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Railroad Bridge Park !

Here is a list of upcoming summer river talks and other classes at the Center this summer. Please join us!
Contact Dungeness River Audubon Center, PO Box 2450, Sequim, WA 98382, 360-681-4076, rivercenter@olympus.net http://www.dungenessrivercenter.org/

Summer River Talks (held in the RR Bridge Amphitheater, or in the Center depending on weather)

Summer River Talk – The Mastodons of Sequim

  • Date: Sat., Jul. 9
  • Time: 10 a.m.
  • Cost: Free
  • Imagine digging a pond in your yard and finding a 14,000 year old mastodon, then having archeologists excavate your property for the next 8 summers. This happened to Clare Manis Hatler, whose Happy Valley site provides some of the earliest evidence of humans in North America. Come hear her fascinating stories.

Summer River Talk - Butterflies of Railroad Bridge Park

  • Date: Sat., Jul. 16
  • Time: 1 p.m.
  • Cost: Free
  • As part of the Sequim Lavender Festival, we offer a leisurely butterfly walk in RR Bridge Park. Join local butterfly enthusiasts to identify the butterflies of mid-summer. Bring your nets if you have them.

Summer River Talk - The History and Use of Railroad Bridge

  • Date: Sat., Jul. 30
  • Time: 10 a.m.
  • Cost: Free
  • Ken Wiersema, civil engineer and River Center Board member, describes the construction and tells stories about the use of our very own Railroad Bridge, from 1915 to present.

Summer River Talk – Native American Baskets, Drums, and Legends

  • Date: Sat., Aug. 6
  • Time: 10 a.m.
  • Cost: Free
  • Elaine Grinnell of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe shows traditional ways to make baskets and drums using cedar, buckskin, and other materials of the Pacific Northwest. Learn how Native Americans produced crafts and tools using native plants and animals of the forest and beaches, the original hardware stores and supermarkets.


Summer River Talk – Native Trees and Shrubs of the Dungeness River

  • Date: Sat., Aug. 13
  • Time: 10 a.m.
  • Cost: Free
  • Learn about the native trees and shrubs of our area, including those you can plant in your yards to attract birds, butterflies, and other local creatures. We will take a leisurely stroll through RR Bridge Park to see these plants in their natural setting.

Summer River Talk – Mosses and Lichens of RR Bridge Park

  • Date: Sat., Aug. 20
  • Time: 12 noon
  • Cost: Free
  • Join Martin Hutten, cryptogam specialist for Olympic National Park, as we check out the mosses and lichens lurking in the riparian forests. These little proto-plants are more important than you think, so come learn their secrets.

Puffin Dinner Cruises

  • Dates: Friday evenings, Jul. 29 or Aug. 12
  • Time: 6 to 9 p.m.
  • Cost: $55 per person per trip
  • Enjoy birding and dinner aboard the Glacier Spirit as you circumnavigate Protection Island, home to Tufted Puffins, Rhinoceros Auklets, and other seabirds. This always-enjoyable trip is out of Port Townsend, designed to see puffins as they loaf by the island at dusk. Call the River Center at 681-4076 to reserve your spot.

Classes

Early Shorebird and Gull Class

  • Date: Four Thursdays, July 21 through Aug. 11
  • Time: 9 to 11 a.m.
  • Cost: $35 for River Center partners, $50 for non-partners
  • A wide variety of shorebirds and gulls migrate through our area in mid-summer. Come learn their identification, natural history, and ecological preferences. Includes field trips to local habitats. Limit: 16 people.


Gulls of the North Olympic Peninsula

  • Date: Aug. 27
  • Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Cost: $25 per person
  • This intensive day-long class to learn the gulls of the Olympic Peninsula will start with an introductory lesson at the Dungeness River Audubon Center, then travel to Dungeness Bay, Port Angeles, and the Elwha River mouth to observe as many gull species as possible. Yes, Virginia, you can identify gulls! Please pre-register.

Shorebirds and Gulls of September

  • Date: Four Thurs, Sep. 1 through 22
  • Time: 9 to 11 a. m.
  • Cost: $35 for River Center partners, $50 for non-partners. (If taken as a continuation of the August class, $60 for both classes for partners, $80 for non-partners)
  • New varieties of shorebirds and gulls migrate through our area in late summer. Learn the identification and natural history of these beautiful birds. Includes field trips to local habitats. Limit: 16 people. Please pre-register.

Beginning Bird Seminars

  • Date: Six Tuesdays, Sep. 20 through Oct. 25
  • Time: 7 to 9 p.m.
  • Cost: $40 for River Center partners, $60 for non-partners
  • Weekly seminars and field trips designed for beginning birders, new residents who wish to learn local birds, and anyone who wants to better understand birds. Seminars include basic bird identification, bird feeders, birdhouses, field guides and manuals, and birding optics Limit: 16 people. Please pre-register.