Do you like bald eagles? I knew you
did. They are such pretty birds. Pretty bird, pretty bird. Birdy num num.
Well, were you aware the capitol
of bald eagles is Alaska. Yes it is, even though I know you guessed it was Washington DC. Know what? There ain’t very
many eagles in Washington DC. They’re all Turkeys! Ha ha ha. Man, I kill myself.
Ahem. Anyway, let me alert
you to what’s going down in the small town of Wrangell in Southeast Alaska. There, the population of megafauna will
explode seven-fold when the largest spring concentration of shorebirds, including huge numbers of bald eagles, come to
roost. And what better way to celebrate the arrival of all our fine feathered friends than, well, a festival. Yes, the
Stikine Garnet Festival celebrates the annual bird migration
during the third week in April.
The Stikine (pronounced Stick-Heen) River provides an important migratory
stopover for gazillions of eagles, snow geese and sandhill cranes who are headed North. Meanwhile, other
megafauna are hanging out waiting to be photographed or taunted. Stellar seals, whales, etc. Oh what fun. And why not
make a full trip of it and head up to the towns of Cordova and Homer, which also will be celebrating Alaska’s annual
shorebird migration with the Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival, May 4-7, 2006 and the Kachemak Bay Shorebird
Festival, May 4-7, 2006.