Wings Over Willapa is a festival connecting people with birds, art, and nature in celebration of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge held on September 23-26, 2021. This annual celebration includes at least 35 tours, hikes, walks, classes, and presentations. On Friday September 24, the Festival hosts a silent auction and dinner with keynote speaker Rosemary Mosco, a science writer and naturalist who creates Bird and Moon Comics and describes her focus as connecting people with nature.
Journey with wildlife biologists via 4x4 vehicles on an adventure to the Leadbetter Point unit of the Refuge. This is a guided tour of a wildlife sanctuary where you can learn about local ecology and habitat restoration. Travel by barge to the shores of Long Island, the largest estuary island on the Pacific coast, and hike a mile into the interior to see an old growth forest. The western red cedars here can be 20 feet in diameter, 300 feet tall, and a thousand years old. Long Island supports populations of birds and biodiversity rarely seen anywhere else. Other offerings include a class on shorebird identification, a pelagic tour, a wildlife tracking tour, a bird survey, art classes, and more.