June 2015 Cowlitz County Bird List

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Last Updated: July 08, 2015

Russ Koppendrayer take on June:

In the last few years with the growing breeding colony of American White Pelicans on Miller Sands Island in the Columbia estuary coupled with the frequent sightings in the Ridgefield and Sauvie Island areas and into some Portland/Vancouver sites, I assumed these were some of the same individuals. It seemed they needed to be passing through along the Columbia here in Cowlitz County as they traveled between locales, but we had only a couple of reports. That changed this year in an interesting way. We've had a number of reports and over half of them are of someone checking out a soaring raptor and noticing a flock of pelicans high above the raptor. When they pass through they are soaring at altitudes where they are not noticed with the naked eye. Keep your eyes skyward in locations near the river for a chance to see this impressive species.

Download the pdf file here.

May 2015 Cowlitz County Bird List

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Last Updated: June 03, 2015

There are only a handful of records of Swainson's Hawk for Cowlitz County and we can go years between sightings. In early May there was an adult of this species at the south end of the Woodland Bottoms and amazingly a yearling at the same spot in late May.

Possibly more interesting than the rare bird sightings this spring has been the nesting Great Egrets along Kuhnis Road in the Woodland Bottoms. The only previous western Washington nesting records for this species are from the Port of Kalama for a number of years, but not 2014 or 2015. The Great Egrets join the already nesting Great Blue Herons about a month later and build nests above and alongside just as the trees begin to leaf out, making observation a bit difficult. It appears that there are as many as 10 Great Egret nests this year and can best be seen with a scope from a pull out along Dike Road west of Kuhnis Road near the house boats in the Lewis River.

Download the pdf file here.

Summer 2015 Whistler is online

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Last Updated: December 27, 2017

The Summer 2015 Whistler is available now.

Read more of its content:

• Invitation to the Annual Picnic for Members and Friends on Sunday July 26
• Become the Leader for the Leadbetter Christmas Bird Count
• Membership Form
• Lake Sacajawea - Family Friendly in a BIG way
• Book Review: The Thing with Feathers
• Black Phoebe's at Julia Butler-Hanson Refuge
• Program and Field Trips

April 2015 Cowlitz County Bird List

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Last Updated: May 07, 2015

In April many of the neotropical migrants were making their return earlier than normal by as much as two weeks. This was most likely due to the lack of any weather systems that would ground the birds on their trip between here and their wintering areas. The most unusual appearance was made by a Sage Thrasher which apparently took a wrong turn on it's way to the shrub-steppe habitats of eastern Washington. The bird put in a one day showing at the Longview Mint Farm where it was seen by at least seven birders. This species seems to be found in one or two western Washington locales each spring, but this was the first ever record for Cowlitz County.

Download the pdf file here.

An Egrets Frustration

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Last Updated: April 04, 2015

This Egret caught this bull frog several times, but it was too big, and eventually it walked away from it.

Black Phoebe’s at Julia Butler-Hansen Refuge

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Last Updated: May 07, 2015

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.

Proposed Propane Development Faces a Setback In Longview

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Last Updated: March 11, 2015

This morning, 3/10/15, the Port Commissioners of Longview voted to not renew the lease to Havens Energy to build a propane export facility at Berth 4 in Longview. We applaud their decision and we know it was not an easy choice for them to make. The process for the final vote has been in the works for months with meetings and testimony from industry and the community. In fact, the commissioners listened to testimony from both sides this morning at their meeting. The resulting vote was a victory for all the hard work and efforts of the members of ILWU Local 21, LCSC, CRK, and WHAS members. It is very monumental when labor and everyday citizens can raise concerns regarding safety, economic, environmental, transportation, & siting problems with a project and when our elected officials listen to them seriously.

Spring 2015 Whistler is online

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Last Updated: December 27, 2017

The Spring 2015 Whistler is available now.

Read more of its content:

• Annual Membership Dinner and Meeting coming March 29
• Larry Schwitters to speak on Vaux’s Swift Migration
• A Message to Our National Members
• Membership Form
• Birding related events
• 2014 CBC Recap
• Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey
• WHAS Bird Box Workshop w. LCSG
• Bald Eagles nest by Lewis & Clark Bridge
• EarthDay Volunteers
• New Ideas on Bird Phylogeny
• Primal Warblings
• A Week in Browns Canyon
• Field Trips and Programs

2014 Cowlitz County bird count recap:

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Last Updated: May 07, 2015

Here is Russ Koppendrayer's take on 2014:

We finished the last couple months of the 2014 Cowlitz County Bird Count with some nice finds.

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.   

Wildlife Sightings

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Last Updated: December 03, 2014

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.