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By Russ Koppendrayer
We had a productive last three months of 2025. In addition to picking up a few of our missing annual species, we managed to locate White-winged Scoter, Eared Grebe and Swamp Sparrow, all of which are less than annual in Cowlitz County.
But the stars of the period were a pair of Black Scoters that graced the Columbia River at the Woodland Bottoms for a few days in mid November. A first ever record for the county, the male and female were together and seen by many observers. This was the second new addition to our county's bird list in 2025, with the other being the Parasitic Jaeger found in September.
We are now off and running with a new year of birding. Here's to a great 2026.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
Attached is the Cowlitz Year List updated through the end of September. This report is my first ever to include three months. We experienced a fairly slow July and August when we added four species, all of which we expect to find in that time frame in most years.
But that changed in the middle of September when a Parasitic Jaeger was found at Sportsman Club Road. True to its nature of making its living by harassing terns and gulls to get them to drop their food, it was in hot pursuit of a couple gulls. Occasionally found along the Columbia River in fall migration, it seemed like an overdue addition to our Cowlitz bird list. A few days later a Sanderling made an appearance in the Woodland Bottoms. Still less than annual, we've been finding this species more regularly in recent years.
On the penultimate day in September a Rusty Blackbird was found in the massive mixed species blackbird and starling flock dining on the spilled grain at the elevator at the mouth of the Kalama River.This was the fifth record for this species in Cowlitz County. Then on the final day of the month a Pectoral Sandpiper was located at Canal Road. While we find juvenile birds of this species during most fall migrations, this was a first for Canal Road. The incredibly dry summer has dried most more typical locations we find Pectorals, it also untypically produced mud flats at Canal Road in September and increased the number of shorebirds seen there.
Here's hoping for an exciting last three birding months to 2025 in Cowlitz County.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
We've reached the midpoint of 2025 and now have seen wintering, migrating and breeding birds as well as the resident species. At 190 species on our list it is a fine start with six months to find some species that are regular southbound more so than northbound migrants as well as less usual birds. For some reason I failed to submit an end of May report, so this will be for two months.
Among the twenty species added in May and two in June there were no big rarities. One of the June species was the most unlikely however. A well described White-tailed Kite was reported and accepted on eBird as being seen hovering over the median of I-5 in Kelso. Not only is this patch of appropriate habitat quite small, but this species has become quite unusual in Cowlitz County. Through the 1990s and early 2000s the kites made a range expansion up the Oregon Coastal area and into southwest Washington, becoming fairly common in open habitat areas almost to Olympia. A snowstorm in December of 2008 dumped over a foot over the entire area that lasted for about two weeks. Unable to find food through this blanket, they disappeared from the entire area. Since that time we have had only a couple prior records in the county.
As new species will be reported much less frequently I will only be updating every two months for the remainder of the year.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
Here at the end of April we have new species arriving daily to add to our composite Cowlitz County year list as we near the heart of spring migration. Not a lot of unexpected species during the past month were reported. The most interesting was an American Goshawk that was seen chasing Band-tailed Pigeons around a rural yard near Toutle. A regular breeder in the forests on the east slopes of the Cascade Mountains, it is much more uncommon on our side. Records in Cowlitz County seem to occur every few years and have included birds in winter as well as possible breeding birds in June. While a few Goshawks are known to overwinter, most do migrate south. Our April individual was likely a returning migrant that stopped to try for a meal as it passed through.
Enjoy the on going migration and good birding to all.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
New species continued to trickle in throughout the month of March as spring migration ramped up. One rare addition to our Cowlitz County year list was a Franklin's Gull found on the log boom at the Kalama Marina. This third ever county record was seen intermittently over a four day period.
Bringing more excitement was a report of an Eyebrowed Thrush from the Woodland Bottoms. This species is in the same turdus genus as our American Robin, but is a native of Asia. There have been numerous records of them from the islands off Alaska and a few from the Alaskan mainland over the years, but a single record from California is the only one from the lower forty-eight states. As with all reports of birds this rare, it must be accepted by the Washington Bird Records Committee to be added to the official state bird list. A report has been filed with them, but we may not know the outcome for some time. As this was a single person, sight only report, without photos or additional data submitted it will likely not be taken up until their only in person meeting in October. Not many state first records are accepted of this type as the bar is high to get on the list, but we'll see. Much effort was made by a group of accomplished birders to refind it on the following day without success.
Download the pdf here.