WOS News - Washington Ornithological Society

Transcription

WOSNews 160
Washington Ornithological Society - December 2015 / January 2016
From the Board
By Penny Rose
New Leadership at WOS
What’s Inside:
New WOS Leadership
Page 4
Q & A with WBRC
Page 5
The New WOS Website
Page 8
ABA Rally Report
Page 10
Olympic BirdFest 2016
Page 12
Your Skills are Needed
Page 13
Pelagic Cormorant - by Dave Irons
S
eptember brought a perfect storm to the leadership of the
Washington Ornithological Society. Due to term completions and
life changes, the WOS Board was depleted of its president, vicepresident and secretary. The Board approached me and requested that I
take on the position of president on an interim basis. I agreed and was
appointed in October.
Bird Race for WA Wildfire Relief
Page 14
Upcoming Field Trips
Page 16
WA Field Notes
Page 20
I accepted with the understanding that I would serve the completion of
the term until October of 2016. I did not do so reluctantly - I believe
in the strength of WOS as a leader in increasing knowledge of the
birds of Washington and enhancing communication among all persons
interested in birds. I also believe in the strength and commitment of the
many volunteers who give their time, energy, skill and passion to WOS.
Extraordinary volunteers that create a successful organization continue
to step up. Cindy McCormack has accepted the appointment as VicePresident. Cindy has a long history of leadership and involvement in
December 2015 / January 2016- Page 1
Rhinocerus Auklet - by Dave Irons
WASHINGTON ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
12345 Lake City Way NE, #215
Seattle WA 98125
[email protected]
www.wos.org
TheWashingtonOrnithologicalSocietywascharteredin1988toincreaseknowledgeofthebirdsofWashingtonandto
enhancecommunicationamongallpersonsinterestedinthosebirds.WOSisanonprofiteducationalorganizationunder
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code.
OFFICERS
President........................... Penny Rose............................................................................................. [email protected]
Vice President.................. Cindy McCormack................................................................................ [email protected]
Treasurer........................... Barbara Webster..................................................................................... [email protected]
Secretary........................... Kintea Bryant......................................................................................... [email protected]
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Meetings........................... Blair Bernson.......................................................................................... [email protected]
Field Trip Co-Chair......... Jen Kunitsugu......................................................................................... [email protected]
Field Trip Co-Chair......... Tom Light............................................................................................... [email protected]
Membership..................... Mike Clarke ........................................................................................... [email protected]
WA Bird Records............. Brad Waggoner...................................................................................... [email protected]
WOSNews Editor............ Stu Watson.............................................................................................. [email protected]
Webmaster........................ Amy Powell............................................................................................. [email protected]
Hospitality........................ Vacant...................................................................................................... [email protected]
BOARD MEMBERS
Board Member................. Rachel Lawson....................................................................................... [email protected]
Board Member................. Jim Dazenbaker...................................................................................... [email protected]
Board Member................. Eric Dudley............................................................................................. [email protected]
Board Member................. Ed Swan................................................................................................... [email protected]
Board Member................. Alison Styring........................................................................................ [email protected]
SEND IN YOUR SIGHTINGS
SEEN WHEN
SEND IN BY
March — May.................................June 15
June — July.....................................Aug 15
Aug — Nov......................................Dec 15
Dec — Feb.......................................Mar 15
Send your sightings by email to Ryan Merrill
[email protected]
Birding from Port Angeles, ABA Rally
by Shawneen Finnegan
From the
Board
from
WOS. Cindy vacated the position of Director
on the
board.(continued
Eric Dudley
haspage
filled1)this position. Kintea Bryant accepted
the appointment by the Board as Secretary. Each of these individuals committed to fulfilling their duties and actively
moving the board and WOS forward.
