Update: Marbled Murrelet Long Term Conservation Strategy

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Last Updated: February 06, 2023

By Charlotte Persons

On Thursday and Friday, August 17 and 18, 2017, four members of WHAS Conservation Committee attended the Board of Natural Resources’ special meeting in Cathlamet, WA.  Larry Brandt, WHAS president, was able to go on the BNR field trip on Thursday to many different sites in rural Pacific and Wahkiakum Counties. The goal of the field trip was to learn about different kinds of habitat and how they support now, or could in the future, Marbled Murrelet (MAMU) for breeding success.

As you probably know, MAMU are endangered in its entire range from California to Alaska, but numbers have been declining at 3-4% per year for over a decade in Washington State, especially in southwest Washington. Studies have shown that while ocean conditions are important, the principle factor in their disappearance is logging of the old growth forests that MAMU use for breeding.

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2017 Cowlitz County Bird List - August Update

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Last Updated: November 02, 2017

As usual we did not add many species in the last two months at the end of breeding season and the onset of fall migration. The highlight of the period was definitely a Long-tailed Jaeger that showed up on a beach of the Columbia River in the Woodland Bottoms. This species is noted for following the Arctic Tern migration from whom they try to steal food. This occurs well out into the Pacific Ocean and they are seen from land quite infrequently.

There are a very limited number of records away from salt water in the state of Washington. This was one of the bigger surprise sightings of my 20 years of avidly birding in Cowlitz County. Just keeps me wanting to keep getting out there to see what shows up next, and late fall seems to be the best time of year for rarities to show up, so keep your eyes open.

Vaux's Swifts migration is on!

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Last Updated: August 30, 2017

The Carpet One Chimney in Rainier, OR is busy with Vaux's Swifts every night. Sunday night Linda Jennings counted 521. Check it out, best place to watch is from the steps of the city hall.

Date -- Sunday, August 27, 2017
Observer -- Linda Jennings
Site location -- Rainier Carpet One
Observation Start Time -- 7:30:00 PM
Observation End Time -- 8:38:00 PM
First Sighting: Time -- 7:32:00 PM
First Bird In: 8:16:00 PM
Last Bird In: 8:26:00 PM

Time of Sunset -- 7:59:00 PM

TOTAL COUNT -- 521

2017 Cowlitz County Bird List - June Update

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Last Updated: July 02, 2017

We only added two species in June and both were species that are annually late arriving summer residents; Red-eyed Vireo and Common Nighthawk. However the main reason these were the only two was our ability to find all the other typical breeding species by the end of May. Not only that, but this appears to be the highest number of species recorded in the county by the half way point in the year since the inception of this project.

As is my normal, I will only be updating this list every other month from now to year's end. We do typically get some rarities for the county in fall migration and early winter, so be on the look out.

Download the pdf here.

Summer 2017 Whistler is online

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Last Updated: December 27, 2017

The Summer 2017 Whistler is available now.

Read more of its content: 

• WHAS Summer Picnic Invitation
• Board Notes
• Membership Form
• NW Birding Events
• Brown Canyon Field Trip Report
• Puget Sound's Great blue herons provide summertime watching
• New WHSRN Site dedicated at Willapa Bay, Washington
• Programs and Fieldtrips

2017 Cowlitz County Bird List - May Update

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Last Updated: June 02, 2017

May saw a continuation of migrants both passing through and the breeding birds arriving. One highlight were the seven Franklin's Gulls that spent a day in the Woodland Bottoms. These gulls with black hoods were enjoyed by a number of birders as they made the second ever record for the county as they passed through to their more inland breeding sites.

Also of interest were a pair of Black Phoebes found at Washburn Road north of Kelso. In addition to being only the fifth record for Cowlitz County they also appeared to attempting to nest. This would be the first breeding record for the county of this species which continues to slowly move its range northward. 

Download the pdf here.

2017 Cowlitz County Bird List - April Update

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Last Updated: May 02, 2017

There was a singing Cassin's Finch found near the parking lot of the Science and Learning Center at Coldwater Lake in early April. In the 11 years of this project, this is only the second time we have recorded this species.

They are more typically found on the east slope of the Cascades from the Ponderosa zone on up to the crest with a few found just on the west side of the Cascade crest. With the east edge of Cowlitz County quite a ways west of the crest this species is only found sporadically in our county. A nice addition to this years list.

Download the pdf here.

Some Birds seen on the Oregon Coast

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Last Updated: April 01, 2017

This year-round bird was found during a morning bird walk at Fort Stevens State Park on the north Oregon Coast.

Two Whimbrels were seen on the beach at Gearhart.  This is a sure sign that the spring shorebird migration is about to begin.

This pair of snowy plovers may be anticipating nesting on the Geahart Spit at the mouth of the Necanicum River.  The banded bird is the male. These birds have been observed at this location since last December.

This White-crowned Sparrow is establishing its territory and hoping to attract a mate with his song.

2017 Cowlitz County Bird List - March Update

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Last Updated: April 01, 2017

The slow trickle of spring migrants continued in March, with the highlight of the month being a White-tailed Kite spending the end of the month along Barlow Point Road west of Longview. This species was once common in the Willow Grove/Barlow Point area until the December 2008 snow episode found this species eliminated from southwest Washington and northwest Oregon.

The nearly two feet of snow that lasted for two weeks left this beautiful raptor unable to find food and they perished. Since then there have been a few records of this species in western Washington, including one at Willow Grove in November 2011, all of which were a few days or less. Many birders have been enjoying "our" bird including many new to the hobby for whom it is their first ever sighting. Hopefully it will stick around and be the beginning of the re-population here of this species. 

Download the pdf here.

Tundra Swans and Canvasback Ducks near Svensen OR

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Last Updated: March 22, 2017

These photos were taken on March 4, 2017 near Svensen, Oregon, a small community off OR30 and show an abundance of Tundra Swans and Canvasback ducks.  The quiet of the morning allowed John and Margaret Green to hear the lovely sounds of the swans feeding.  They saw a plethora of waterfowl including Snow Geese and Cinnamon and Green-winged Teal.  A few Greater Yellow Legs searched for breakfast.  Eagles were in the tree tops.