Spring 2020 Whistler is online

Details

Last Updated: February 27, 2020

The Spring 2020 Whistler is available now.

Read more of its content: 

• President message: Time for Renewal
• Invitation to the Annual Meeting Banquet
• NW Birding Events
• Christmas Bird Count Results
• New Report: Global Warning Affects Birds
• Update on the Children’s Discovery Museum
• WHAS To Make Membership Renewal Changes
• Vaux’s Swift in Rainier, Oregon Review 

2020 Cowlitz County Bird List - January Update

Details

Last Updated: February 04, 2020

By Russ Koppendrayer

As usual we got the year off to a fast start with the Christmas Bird Count on New Year's Day. No real rarities were found  in January, but we did find three less than annual species that we missed in 2019.

Two male Redheads were at the former Longview Sewage Ponds. Three California Quail were reported from the Woodland Bottoms. This species was formerly more common there, but habitat fragmentation and spring floods in their nesting area have combined to drive their numbers to nearly nothing and making sightings quite rare. Also a Pacific Loon was in the Columbia River near the Kalama Marina. Here's to a fine year of birding in 2020 for all of you.

Download the pdf here.

2019 Cowlitz County Bird List - Final

Details

Last Updated: January 04, 2020

By Russ Koppendrayer

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.

Download the pdf here.

Winter 2019 Whistler is online

Details

Last Updated: November 30, 2019

The Winter 2019 Whistler is available now.

Read more of its content: 

• President message: Expanding our Range
• NW Birding Events
• Christmas Bird Count sign up details
• New Report: Global Warning Affects Birds
• The Children’s Discovery Museum has a new home in Longview, WA
• Purple Martin Nest Box Program on the Long Beach Peninsula
• Nomination Form for 2020 Elections
• WHAS To Make Membership Renewal Changes
• Vaux’s Swift in Rainier, Oregon Review

2019 Cowlitz County Bird List - October Update

Details

Last Updated: November 02, 2019

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.

Rainier Vaux's Swift Observation Results

Details

Last Updated: November 02, 2019

Video of Vaux's Swift in Rainier Ore

Details

Last Updated: February 06, 2023

WHAS is actively monitoring the population of Vaux's Swifts by counting the birds as they enter their regular stopping places during the northbound migration in May and the southbound migration in September. 

Check out this video (click on the image)  taken on September 20 by Diane Yorgason-Quinn:

Don’t miss the show at Riverside Community Church, lower parking lot in Rainier, Oregon. The first birds entered the chimney around 7:30pm on September 20th.

2019 Cowlitz County Bird List - August Update

Details

Last Updated: September 04, 2019

By Russ Koppendrayer

Download the pdf here.

Fall 2019 Whistler is online

Details

Last Updated: September 04, 2019

The Fall 2019 Whistler is available now.

Read more of its content: 

• Wings over Willapa Festival
• Christmas Bird Count Dates 2019
• Forty Years and Counting
• Good and Problematic News about the Skookumchuck Wind Energy Project
• Learn about WHAS’s partnership with Lower Columbia School Gardens
• A Strange Nest Site
• WHAS funded Purple Martin Poles -- Project Update
• ACOW Fall 2019
• Programs and Fieldtrips

2019 Cowlitz County Bird List - June Update

Details

Last Updated: July 06, 2019

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.