Matt Bartels, after a long tenure of over eight years of recruiting, cajoling, contacting, and convincing people to lead
WOS field trips, is taking a long deserved rest from the position of Field Trip Chair. Matt’s gentle style will be missed
but his talents are not lost to WOS. He continues to serve effectively as the secretary of the Washington Bird Records
Committee. One of his many projects is organizing and archiving the vast amount of records submitted since the
beginning of the WBRC. No easy task - but truly essential. In addition, his writing and editing allowed the WBRC 2015
report to be published in Western Birds - the journal of the Western Field Ornithologists and on the WOS website.
Jen Kunitsugu has assumed the mantle of Field Trip Chair for western Washington. Jen brings an enthusiasm, fresh
knowledge and a continuation of gentle persuasion to this position. Jen joins Tom Light the Field Trip Chair for eastern
Washington. Thank you to all of the field trip leaders who continue to provide valuable and much sought after birding
excursions.
Amy Powell has been working diligently behind the scenes to give the WOS
website a much needed facelift. Rather than update the website, she chose
instead to dedicate the time and skill needed to build a brand new site from
scratch. The results are stunning, user friendly, interactive, up to date, and easily
used by even the most technologically impaired. This beautiful product, the
public face of WOS, was long overdue and we are deeply gratified to Amy for her
excellent work.
These are but a few of the people who volunteer to keep WOS strong and in
the forefront in the field of Washington birds. If you have time, talent and a
willingness to share, we are always looking for skilled volunteers to move WOS
forward.
In our efforts to be less Puget Sound centric and more Washington State focused,
WOS will be holding member meetings in locations outside of Seattle in 2016
in addition to the regularly scheduled 1st Monday of the month meetings
Ruff by Dave Irons
at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Our first foray into this realm will be
Saturday, January 16th (Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday weekend) in Omak at the
Omak Inn. We will be doing this in conjunction with The Great North-Central
Washington Bird Race. Whether you are participating in this fun competitive birding event supporting the fire ravaged
communities, or live within shouting distance of Omak we welcome all birders to this meeting. Details of the race can be
found in this newsletter and additional details of the meeting will be available soon on the WOS website.
All of the events you participate in are made possible by the incredible spirit of volunteerism that fuels WOS. I hope to
see each and everyone of you soon at an event created by your fellow members - enjoying a distinguished speaker at a
monthly meeting, competing in the Great Race, attending the conference in Walla Walla or birding on a WOS field trip.
Roll Call: Introducing Your New WOS Leadership
Eric Dudley is a new member of the WOS Board. He was raised in the Willamette Valley
of Oregon, where his interest in nature and birds developed. He went to college in Ohio
(Oberlin), majoring in Biology, attended veterinary school at Washington State (D.V.M.,
1983), practiced for seven years in Oregon, and then moved with his family to Washington
in 1991. He’s practiced small animal medicine and surgery in the North End of Tacoma
since then. Now that he’s spending a bit less time at his practice, his interest in birding
is expanding: he’s enjoyed Ken W. Brown’s Advanced Birding classes, often goes on the
Wednesday morning Nisqually NWR bird walk, participates in Audubon programs when
possible, and is looking forward to contributing in various ways to WOS. He lives in Gig
Harbor with his partner, Mary Kay.
Jen Kunitsugu is the new west side Field Trip Chair for WOS. A Pacific Northwest native
(close enough, she moved here when she was two), Jen has also lived in various other
west coast cities as well as Hiroshima, Japan, always keeping the Pacific Ocean nearby.
She has always been interested in the natural world, dabbling in marine biology in high
school and college, but ultimately getting a degree in Psychology that she doesn’t really
use. She loves getting outdoors, especially here in the Northwest and the Escalante area
of Southern Utah. Jen is on the Seattle Audubon Field Trips and Classes Committees,
and volunteers with SAS on outreach and fundraising events. She participates in bird
count surveys at Discovery Park and Magnuson Park whenever she can, toddler in
tow. She recently completed the 2014-15 Master Birder program. She is very excited to
be involved with WOS, and looks forward to drumming up some fun trips. She lives in
Seattle with her husband, Matt and their 17-month-old daughter, Joanna.
