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Can a crow play in the snow?

Wildlife Sightings

Do you think a crow can learn a behavior by watching and/or learning from humans? Find out more by watching the youtube video below:

January/February 2012 Whistler is Online

News

The January / February 2012 Whistler
is available now.

Read more of its content:

• Environmental Lobby Day in Olympia;
• Presidents Message;
• Wildlife Sighting: Snowy Owl;
• Membership Application Form;
• Recent Lake Sacajawea Social Review;
• Conservation Issues;
• 2012 Great Backyard Bird Count;
• WHAS 2012 Nomination Form;
• WHAS on Coal;
• Wildlife Sighting: Pied Junco;
• Book Review: Bird Cloud;
• Amphibian Training 2012;
• WHAS Programs and Field Trips;

Final 2011 Cowlitz County Bird List is now available

Wildlife Sightings

It was a stunningly high species count with a great start of unusual waterfowl especially on the Columbia at Woodland, followed by an amazing spring variety of shorebirds, a breeding season with a couple bonuses, a late fall with hordes of out of the area folks visiting for the rarities and finding additions and ending with a New Year's Eve Brown Pelican over the Columbia between Longview and Kalama.

203 species--WOW.

Find the list as a pdf in our Wildlife Sightings area.

WHAS Signs on Against Coal

Coal Export

Willapa Hills Audubon, as part of the Washington State Audubon Conservation Council (WSACC), has joined in a statewide opposition to coal export from west coast ports.

Read more: WHAS Signs on Against Coal

Snowy Owl in Ridgefield NWR

Wildlife Sightings

A special visitor to the Ridgefield NWR as seen in December 2011.

Barred Owl seen in Longview

Wildlife Sightings

Check this article in the Daily News about a Barred Owl seen in the 30th Ave area in Longview WA.

Also, some locations in Washington and Oregon have reported sightings of snowy owls, which are rarely seen locally.

"Every few years the conditions in the Arctic force some of the owls southward to find adequate food," said local birder and Willapa Hills Audubon Society member Darrel Whipple of Rainier, Oregon.

"At any rate, northwest birdwatchers are excited to see these magnificent birds whenever an irruption occurs. About 25 years ago one of our WHAS members had a Snowy Owl perch on her rooftop in Longview and stay in the neighborhood for a week, creating quite a sensation for the neighbors and local birders."

How many Birds can you see in Washington State?

Wildlife Sightings

According to a recent article in the Seattle Times the present record for most birds seen in Washington State is held by Gene Hunn at 442 out of 505 species known in the state. There are thousands of birdwatchers in the state, but only a relative handful keep serious bird lists. Living up to the excitement in the recent film "The Big Year," bird listing exists for Washington State too.

The record stands at 359th avian species witnessed in the state in 2001 by  Marv Breece, of Seattle, and the record is still holding up.

Check out the article for more details.

WHAS members John and Margaret Green featured in The Chronicle

News

Here is some great info on birding in our local Cowlitz and Columbia Counties thanks to Willapa Hills Audubon members Margaret and John Green, which were recently interviewed by the St. Helens Chronicle.

"We've had some ducks come into the lake here and people from all over Washington come to see this," said John Green, a long time birder and member of the Willapa Hills Audubon Society. Green and his wife, Margaret, live just across the street from Lake Sacajawea in Longview. The 30-acre park offers some of the best opportunities to get involved in bird watching. "Last year we had a bird that was rare for our area, for our county, and we'd go out and walk the lake and I would run into somebody from Seattle who had come down and hey'd ask where it is," said Margaret.

For more see the article in The Chronicle.