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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.
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What a month we had in February for weather, as we're just not used to it being that cold for such a prolonged time. The snow in the foothills kept birders out of locations with much elevation, and the cold in the lower flood plain areas didn't get us out in those spots as much as usual either.
Still, we enjoyed the greater than usual abundance of Varied Thrush at low elevation where they were pushed by the snow cover in their more typical haunts. We also had a couple flocks of Western Bluebirds found, one each at the south and north edges of Cowlitz County in mid month, just a bit earlier than usual for this early migrant species. One group was in the Woodland Bottoms and the second along the Cowlitz River right at the Lewis County line.
Could these birds have been easier for us to find as they may sometimes use tree farm clear cuts at slightly higher elevations for migration stops and been pushed lower by the snow cover? Birding is always interesting even in spite of the inclement weather.
Many thanks to Terry Anderson for providing the attached photo of one of the Western Bluebirds seen in the Woodland Bottoms on 2/9/19.
Download the pdf here.
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A Yellow-throated Warbler was found on the Kessler side of Lake Sacajawea in Longview. It is definitely a county first, a Western Washington first, and only the 3rd recorded sighting in the state, the first two on the east side of the Cascades.
Happy birding, to all.
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By Jon Heale
Historically an occasional visitor, the Black Phoebe was a rare sight at the Julia Butler-Hansen Refuge for the Columbian White-tailed Deer; there had been a few sightings each year, but no known nests.
In 2014 refuge staff noticed a pair frequenting the covered corner of a tide gate and decided to check it out…a nest! Staff thought there had been a successful first brood, as two to three more Phoebe’s were hanging around throughout late spring-early summer. However, a second clutch of eggs was apparently unsuccessful as they remain in the unattended nest throughout summer.
As I write this (March 13), the Phoebe’s are in the process of building a new nest in the opposite corner of the tide gate. The pair is hard at work gathering blades of grass, stems, and mud. Make a stop into the refuge office and check them out!
They can often be spotted from the Headquarters observation deck, near the tide gate under Steamboat Slough Road.
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Lake Sacajawea has many of the over-wintering waterfowl now. A Eurasion Wigeon was spotted on 12/2/14 and other waterfowl seen have been Wood Duck, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead and even Hooded Merganser. We also have seen many Double-crested Cormorants as well as Pied-billed Grebes. On 12/01/14 a Bald Eagle swooped down and made off with a Gull(did not catch the species) for breakfast.
All this can be seen in our back yard here in Longview just get out, walk the lake and observe. You may even catch a glimpse of one of our resident River Otters.