2020 Cowlitz County Bird List (May)

This has been the spring to find flycatchers migrating through Cowlitz County that will do their nesting on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. We started with our unprecedented numbers of Western Kingbird sightings. While this species appears annually in Cowlitz County during spring migration, this year there were numerous records including one of ten individuals in one small area of the Woodland Bottoms. The previous record size for one group was six last year, and there were many fewer occurrences that year.

Next a Dusky Flycatcher made an appearance in the Woodland Bottoms producing the third county record for this species. Dusky Flycatcher always makes spring migration appearances in a few western Washington locations, but our bird seemed to be one of an abnormally high number of sightings.

Lastly a Gray Flycatcher was found along Barlow Point Road giving Cowlitz its first ever record for this species. Much more rarely seen in western Washington, our bird was also part of a bigger than usual count. Thurston and Pierce counties to our north also saw their first ever records of Gray Flycatcher. This species has been making a big population increase as a breeding species in eastern Washington in the last couple decades which may account for a few more using this side of the Cascades for a migration route, or the bonus sightings may have been an outlier. Time will tell.

Enjoy the breeding season and be safe and healthy.

2019 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)

We wrapped up an exciting year of birding by adding three species to our year list in the last two months. White-winged Scoter, Wild Turkey, and Mountain Chickadee are all code 4 species, meaning there are at least five previous records in Cowlitz County, but they appear less than annually. This brought our year total to 206, bested only by our 2015 record of 207. 

Cassin's Auklet and Lark Sparrow were species seen in the county for the first time and documented on eBird. This brings the number of species documented in Cowlitz to 280. In addition eight code 5 (1-4 previous records) species were recorded, with the most exciting being the Eastern Kingbird pair that were also documented fledging two chicks.

Our big miss was Western Sandpiper which went unrecorded in spite of being an annual visitor.

2018 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)

I believe this was the first time in the history of this project that we added NO new species in the final two month period. Never the less we had a very nice year breaking through the 200 barrier again with 201 species.

Three of those species were seen in the county for the first time ever. They were as follows: A Broad-winged Hawk was seen by an experienced hawk watcher who happened to be counting migrating Turkey Vultures in September at the Woodland Bottoms. A flock of Common Redpolls at a west Longview park in January that were part of a massive irruption of this species in all of Washington during the  winter of '17-'18. Also a Dickcissel made a stop at a bird bath north of Kelso in early June and was photographed by the owner.

The only species that was a big miss was Dunlin, a shorebird that can over winter here in small numbers, and if we miss them then we find them in spring migration. Not this year for whatever reason. 

On to a new year of exciting birding in Cowlitz County to see what it has to offer.

2017 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)

In the last two months we only added one species, that being a Northern Shrike on Canal Road near Toutle. We seem to find this species in the county about half of the years.

This was enough to get us exactly to 200 species in 2017, a threshold that we do not always reach, but well short of our record of 207 species. The lone species new to the list this year was a Long-tailed Jaeger found on the Woodland Bottoms. We had one miss of a species that is typically found in Cowlitz annually, that being Northern Saw-whet Owl. This species is a fairly common winter species in the conifer forests of the county and a few likely nest here. Its absence from the list reflects more on our not seeking it out than the lack of its presence.

Russ Koppendrayer is looking forward to a fun year of birding in 2018 and seeing all your reports either to him directly or through Tweeters or eBird.

2016 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)

We had another fine year with 204 species in the county. We seem to be able to break the 200 species barrier with more regularity in recent years, likely a product of both more birders as well as better reporting.

Thanks to all who shared their finds on Tweeters and/or eBird as well as those who contacted me separately.

Our only miss of birds usually seen annually in the county was Long-billed Dowitcher, a shorebird that migrates through both spring and fall. We missed it in the spring, and the really dry summer and fall left us with almost none of its preferred mudflat habitat for possible fall sightings.

Highlights from the last two months included an Acorn Woodpecker that visited a feeder in the Goble Creek area for about a week and was seen by numerous birders. This  was the third ever record for the county, and amazingly they are in 2014, 2015, and 2016 all in late fall or winter.

Also found was our second ever Palm Warbler that spent a couple days in Willow Grove Park during a snow event, foraging on the ground in snow free spots under trees and near sidewalks.

2015 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)

Russ Koppendrayer's review of 2015:

What a finish to a record breaking year! We finished with 207 species in 2015 which is four more than our previous high. Capping the final months was a Yellow-throated Warbler that spent two weeks at Lake Sacajawea Park in Longview and was seen by more than 50 birders and well documented with photographs. As well as a first for Cowlitz, this bird was only the third ever for all of Washington. While searching for the warbler a pair of birders found Cowlitz's first ever Northern Mockingbird a couple blocks from the park. This bird also was also seen by many observers during its twelve day stay. To end our fantastic stretch the county's third record of Rusty Blackbird was found in the Woodland Bottoms just before sunset on December 31.

2014 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)

Russ Koppendrayer's take on 2014:

We finished the last couple months of 2014 with a couple of nice finds in Cowlitz County. The county's first ever Acorn Woodpecker visited a Longview feeder for three days in late November. Also the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website had a photo of Snow Bunting taken in December on their Mount Saint Helen's Wildlife Area. Not a source I've ever checked, but I was alerted to it by a friend in Spokane.

This was our eighth year of this project and the averages are beginning to be meaningful. The 197 species in the county this year is above our 191 average but short of the 2011 record of 203. 

2013 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)

We did not add any species in the last month of the year, but ended with a respectable 197. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this effort during the year. We are off to a nice start for 2014 with a good CBC on New Years Day. Keep those reports of finds coming whether by email to me or via eBird or Tweeters posts. One of the fruits of this effort is the update of the abundance codes on the county checklists. I think the recent update has them reflecting what we actually find better than ever. To get a checklist go to wabirder.com and select checklists before clicking on Cowlitz County on the map.

2012 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)

This is the final Cowlitz County Bird List for 2012

2011 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)

This is the final Cowlitz County Bird List for 2011

2010 Cowlitz County Bird List (Final)