Birds, visitors flock to Homer: shorebird festival features boat tours, beach walks: Dunlins and Western Sandpipers gather every spring to eat small invertebrates in the rich mud on the shores of Kachemak Bay. Since 1993, the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival celebrates the return of the migration every year on the weekend closest to May 8.

• Author: Pounds, Nancy
• Position: Alaska This Month

A blue-sky day in Homer with little wind, a sparkling sea and a backdrop of jagged mountains is a slice of heaven on earth. Thousands of migrating birds join the scene, drawing visitors for a weekend of activities this month.

The Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival runs Thursday through Sunday, May 6-9. The festival features field events, workshops and presentations at various locations in Homer. Several activities are set for beaches or the ocean via boat tours.

The Homer Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service co-sponsor the annual festival.

"It has become one of the premier bird festivals in North America with world-renown speakers," said Paul Dauphinais, chamber executive director.

Birders value Homer for its natural surroundings to spot migratory birds rather than a site that has been adapted and altered, he said. And the biggest draw is the numbers about 130 species of birds visit Homer in early May, including 20 species of shorebirds, according to event organizers.

"There is quite a diversity of birds that come," Dauphinais said.

This year's theme is "Partners across the Pacific: Common Waters, Uncommon Birds."

The festival is important for the Homer economy, drawing visitors to businesses during a slower season, said Christina Whiting, festival coordinator.

BIRDS AND BIRDERS

Bird enthusiasts also benefit from the festival. About 70 percent of participants are Alaskans, with another 25 percent from the Lower 48 and 5 percent from international destinations, Whiting said.

The birds reap rewards from the festival, too.

"Kachemak Bay provides rich feeding grounds for shorebirds, seabirds and woodland birds," Whiting said. "It is important to preserve critical habitat areas for these birds. The festival provides many areas of education on the importance and necessity of maintaining wild spaces for them."

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Eighteen years ago, some Homer residents organized the first festival to spotlight the area's value as a migratory bird destination. They...