By Russ Koppendrayer
As usual the last two months have been rather slow for adding new species to our annual Cowlitz bird list. We did add two species that are both reported less than annually.
The first were Black Swifts which were reported on two occasions. Likely present every breeding season in very low numbers, they can be very difficult to find as they can forage very high in the sky and cover a huge area. Finding them is a hit and miss proposition and always a pleasure to encounter them.
The second species was a group of three Baird's Sandpipers found feeding on the sand bar at Sportsman's Club Road. This species is unique in that we rarely get adults in western Washington as they migrate farther inland in both spring and fall. We can also go a few years between sightings in Cowlitz County and then usually only one individual. Having three hatch year birds together was a nice treat.
Fall migration will continue for a couple months and usually bring some surprises, so keep your eyes and ears open.
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