Kintea Bryant, the new Secretary of the WOS Board, has been in Seattle for more than
15 years. She moved here in 2000 and attended Seattle University, where she received her
Master’s in Education, with a focus on Informal Education. Kintea developed her love for
animals and nature while growing up in Colorado, where she also received her Bachelor’s
degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Kintea’s love for nature and animals
afforded her opportunities to work as a researcher and educator at the San Diego Zoo,
the Seattle Aquarium, and the Woodland Park Zoo. She developed her appreciation for
birds during her time working for 10 years at Seattle Audubon. Kintea currently works
at Bellevue College Continuing Education, and spends her personal time baking and
cooking, knitting, traveling, and spending time with her large community of friends and
family.
Q & A with the Washington Bird Records Committee
by Matt Bartels and Brad Waggoner
What is the WBRC, and why does it do what it does?
The Washington Bird Records Committee (WBRC) is a standing committee of WOS. It was formed in 1989, and collects
and reviews reports of Washington’s rare birds. The WBRC maintains the official state checklist, seeks to document
and explain the status and distribution of Washington’s birds, and serves as a conduit between researchers and the
documentation of Washington’s rarities.
Our primary focus is to compile and evaluate records of bird species that are of rare, casual, or accidental occurrence in
Washington (review species). The WBRC maintains an archive of all submitted reports, and these are periodically accessed
by researchers looking at trends within and beyond Washington. For example, just recently we’ve shared records of
Yellow-billed Cuckoo sightings with the WDFW as they worked to monitor the species after it was placed on the federally
threatened list. As a longer-term project, the WBRC is working to create and catalog a digital archive of all documentation
submitted and to house this archive at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington. Collecting, commenting on
and storing new observations, commenting on the status and distribution of Washington birds, and assisting researchers by
providing detailed records are the main roles of the WBRC. These core functions are being undertaken by a secretary and a
group of committee members that are deeply passionate about the bird records of our state and are especially committed to
these records being thoroughly vetted.
The committee is made up of seven voting members and a secretary. The WOS bylaws note that committee members
should have a deep knowledge of the birds of Washington State. While this is indeed important, extensive experience and
knowledge with bird species beyond our borders is probably most important -- after all, we are reviewing species that
are rare to our state. Knowledge or experience with pelagic birds, Asian strays, and North American species normally
occurring elsewhere on our continent is valued highly. Committee members serve for up to two three-year terms before
rotating off the committee. New members are brought on board with the agreement of the WOS Board and the WBRC.
We meet in person just once a year, typically in a late-October meeting at the Slater Museum at University of Puget
Sound in Tacoma. In addition to reviewing and voting on reports at the annual meeting, we also circulate and vote on a
spring packet of reports electronically. Reports reviewed in the spring packet are only accepted or not-accepted if the vote
consensus is overwhelming—otherwise, they are reconsidered and voted on again at the fall meeting. In-person discussion
has proven very valuable in challenging assumptions and discussing tricky identifications.
The WBRC team:
Shawneen Finnegan: Shawneen also sits on the Oregon Bird Records Committee and the ABA ‘s Committee on
Recording Standards and Ethics. She was previously on the California BRC, and often leads trips and panels at ABA events
nationwide.
Ryan Merrill: Along with tracking our state bird records in WOS Field Notes, Ryan handles the pelagic species for the
Oregon/Washington region of North American Birds. Ryan also reviews for eBird when he is not out birding Neah Bay and
Skagit County.
Steve Mlodinow: Steve recently rotated off the committee after years of membership. In addition to co-editing “The Birds
of Washington: Status and Distribution” and co-authoring the book “America’s Most Wanted 100 Birds,” he is best known
for writing several articles on species and subspecies identification status and distribution.
