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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)

 

2022 Cowlitz County Bird List - June Update

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Last Updated: Wednesday, July 06 2022 10:08
Red-necked Grebe - Image courtesy of Wikimedia
Red-eyed Vireo - Image courtesy of Wikimedia

By Russ Koppendrayer

We've arrived at the halfway point of 2022 with a typical number of species on our Cowlitz County year list. With the number of people using eBird constantly increasing we had recorded almost all of the expected returning neotropical migrants by the end of May. That's a big reason we only added two species in June. Red-eyed Vireo is a late migrant that doesn't typically arrive until early or even mid June. As usual at least one was in their traditional haunts at the Port of Kalama north beach area. There also were reports from two other sites by the end of the month. The other addition was a Yellow-breasted Chat found at the Longview Mint Farm complex. While found in the county most years, we occasionally miss them completely. While always in low numbers if not a single pair, they also seem to use different locations from one year to the next making them more difficult to find.

Here's to a great second half of the year with a few rarities as well as filling in with some species seen most years but not so far this year.

Download the pdf here.

 

2022 Cowlitz County Bird List - May Update

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Last Updated: Saturday, June 04 2022 09:26
Red-necked Grebe - Image courtesy of the USFWS
Red-necked Grebe - Image courtesy of the USFWS

By Russ Koppendrayer

May was a fun month for birders in Cowlitz County as the cool and especially rainy weather caused many birds to stop off here during their migration. For a number of species this meant we got to enjoy many more individuals of the species that pass through. The rarest find was a single Dusky Flycatcher which was the 6th record for the county. I noticed it shows as a code 5 species on the list while it should be a code 4. Hopefully we can get that updated for next year's list.

A more interesting occurrence in May was the first ever record of a couple species in that month. Red-necked Grebe is a fairly regularly occurring species in the lower Columbia River from fall through early spring. Typically they are gone by the end of March with a few April records. To have one in full breeding plumage spend a few days in May in the river near Kalama was a nice treat. The second unique May appearance was a Say's Phoebe. An individual or two of this very early migrant headed for arid areas east of the Cascades will put in an appearance in our county most years. Typically this is in very late February or March. By mid April a few of us were saying that we had likely missed them this year, when one showed up in the Woodland Bottoms during May and spent a few days to be enjoyed by numerous birders.

Download the pdf here.

 

2022 Cowlitz County Bird List - April Update

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Last Updated: Monday, May 02 2022 13:08
Vesper Sparrow - Image courtesy wikipedia
Vesper Sparrow - Image courtesy of Wikipedia

By Russ Koppendrayer

Spring migration has really been heating up in late April as usual. I'm always impressed by the number of new species being reported in the county, especially towards the end of the month. A quick scan of the list showed that thirteen new species for the year were logged in the last seven days of April. That is some impressive influx of birds. Some of these birds are arriving to nest in the county, while others are just passing through.

The rarest species for here was a Vesper Sparrow found along Barlow Point Road. There were only two previous records in Cowlitz County for this species that nests in grassland and shrub-steppe habitats. Surprisingly both previous records were in 2018 in April and May just over a month apart on their way to some breeding spot.

Download the pdf here.

 

2022 Cowlitz County Bird List - March Update

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Last Updated: Saturday, April 02 2022 16:16
Non breeding Caspian Tern - Image courtesy wikipedia
Non breeding Caspian Tern - Image courtesy Wikipedia

By Russ Koppendrayer

We were able to add nine species to our year list in March as migrants continued to trickle in. Nothing was particularly rare as all these species are expected in Cowlitz County. The arrival of Caspian Terns at the mouth of the Kalama River was a mild surprise as we typically don't expect them until early April, but what I found more interesting was that these appeared before any reports at the mouth of the Columbia River. Off the top of my head I don't recall that happening previously. The Ruffed Grouse of course is a year round resident that had escaped detection during the first two months of the year.

As April continues and we get into May migration will really ramp up and we'll add species at a faster pace. So get out there and enjoy migration from your yard or by checking more habitat types. 

Download the pdf here.

 

2022 Cowlitz County Bird List - February Update

Details
Last Updated: Thursday, March 03 2022 09:03
Non breeding Pelagic Cormorant - Image courtesy wikipedia
Non breeding Pelagic Cormorant - Image courtesy of Wikipedia

By Russ Koppendrayer

During February we continued to add wintering and year around resident species to our Cowlitz County year list. The flock of Common Redpolls found in mid January were seen occasionally through the first three weeks of the month for over a month's visit. This county rarity was enjoyed by many. 

The rarity added in February was a couple of Pelagic Cormorants in early breeding plumage seen flying downstream at Willow Grove. This appears to be the third record for the county. As the name implies this species is rarely seen away from salt water, with the brackish Gray's Bay being the farthest upstream on the Columbia River to find this species with any regularity.

Download the pdf here.

 

More Articles ...

  1. 40th Cowlitz-Columbia CBC Results
  2. 2021 Willapa Bay Christmas Bird Count Results
  3. 2021 Cowlitz County Bird List - Final
  4. 2021 Cowlitz County Bird List - October Update

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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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