By Russ Koppendrayer
With fall migration well underway we managed to add six species to our Cowlitz County year list during July and August. Five species were migrant shorebirds and the sixth was Eastern Kingbird.
The Sportsman's Club Road access to the Columbia River hosted two species of plover in August; a Black-bellied Plover early in the month and three weeks later a Semipalmated Plover was found there. Both species were one day wonders, but both are recorded nearly every year in Cowlitz.
The ponds at the west end of Longview that once were the city's sewage treatment facility had Long-billed Dowitchers present for a number of days in late July. Then a Baird's Sandpiper put in a one day appearance in mid August at the same location.
A Semipalmated Sandpiper was found on the beach at Austin Point in the Woodland Bottoms in mid July. This species is also nearly annual as a fall migrant in the county.
Four Eastern Kingbirds were in the Woodland Bottoms in early August and tarried until at least the middle of the month. They appeared to be a family unit of two adults and two hatch year birds, likely indicating they had nested somewhere nearby. This is only the third record for this species in Cowlitz County.
There is still a lot of fall migration to happen, so get out there and enjoy the birds passing through our area.
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