Dave Slager: Dave is a graduate student in Biology at the UW, where he is researching the evolution of mimicry in
Neotropical flycatchers and the population genetics of American and Northwestern Crows. He previously served on the
Michigan Bird Records Committee and co-edited the 2nd Ohio Breeding Bird Atlas due out in 2016.
Ryan Shaw: Ryan works by day as an accountant and spends all his spare time out looking for rare birds. He is an eBird
reviewer for Washington state and is a regular spotter on Westport Pelagic trips. He was last seen photographing Spoonbilled Sandpipers in Thailand.
Bill Tweit: Bill is a Special Assistant to the Director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, has been a regular
spotter on Westport Pelagic Trips since 1973, was a regional editor for North American Birds for a couple of decades, is
an eBird reviewer for Washington, and co-edited “The Birds of Washington: Status and Distribution.” He recently received
WOS’s Zella Schultz lifetime achievement award at the 2015 WOS Conference.
Brad Waggoner: In addition to being the chair of the WBRC, Brad is a co-editor of the North American Birds seasonal
field notes column for the region and is an eBird reviewer for Washington. Brad’s home turf is Kitsap County, but you can
find him exploring new areas looking for the next rarity all over the state.
Charlie Wright: Charlie is the Data Verification Specialist for the UW’s Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team and
spends most summers doing field research in Alaska. He is the head eBird reviewer for the state and was responsible for
putting together the regional eBird team.
Matt Bartels: In addition to serving as WBRC Secretary, Matt coordinates the Washington Birder yearly county year list
project, maintains county checklist tools for the state and generally enjoys county listing in the state.
What does the WBRC review and how?
The WBRC focuses on reviewing birds rare
at the state-wide level. Any species seen
fewer than twenty times in the past ten
years is generally placed on the review list
tracked by the committee. This means that
in addition to reviewing any potential ‘state
first’ species, we review birds that might
be found in the state every year, but in
extremely low numbers. A complete list of
all the birds on the state list but still being
reviewed can be found on the WOS website
[http://wos.org/birding-checklists/]. Because
we use state-level rarity as our standard,
a number of observations of truly rare
observations do not currently fall under the
purview of the WBRC: Birds regular in one
part of the state might nonetheless be very
rare somewhere else in Washington (say, a
WBRC at Fall 2015 meeting, discussing Bewick’s Swan ID. L to R : Ryan Wandering Tattler in Eastern Washington).
Shaw, Dave Slager, Ryan Merrill, Steve Mlodinow, Charlie Wright, Brad
Likewise, birds present at an unexpected
Waggoner & Shawneen Finnegan
time of year or in larger than usual numbers
are not reviewed. Those observations are still
catalogued and reported in the quarterly “Field Notes” column for North American Birds.
From sighting to review to publication: After you’ve found a rare bird, there are several paths that your observation might
take before being reviewed and published. The first step, of course, is to document the sighting as thoroughly as possible.
There’s no need to wait for us to reach out to you: We are always grateful when you send in the write-up without waiting for
us to ask [http://wos.org/records/reportabird/]. If the bird is a review bird, once we hear about your sighting (via email lists
or eBird usually), we’ll reach out to solicit a formal write-up and any photos or other documentation you collected. Once
we have collected all the details we can, we circulate the file for review and voting at the next meeting. Once a decision
has been reached, we report the results by email, on the WOS website and eventually in formal reports published in peer
reviewed articles. Until recently, these formal reports were published in Washington Birds, but beginning this month
WBRC reports will appear in Western Birds, a regional quarterly journal that has become the de facto home for state bird
record committee reports from most of western North America. These articles will continue to be available for download
on the WOS website, regardless of where they are published.
How has eBird affected the work of WBRC?
