Olympic BirdFest
Premier Pacific Northwest birding festival on the North Olympic Peninsula — expert field trips along the Dungeness and Elwha, Saturday banquet with keynote speaker, and rare spring migration overlap.
About the event
Olympic BirdFest is organized by Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society, the Dungeness River Nature Center, and the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe. Proceeds support environmental education at the Dungeness River Nature Center. The festival's timing — mid-April — creates an exceptional birding window: wintering waterfowl and seabirds are still present in the bay while spring migrants are arriving overland and along the coast.
The 2026 Keynote Speaker is Maria Mudd Ruth, author of The Bird with Flaming Red Feet, presenting on Pigeon Guillemots and reconnecting with nature at the Saturday Night Banquet (limited to 100; historically sells out).
What to expect
Expert-led field trips to Sequim Bay, Port Angeles Harbor, Dungeness Bay, Ediz Hook, Dungeness Spit, and the Elwha River — all iconic birding locations on the North Olympic Peninsula. Additional events include a Cultural Totem Tour of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribal Center ($40), a Scientific Journaling workshop at Port Angeles Fine Arts Center ($40), a Backyard Feeder Tour ($40), and raffle drawings throughout the festival. Primary venue is the Dungeness River Nature Center.