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By Russ Koppendrayer
Time for the end of fall update to our 2024 species list of birds seen in Cowlitz County. In the last two months we have added four species, which can be seen on the updated attached list. The four included Red-necked Grebe which makes annual stops during fall and early winter along the Columbia River in our county. Also seen was a single Sanderling seen along the Columbia in the Woodland Bottoms by a single observer. Sanderling make very infrequent appearances in Cowlitz County and the handful of records are spaced across numerous years. Scope views of at least one and possibly two Lewis's Woodpecker were had by a small group of birders counting migrant Turkey Vultures in the Woodland Bottoms. Like Sanderling, this species also has a handful of records over a span of years. The final addition was a Palm Warbler seen by a single observer in the Woodland Bottoms (a bit of a theme it seems). Only our fifth ever record for this species.
I also added Common Tern to the list as a group of three were observed flying downstream along the Columbia River near Kalama in late April. While being documented then this fourth record in Cowlitz County somehow eluded me adding it to this list until now.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
As usual the last two months have been rather slow for adding new species to our annual Cowlitz bird list. We did add two species that are both reported less than annually.
The first were Black Swifts which were reported on two occasions. Likely present every breeding season in very low numbers, they can be very difficult to find as they can forage very high in the sky and cover a huge area. Finding them is a hit and miss proposition and always a pleasure to encounter them.
The second species was a group of three Baird's Sandpipers found feeding on the sand bar at Sportsman's Club Road. This species is unique in that we rarely get adults in western Washington as they migrate farther inland in both spring and fall. We can also go a few years between sightings in Cowlitz County and then usually only one individual. Having three hatch year birds together was a nice treat.
Fall migration will continue for a couple months and usually bring some surprises, so keep your eyes and ears open.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
With the end of June the year is half over and we have seen wintering birds, spring migration and breeding birds. That is reflected in our fine total of 197 species. From here on we will see additions to our Cowlitz County year list slow dramatically and I will give an update every other month instead of monthly.
We did add five species in June. Red-eyed Vireo and Yellow-breasted Chat are late arriving annual breeding species here and were found early in the month. Golden Eagle and Western Screech-Owl are coded as less than annual. The vast majority of Golden Eagle sightings are of soaring birds and are rarely repeatable, but are found most years. Western Screech-Owl is likely a year around resident in Cowlitz County that has been historically under reported. With more people out there birding, especially at night this species will likely become coded as an annual species in the near future.
A Lark Sparrow found along Tradewinds Road near Kalama provided only the third record of this species for Cowlitz County. A species that utilizes a variety of habitats to nest in most of the United States west of the Mississippi River, it is oddly absent in western Oregon and Washington. A lost migrant or more rarely a winter bird shows up in random places west of the cascades.
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
Spring migration continued with lots of birds passing through Cowlitz County during May and ever more birders seeming to enjoy seeing them. Besides the species that we expect annually a few of the rarer variety were seen. The county's second ever record of American Redstart was reported from the Hummocks Trail. The third record of Brandt's Cormorant was at the mouth of the Kalama River. It seems something is going on with this cormorant species as all three records have occurred in the last year and a half. Also unusual was a small group of Common Terns flying downstream along the Columbia River near Kalama for their fourth record in Cowlitz County.
For a number of us the most exciting find of the month was a Rock Wren singing on territory at an old rock quarry near Davis Peak. While there have been a number of sightings in the blow down area near Mount Saint Helens, most of those are older records. Not only has it been seven years since one was last reported, but this is the first to linger for an extended period, to the best of our knowledge. Although unconfirmed, a couple of observers thought they heard a more distant second individual. Could there be a possible breeding attempt?
Download the pdf here.
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By Russ Koppendrayer
The end of April finds us in the heart of spring migration with new species arriving every day. With a Willapa Hills Audubon field trip and two Washington Ornithological Society field trips in Cowlitz County during the last week of the month as well as the ever increasing number of individuals out birding we seemed to be finding new species as soon as the first few individuals arrived. Very nice to see a more complete documentation of our county's avifauna, especially on eBird.
The only real rarity of the month was a Brandt's Cormorant seen at the mouth of Mill Creek one afternoon. This second ever record for Cowlitz County was not to be seen again in spite of some diligent searching. Brandt's Cormorants have always been strongly associated with salt water and are unusual in the Columbia River even in the Astoria area. In early April one was spotted near Skamokawa for the very first Wahkiakum County record. Amazingly, many more were seen in the area including groups numbering into the teens and farther upstream to Cathlamet. Both breeding plumage adults and year old birds are being seen. No reason for this phenomenon has been discovered, but as of this writing they are still being seen and additional Cowlitz sightings would not be unreasonable.
Download the pdf here.