Tag Archives: Wild Cortes

Animals

Taxidermy Showcase at Wild Cortes

A special Taxidermy Showcase is coming to Wild Cortes on Saturday, September 14.   

Cortes Currents interviewed Laurel Bohart and Donna Collins, the co-curators of Wild Cortes, in the exhibition area. The bird songs in the audio of this story are from a recording of local birds, which provides atmosphere for the displays but is unrelated to this story. Collins gave an overview of the plan for the evening, starting from the opening at 6 PM. 

“Laurel is going to have a brief talk, and then we’ll have lots of time to wander through all of the bird displays and see what’s there. We’re going to showcase Laurel’s taxidermy from Africa and also some  local animals not necessarily from Cortes Island  that maybe nobody has ever seen before. There’s also going to be some Nigerian artwork and interesting things like a Bird of Paradise under glass.” 

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Arts

Love Fest 2024: Final touches Before the Day

A crew of seven volunteers was just starting to put up the stage, when Cortes Currents arrived at Linnaea Farm on Wednesday. The doors to Love Fest 2024 will open at 11 AM on Saturday, August 10. 

“This is  the fifth year. We took two years off during COVID, so it’s seven years since we started in 2017,” said Rex Weyler, one of the founding organizers of Love Fest,  

His co-producer, Benji Coey, added, “Things are going really well. We’re about three days out and things are moving very smoothly, so fingers crossed touch wood it continues. It’s going to be a beautiful day. The grass on the lawn in front of the stage is lush and green, which for this time of year is a miracle. The lake looks calm and I think the whole vibe is going to be really beautiful.”

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Animals, Education

This Summer At Wild Cortes

There’s a lot happening at Wild Cortes this summer. 

“Come to Wild Cortes because it’s the coolest place on the island, literally and figuratively. Literally because we’re in the basement and it’s always cool here,” said co-curator Donna Collins.

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Animals

The 2023 Christmas Bird Count

The Cortes Island Museum has been sponsoring two birding events every year for the past two decades.* 2,873 birds were seen during the 2023 Christmas Bird Count, but this number would have been much higher if there were more participants. 

“We can only go to a certain number of places where we know there will be birds, and that’s mostly along the coastline,” explained Laurel Bohart, a keen birder as well as co-curator of Wild Cortes.

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Nature

This year’s recipients of the Jo Ann Green Ward: Laurel Bohart and Donna Collins

Laurel Bohart and Donna Collins were the recipients of this year’s Jo Ann Green Award. 

“We thought they encapsulated what the Joanne Green Award is about. We had a number of nominations, but we considered their’s to be the best because of all the work that they’ve done for Wild Cortes. They put in a lot of unseen work in the background to make the Wild Cortes exhibit the success it’s been, and they’re doing that as volunteers,” explained Helen Hall, Executive Director of the Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI).

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