2012 Amphibian Egg Mass Surveys Kick Off
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On January 28th, the WHAS-sponsored citizen science amphibian egg-mass survey project kicked-off its third season. After 25 people participated in training at Lower Columbia College, seven volunteers surveyed Indian Jack Slough (IJS) near Cathlamet, finding 269 red-legged frog and 17 long-toed salamander egg masses. Russ and Ann Kastberg first surveyed IJS under the Clark County Citizen Science Amphibian Survey Project in 2008. Surveys focus on three pond areas this year. The “Red Barn” site, our baseline survey site, consists of an old creek channel and an open wetland. In addition, we are surveying two new areas the landowner, Columbia Land Trust, has restored and re-shaped into ponds. It was a successful and fun day, and a good start to a promising season!!
March / April 2012 Whistler is Online
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The March / April 2012 Whistler is available now.
Read more of its content:
- WHAS Annual Member Meeting;
- Message to NAS members;
- Membership Application Form;
- Christmas Bird Count Results;
- Backyard Bird Notes;
- Volunteers for Earthday;
- Lake Sacajawea Native Plant Project;
- Midwinter Bald Eagle Survey Results;
- Get the Lead Out…;
- Book Review: The Poets Guide…Birds;
- Amphibian Surveys Report;
- WHAS Programs and Field Trips;
30th Cowlitz Columbia CBC Results
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On January 1, 2012 the 30th 3CBC was held as part of Audubon's 112th Christmas Bird Count. Twenty-Two field observers and 3 feeder watchers joined and spent the sunny day finding 17,771 birds and a record 105 species. The temperature ranged from 36° to 48°. This was the nicest day we have had in many years.
We had several high counts: 139 Great Blue Heron, 558 Tundra Swan, 60 Trumpeter Swan, 165 Mourning Dove, 105 Eurasian Collared-Dove, 3 Barn Owl, 2 Short-eared Owl, 21 Anna’s Hummingbird, 16 Northern Harrier, 47 Red-tailed Hawk, 20 Bald Eagle, 33 American kestrel, 60 Northern Flicker, 123 Western Scrub Jay, 8 Brown Creeper, 19 Marsh Wren, 18 Bewick’s Wren, 472 American Robin, 15 Lincoln’s Sparrow, 6 White-throated Sparrow, and 71 American Gold Finch.
Seen during count week: 3 Ruddy Duck, 1 Brown Pelican, 1 Oregon Dark-eyed Junko (Pied), and 1 Evening Grosbeak. New to the count this year: 21 Black-bellied Plover and 3 Thayer’s Gull.
Thank you all for a great job and a great potluck. Hope to see you all next year on Tuesday, Jan 1, 2013.
Leadbetter Point CBC Results
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Many thanks to everyone that participated in the 2011 Leadbetter Point Christmas Bird Count on December 17. For those of you not familiar with Leadbetter Point, it is a 15-mile radius circle generally in the area around Willapa Bay. This year, we had a total of 34 participants working in five sectors and two participants monitoring feeders.
We had good weather with temperatures ranging from freezing to about 50-degrees. Winds were not a factor. This sounds like perfect birding weather, right? It was!
In total, we identified 110 species with about half being water fowl and shore birds and the other half upland species. The least found group was owls with only 2 snowy owls being spotted. The most common species was Dunlin with 29,950 spotted. Second was Northern Pintail duck at 16,141. No rare species were seen but species unusual to the Willapa Bay area in December included Western Scrub Jay (5), Brown Pelican (1) and Orange-Crowned Warbler (30).
Most participants were from the Longview-Kelso-Castle Rock area. A few from Long Beach-Ilwaco. Others came from Seattle, Portland and Alaska to be day-long participants. We had four new people turn out and we hope they make the C an annual event.
2014 Wahkiakum CBC Results
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December 30, 2014, was the Wahkiakum Christmas Bird Count. The count circle straddles the lower Columbia River, including Puget Island, Cathlamet, Skamokawa, and the Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge in Washington and Westport, Nicolai Mountain, Brownsmead, Knappa and the Lewis & Clark National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
The day dawned clear and 28 degrees F, with a light east wind. Twenty-five volunteers found 120 species plus two additional count week species, equaling our highest previous total. The most abundant species in the circle, for the third straight year, was Cackling Goose, with over 16,000 found. This was a new high count for this species.
We had high counts for ten other species, most notably Double-crested Cormorant, European Starling, and Horned Lark. Whites Island is our local breeding area for the endangered (and recently federally listed) “Streaked” Horned Lark, and the count of 45 more than doubled our previous high count. New to the count this year was a Barrow’s Goldeneye found by Mike Passmore on the Wahkiakum ferry trip to Westport. A Redhead was in Net Rack Slough. The Northern Mockingbird that was at 80 North Welcome Slough on Puget Island on last year’s count spent the entire year there and was seen on this one as well.
Other species that have been expanding their range northward, Black Phoebe and Red-shouldered Hawk, continue to remain established here. Seven Trumpeter Swans flew over the Julia Butler Hansen Refuge. We missed Virginia Rail for the first time in the Wahkiakum CBC’s seventeen years. The Snowy Egret reported on Sunday was not relocated. Thanks to all volunteers!
January/February 2012 Whistler is Online
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The January / February 2012 Whistler
is available now.
Read more of its content:
- Environmental Lobby Day in Olympia;
- Presidents Message;
- Wildlife Sighting: Snowy Owl;
- Membership Application Form;
- Recent Lake Sacajawea Social Review;
- Conservation Issues;
- 2012 Great Backyard Bird Count;
- WHAS 2012 Nomination Form;
- WHAS on Coal;
- Wildlife Sighting: Pied Junco;
- Book Review: Bird Cloud;
- Amphibian Training 2012;
- WHAS Programs and Field Trips;
Final 2011 Cowlitz County Bird List is now available
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It was a stunningly high species count with a great start of unusual waterfowl especially on the Columbia at Woodland, followed by an amazing spring variety of shorebirds, a breeding season with a couple bonuses, a late fall with hordes of out of the area folks visiting for the rarities and finding additions and ending with a New Year's Eve Brown Pelican over the Columbia between Longview and Kalama.
203 species--WOW.
Find the list as a pdf in our Wildlife Sightings area.
WHAS Signs on Against Coal
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Willapa Hills Audubon, as part of the Washington State Audubon Conservation Council (WSACC), has joined in a statewide opposition to coal export from west coast ports.
Snowy Owl in Ridgefield NWR
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A special visitor to the Ridgefield NWR as seen in December 2011.
Barred Owl seen in Longview
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Check this article in the Daily News about a Barred Owl seen in the 30th Ave area in Longview WA.
Also, some locations in Washington and Oregon have reported sightings of snowy owls, which are rarely seen locally.
"Every few years the conditions in the Arctic force some of the owls southward to find adequate food," said local birder and Willapa Hills Audubon Society member Darrel Whipple of Rainier, Oregon.
"At any rate, northwest birdwatchers are excited to see these magnificent birds whenever an irruption occurs. About 25 years ago one of our WHAS members had a Snowy Owl perch on her rooftop in Longview and stay in the neighborhood for a week, creating quite a sensation for the neighbors and local birders."
- How many Birds can you see in Washington State?
- WHAS members John and Margaret Green featured in The Chronicle
- November / December 2011 Whistler is Online
- Backyard Birds Calendar 2012 for sale
- Christmas Bird Counts Overview 2011
- Bald Eagle Recovery
- Duckling sightings at Lake Sacajawea
- Urban Bird Adaptations
- Rainier's Vaux's Swifts fall update
- September / October 2011 Whistler is Online