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The Garnet Festival celebrates the arrival of Spring in Alaska! It was created and first held in April 1997 to celebrate the beginning of Spring, the beginning of the bird migration of snow geese and eagles and the spawning run of hooligan up the Stikine River.
The migration begins in mid April with over 14,000 snow geese, over 10,000 sandhill cranes and over 1600 eagles arriving on the Stikine River delta and converging on the area. The concentration of eagles is the largest reported springtime concentration in North America. Toward the end of April and early May, over 100,000 shorebirds begin arriving. Approximately 123 species are represented at any one time. In addition, the delta is swarming with seals and sea lions.

The largest Spring gathering of Eagles
occurs in April in Wrangell
The Festival hosts numerous educational workshops such as photography, birding facts and information, children events and excursions to see the birds. The Southeast Alaska Art Festival is also held at this time providing a variety of classes in all art mediums. Muskeg Meadows Golf Course holds the first official tournament of the year during this week as well. For a complete list of activities, please click here.

A garnet collected from the
famous Garnet Ledge
There are also other nearby areas for viewing waterfowl and shorebirds, including Aaron's Creek, Bradfield River as well as freshwater lakes, bays and shorelines. Approximately 5 to 8 Whistling Swans spend a February and March on Pat's Lake just north of downtown on their annual migration north. For the advanced birder there is a challenging array of songbirds during the summer months. Wrangell has a birding list available for avid birders documenting their sightings.
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