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WHAS - Bird Lists and Wildlife Sightings

Please send information about wildlife sightings to our Wildlife Sightings Chair.

To see some recent Washington State bird sightings go to the Tweeters list. To subscribe to Washington State Tweeters or to get more info about Tweeters visit WA Tweeters.

Sandhill Crane (WDFW Image)

 

Leadbetter Point CBC Results

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Last Updated: Saturday, February 15 2014 14:53

One of two Snowy Owls found by the Leadbetter Point Christmas Bird Count. Image: Shawn SchmelzerMany 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.

Final 2011 Cowlitz County Bird List is now available

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Last Updated: Saturday, February 15 2014 14:53

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.

Snowy Owl in Ridgefield NWR

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Last Updated: Saturday, February 15 2014 14:53

Snowy Owl - Image R. J. Maupin

A special visitor to the Ridgefield NWR as seen in December 2011.

Barred Owl seen in Longview

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Last Updated: Saturday, February 15 2014 14:53

Barred Owl (Roger Werth / Daily News)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?

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Last Updated: Saturday, February 15 2014 14:53

According to a recent article in the Seattle Times the present record for most birds seen in Washington State is held by Gene Hunn at 442 out of 505 species known in the state. There are thousands of birdwatchers in the state, but only a relative handful keep serious bird lists. Living up to the excitement in the recent film "The Big Year," bird listing exists for Washington State too.

The record stands at 359th avian species witnessed in the state in 2001 by  Marv Breece, of Seattle, and the record is still holding up.

Check out the article for more details.

More Articles ...

  1. Christmas Bird Counts Overview 2011
  2. Duckling sightings at Lake Sacajawea
  3. Rainier's Vaux's Swifts fall update
  4. Check out our bird lists

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Upcoming Events

Aug 14;
WHAS Annual Picnic
Sep 10-11;
Puget Sound Bird Fest
Sep 23-25;
Wings over Willapa Festival
Oct 08;
Board Meeting
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