the website for access instructions.
To make a tax-deductible donation to help underwrite this free virtual event and to create a “nest egg” for a 2022 in-person silver anniversary festival, visit at www. godwitdays.org.