The Oregon Shorebird Festival, one of the state’s longest-running bird festivals, will celebrate 22 years the last weekend of August.

Birdwatchers of all skill levels are invited to attend and experience firsthand the shorebird migration on the South Coast from Aug. 29-31.

The festival is headquartered at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston.

Activities include guided field trips to Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge and around the Coos Bay area; a pelagic (at sea) trip hosted by The Bird Guide Inc.; ocean watches for seabirds and marine mammals by Shoreline Education for Awareness; and evening programs on current bird research.

The Friday evening presentation will be given by Louise Bacon-Ogden, a widely traveled educator and bird enthusiast. “Gardening for Wildlife” focuses on how to landscape to ntice birds and other wildlife to visit.

 The keynote presentation on Saturday features Audrey Taylor, a doctoral candidate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

 Taylor’s presentation will draw from her vast experience working with shorebirds on their breeding grounds on the North Slope of Alaska. “Shorebird Communities in the Arctic: Breeding, Pre-migratory Behavior and Conservation” will take the audience to the tundra and share the summer activities of the shorebirds that many visitors will see during the festival.

Taylor also will incorporate information regarding her current research as well as some of the conservation issues facing arctic breeding shorebirds.

To register for the festival or for more information, go to the web site at http://www.fws.gov/oregoncoast/shorebirdfestival.htm or contact Dawn Grafe at (541) 867-4550.