WEEKEND: Lecture, bird walk Saturday to fete Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge

Published 12:01 am Friday, March 13, 2015

Two separate events on Saturday will celebrate the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge.

From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., details of the history of the 158-year-old New Dungeness lighthouse will be presented free of charge at Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 73 Howe Road in the Agnew area between Sequim and Port Angeles.

The lecture by a member of the New Dungeness Light Station Association, the volunteer group which now oversees the lighthouse, is one in a series of events the refuge has scheduled this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Dungeness refuge.

Located north of downtown Sequim at the tip of the 5½-mile-long Dungeness Spit, the New Dungeness Light was the first U.S. lighthouse completed on the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

It has operated continuously since a lard oil lamp was lit for the first time on Dec. 14, 1857, and it was added to the National Register of

Historic Places in 1993.

Birding walk

On Saturday morning, Admiralty Audubon of Port Townsend plans a field trip to the refuge, which is a preserve and feeding ground for native birds such as Brant geese and is a part of the Pacific Flyway for migrating birds.

The walk at the refuge will be from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Participants can meet at 8 a.m. at the Haines Place Park & Ride across from Safeway in Port Townsend to carpool to the refuge.

They also are welcome to meet at the refuge information kiosk at the entrance station at 554 W. Voice of America Road near Sequim.

All are urged to wear sturdy shoes, layered warm clothing, hats and gloves, and bring binoculars and a spotting scope if available.

They also are urged to bring a sack lunch, water or another drink.

Those who leave from Port Townsend will have a five-hour day.

Refuge’s centennial

The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge was established as the Dungeness Spit Reservation on Jan. 20, 1915.

Other activities set to celebrate the refuge’s centennial are:

■ April 18, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. — Spring bird walk led by Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society members. Participants will meet in the parking area.

■ May 16, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. — Presentation by the Coastal Watershed Institute at the Dungeness River Audubon Center, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road, Sequim.

■ June 20, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Kids’ Day at the refuge, with hands-on activities at the visitor center.

■ July 18, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. — Geology walks to examine the geological history of the area. Participants will meet in the refuge parking area.

■ Aug. 15 — Shorebird walk led by Audubon society members. Time to be announced; it will depend on the tides.

■ Sept. 25-26 — Celebration of 100 years with the Dungeness River Bridge and Klahhane Hike Club as part of the annual River Festival at the Audubon center.

■ Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. — Migrating waterfowl walk on the refuge led by Audubon society members. Participants will meet in the parking area.

The entrance fee to the refuge is $3 per family or per group with up to four adults. Children younger than 16 are admitted free.

For more information about Saturday’s birding trip, contact Paula Vanderheul at 360-379-8564 or pvanderheul@gmail.com.

For more information about the refuge’s centennial year, see www.dungeness100.com or phone the refuge office at 360-457-8451.