Virtual nature: Sandhill Crane Festival goes online for 2021
Sandhill cranes in flight near Othello. The cranes, wildlife and geology are the focus of the annual Othello SAndhill Crane Festival, which is back after being canceled in 2020. Most festival activities are online.
David Hutson/courtesy Othello Sandhill Crane Fesitval
OTHELLO — The 2021 Othello Sandhill Crane Festival events will move online, with most of them scheduled for March 20.
The festival was canceled in 2020, as one of the first events to fall victim to the COVID-19 outbreak. Organizers announced in February there would be a festival in 2021, or as much of an online event as possible.
Traditionally, the festival features an extensive lineup of tours, lectures and activities. Some of the lectures and tours will continue, but tours will be self-guided and the lectures will be presented on the festival’s website.
The festival has been around for more than 20 years, and a Friday night lecture is one of its traditions. That is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. March 19. Brian and Elaine Bodah will discuss the global climate change and how organisms react to it. The free lecture will be streamed on the festival’s social media outlets.
A $10 registration fee is requested for Saturday lectures and is available at the festival website, www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org.
Gary Ivey, a research assistant at the International Crane Foundation, will be the 10 a.m. speaker. Ivey is a longtime contributor to the festival and will share his knowledge of sandhill cranes.
But not all the lectures are about birds. Geologist and author Bruce Bjornstad is the 11 a.m. speaker. Bjornstad will talk about the floods during the Ice Ages that shaped much of the eastern Washington landscape.
Mike Denny, another longtime festival contributor, is the noon speaker. Denny, the riparian habitat coordinator for the Pomeroy Conservation District, has been leading festival tours for more than 20 years. He will talk about “Birds that make a Difference” and their contributions to the natural world.
The final lecture, at 1 p.m., will be by Jason Fidorra. Fidorra, a wildlife biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, will discuss burrowing owls, their habitat, and efforts to improve it.
Additionally, festival organizers are posting crane sightings on the festival’s social media outlets, and maps of good viewing locations are available at the Old Hotel Art Gallery, 33 E. Larch St., in Othello. Jenn Stevenson, Old Hotel director and festival committee member, said information is updated as new locations are reported. The Old Hotel is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
There are also self-guided tours examining the region’s geological history.
Other online activities connected with the festival include bidding for the festival’s auction, which is extended to 12 p.m. March 15. A link to the auction is available on festival social media outlets and its website.
The festival’s annual photo contest has moved online as well, with entries posted on its social media, and submitted at othellocranefest@gmail.com.