Curious kids and nature-loving adults are invited to join in a day of outdoor fun on Saturday, May 12, at Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland, during this year’s free International Migratory Bird Day festivities from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Kids can play at being birds on the wing in the active and educational Migration Game. They’ll also enjoy coloring and quizzes, and go home with bird bracelets and buttons, stickers and tattoos.
All ages can join in guided nature walks to see which spring birds are visiting the park. Birders will be looking out for warblers, swallows, and May migrants such as Black-headed Grosbeaks, Cedar Waxwings, Common Yellowthroats, and Rufous Hummingbirds.
Eastside Audubon and the Eastside Park Rangers are co-hosting the celebration. Photographer Aaron Baggenstos, whose book Wildlife of Lake Washington features numerous pictures from Juanita Bay Park, will have a booth. So will Sustainable Kirkland, Green Kirkland Partnership, and the Wild Bird Center from Kirkland’s Houghton neighborhood.
The free event is one of 500 that will be held in North America on the theme “Connecting People to Birds” for the twentieth International Migratory Bird Day. For background, see the Environment for the Americas website at www.birdday.org.
The Kirkland celebration is wheelchair accessible. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars and dress for the weather. A portable lavatory is available. Free parking for Juanita Bay Park is at 2201 Market Street, Kirkland.
