The first guests of honor, as it turns out, began arriving a couple of weeks ago. Some of those have already taken in the sights of this coastal burg and flown off to more exotic locales before the party officially started.
But that doesn't worry the party planners. They expect thousands more of these special guests to make their way to Kachemak Bay each day.
Sound like Woodstock?
Close. It's the annual bash known as the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival. Four days and nights of birds, bird lovers, bird beers and bird songs.
In certain homes and offices around town particularly those belonging to members of event co-sponsors the Homer Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service phones ring and people excitedly exchange news on the latest arrivals, some of whom traveled from as far away as Patagonia to get here.
And the list of arrivals keeps growing.
The first groups of dunlins and western sandpipers showed up on April 29. The first marbled godwits also touched down on the shores of the bay last week.
Greater and lesser yellowlegs have been seen in the wetlands above Beluga Lake, as have black-bellied plovers, surfbirds, least sandpipers and black oystercatchers.
To keep local and visiting enthusiasts updated on what birds are here, the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge maintains the "peeps line" 235-7337. For the first time, the refuge has also posted a running tally of birds on the Web at www.birdinghomeralaska.org.
The first waves of binocular-carrying birders participated in guided viewing stations near the base of the Homer Spit during this morning's flood tide.
The four days of this year's Shorebird Festival will, as usual, feature a variety of lectures, field events, boat excursions and workshops, not to mention a bit of arts and recreation tossed in for good measure.
A full list of events can be found in the Homer News Shorebird Festival guide, which can be found at various locations around town including the Homer Chamber of Commerce.
New York-based photographer Charles Glatzer will deliver the keynote presentation on Saturday from 8-9:30 p.m. at the Mariner Theatre. Glatzer, who will spend a portion of his summer as a photographer in residence at Hallo Bay Wilderness Camp, will argue the advantages of watching and learning your subject's behavior patterns. He will present some of his bird images.
Though some of the lectures and excursions (notably when boats are required) cost money, there are many events that are free or cost a nominal fee.
As of Friday, event coordinator Dorle Scholz estimated that preregistration was about on pace with previous years. Typically more than 600 people register for the festival. Many more will ultimately take part in various happenings.
"We do have a lot of free events that people can participate in," Scholz said. "A lot of people just show up."
Festival veterans warn that field events and boat excursions often fill up and advance sign-up is typically required to secure a spot.
Whether indoors or out, many of the events are staffed by volunteers.
Carla Stanley, who is helping to coordinate the volunteers, said she has close to 100 people set to pitch in for the festival.
They come from the Homer area, Anchorage and points beyond, she said.
With the birds also arriving from far away places, in migrations that are affected by changes in climate and habitat, there is typically much speculation as to whether the major influx of large flocks will be right on time or not.
This year, the incredibly mild winter in Southcentral Alaska led to a persistent rumor that the shorebirds had arrived on Kachemak Bay weeks earlier than normal.
"In fact, I'm still dispelling those rumors," Field said, adding that she'd gotten a call from friends in Fairbanks asking if the migration was over.
Field laughed off the rumor, pointing to the recent showings of many species as evidence that the migration looked to be on track to peak around the time of the festival.
Still, Field acknowledged that there was one kernel of reality that probably fueled the rumor that some of Alaska's migrating shorebirds were suffering from dysfunctional seasonal clocks Homer residents began hearing snipes in March. Those enchanting "whoorly-wa-wa-woo-woo" snipe sounds that seem to emanate from the forest and bog country of the Kenai Peninsula in the spring and early summer don't usually begin until later in April, Field said.
"It's very unusual to be seeing snipes in March," she added. "I have to admit, I was wondering what was going to happen."
But with the mid-April appearance of yellowlegs, one of the vanguard shorebird species on Kachemak Bay each year, the uncertainty passed.
On Friday, a flock of about 30 mixed dunlins and western sandpipers wheeled across a mudflat on the inside of the Spit, flashing white as they turned in the sun.
When they finally settled and began to skitter their way back and forth through a shallow pool, there was an urgency to their feeding, like they had just completed a long and difficult flight.
No time to wait let the party begin.
Sepp Jannotta can be reached at sjannotta@homer news.com.
"It's really exciting," said Carmen Field, a Kachemak Bay Research Reserve field biologist and education specialist whose eyes light up when birding is mentioned. "There's new stuff showing up every day now. Tuesday (April 29) was the first day we were seeing the spring migrants, the waves of shorebirds arriving."
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