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By Russ Koppendrayer
During the last couple months Cowlitz County was graced with the presence of some species rarely seen here.
The county's third record of Red-necked Phalarope was found at the former Longview Sewage Ponds and remained for at least four days. Our second record of Heermann's Gull was on a sandbar near the mouth of the Kalama River, but flew off shortly after being photographed by the initial observer.
While each of these was a fun find, the star of the period was a Ferruginous Hawk that was regularly seen by numerous people in the Woodland Bottoms during its stay of over two weeks. Not only was this the first ever record of Ferruginous Hawk in Cowlitz County, but this denizen of remote spots of the arid west during summer has only made a handful of appearances in western Washington. Most of those were just fly overs such that this bird was only the second to be photographed in the wetter side of the state.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
Download the pdf here.
- Details
By Russ Koppendrayer
We had a couple very impressive finds in Cowlitz County during June. First was a pair of Eastern Kingbirds found at the Toutle River Sediment Retention Dam. Just the third record of this species in the county, they were observed building a nest. Later in the month only one individual was being seen. Whether the nesting attempt was aborted or a hidden nest was in use is not known at this time.
The second great find was a Cassin's Auklet in the Columbia River just downstream from Kalama. Not only was this the first ever record of this species in Cowlitz County, but I couldn't find any other record for this sea going alcid in fresh water anywhere in Washington prior to this find. It was observed swimming for about ten minutes including a couple of dives before it flew off and was not relocated. An unusual occurrence indeed.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
A couple species more typically found in eastern Washington were observed in Cowlitz County during this May.
The first was the third county record of Dusky Flycatcher, a species that may occur here occasionally in spring migration, but very difficult to distinguish from the much more prevalent Hammond's Flycatcher.
The second was the first ever county record of Lark Sparrow. This species prefers to nest on arid grassland or sagebrush with rocky soil in eastern Washington. Lark Sparrow seems to make an appearance somewhere in western Washington with a bit of regularity at random locations. With this record in Cowlitz County, only Wahkiakum and Mason counties have never hosted this handsome bird.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
Migrants started to trickle in through the month of March and we found a few wintering species that had eluded us earlier.
The big find of the month was a Black-crowned Night-Heron. While there are previous records for this species in Cowlitz County this is the first appearance for this species that I'm aware of in the last twenty years. As it's name implies a Black-crowned Night-Heron usually is active and feeds at night and hunkers down on a day roost that can be quite hidden. Fortunately for those wanting to see this bird it was found on two mornings about a week apart and each time remained on that roost throughout the day. Word got around and numerous people got to see it each time.
Get out and enjoy the arrival of migrants whether in your neighborhood or out in the field. The pace will pick up over the next weeks.
Download the pdf here.