Three little blue herons stand along a downed branch extending into one of the ponds at the Baker Wetlands on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016.

This Saturday, the Baker Wetlands and the Jayhawk Audubon Society will join conservation groups across the globe in celebrating International Migratory Bird Day with an afternoon of avian-inspired activities for all ages.

The event, slated for noon to 4 p.m. at the Baker Wetlands Discovery Center, 1365 North 1250 Road, will introduce kids and families to the many migratory species now flocking to the wetlands. This spring’s celebration follows another migratory day of activities that was hosted by the Baker Wetlands last fall, says education coordinator Roger Boyd.

“The main thing is to draw attention to the migration going on and that birds need stopover areas, and places like the Baker Wetlands do a great job of providing them food on their way to the north,” says Boyd, also a professor emeritus of biology at Baker University. “We’re focusing on the spring migration and celebrating that it does continue. With climate change, it may not always.”

Climate change — and its impact on migratory species — is another motivating factor for Boyd and his fellow conservationists in highlighting Migratory Bird Day, he says.

At the Baker Wetlands, some migratory species have arrived a few weeks early this year, Boyd theorizes, because of unseasonably warm weather in February and March. That’s a problem, he says, because the food sources those species traditionally turn to — different kinds of insects, for example — may not be far along enough in their development to provide optimal nutrition for migratory birds stopping over at the wetlands.

Strangely enough, Boyd says, wetlands staff are just now starting to see migratory shorebirds arriving at the park. Usually, the creatures flock to the wetlands in mid-April. Visitors to the Baker Wetlands on Saturday will likely see plenty of shorebirds, Boyd says, plus warblers and vireos.

“Whether it’s cool or not, we have these cotton rats that are huge,” Boyd adds of the nonmigratory rodents (they may be rats, but Boyd finds them pretty cute) now running “rampant” around the wetlands.

Visitors might also spot muskrats and bald eagles (they’re not migratory, but “they’re foraging out here every day,” Boyd says) hanging out near the water, plus lots of “showy birds” such as egrets (both the snowy and great varieties), terns and blue herons.

Saturday’s event will likely entail educational games, crafts, and, for those looking to get outside, tours around the wetlands’ trails and boardwalk. In the event of rainy weather, Boyd suggests visitors wear boots. Tennis shoes, he says, should be fine otherwise.

For more information on the Baker Wetlands and Saturday’s event, visit the Baker Wetlands on Facebook or call the Discovery Center at 594-4700.