For the most part, the rise in popularity of eBird has complemented, not changed, the core functions of the WBRC. It has
proven extremely useful in gathering initial written and photographic evidence, and it is essential in providing thorough
documentation of longer-staying rarities. These days, it is unusual to learn of a rarity only when someone sends in a rare
bird report. Instead, a large percentage of review species reports are first noted as an eBird submission. Whenever a rare
bird is reported in eBird (or on Tweeters), we collect the information, open a file for the observation, and follow up to
request more information. eBird submissions on their own are not formal WBRC submissions, so we regularly follow up
to ask for formal write-ups when a rare bird is reported on eBird. Likewise, after an observation has been vetted by the
WBRC, eBird reviewers follow the lead of the committee in validating or invalidating corresponding eBird submissions.
eBird data has been very helpful, especially in documenting the duration of longer-staying rarities. Paradoxically, some of
the best-seen, longest-persisting rarities generate some of the fewest WBRC submissions – everyone assumes other people
will send in details. In the past, that led to some meager documentation for mega-rarities. For example the 2004-2005
Redwing was present in Washington for almost three months and seen by probably hundreds of birders – the supporting
documentation for this ABA mega-rarity includes two or three write-ups and a handful of photos. eBird can help by
fleshing out the documentation and providing a foundation of back-up information on the entire duration of the raritys’
visit to the state. In contrast with the Redwing, last winter’s Brambling in Issaquah produced an eBird file that stretches
over 20 pages in length, providing documentation of the Brambling’s presence on more than half of the 40+ days it stayed.
Together with the 20-some photos and multiple write-ups eventually formally submitted, our documentation of the
Brambling is more comprehensive thanks to the eBird data.
How does the committee make its decisions on sightings that are submitted? Is a photo required these days for a
sighting of a rare species, or is a written description enough?
Obviously, reports submitted with clear photographs and with sighting notes that give full details of the observation are
the ideal -- WBRC review of these is generally quick and easy. Review of well-photographed birds can likewise be fairly
straightforward, even if the supporting written descriptions are minimal. That said, good written descriptions often provide
context for photographed birds and are useful in filling in information not captured in static images. And even in this age
of ubiquitous digital cameras, stand-alone written descriptions can still be enough to pass review. An excellent example
of this is the state’s first Spotted Redshank in 2014. Though not photographed, two independent observers, at different
locations and on two different dates provided superb written details that made it very clear they had observed a Spotted
Redshank. The report was accepted and the species was added to the state checklist. Of the reports considered in the past
year, roughly 60% included photographs. The acceptance rate for reports with photographs is higher than for those without
(roughly 90% to 40%), but a thorough write-up can still be credible and persuasive.
What’s next for Washington?
In 1994, in WOS News 30 & 32, Dennis Paulson asked the WBRC and WOS members to guess the next 5 species that
would be added to the state list. Seventeen people played along and submitted guesses. How did they do? To their credit,
23 of the 36 species submitted are now on the state list. That said, 42 other species were added to the state list that went
unmentioned by anyone submitting guesses. It is tough to predict new species for the state! Is it time to do this again? We
think so.
We’re opening up a survey on the WOS website [http://wos.org/forms/2016-wbrc-state-firsts-survey/] that will collect
your predictions for the next five new birds to be added to the state list. For a prediction to ‘count,’ an observation of that
species must be accepted by the WBRC as a valid record for the state. We’ll compile the results from WBRC members,
and compare and contrast with WOS membership predictions in a later issue. Take a look at the current state list, look
at reports of birds found in nearby states and other vagrancy patterns, consult your inner crystal-ball, and send in your
predictions!
It’s Here! It’s Here!
The New WOS Website
Article by Amy Powell
Last winter WOS purchased its hosting account and secured ownership of its domain name. Previously, WOS did not own
its domain name and securing it was important to me as it’s been WOS’ identity for decades. Owning our domain name not
only secured WOS.org for our future use, it also allowed WOS full control for its use of WordPress to create a new website.
Several months ago I began working with WordPress to create a user-friendly website that allowed fellow members to
easily navigate between pages and see upcoming events, conference information, field trips, and other important bird
related information. It has been a long and tedious process and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of my
husband, William (whom I called on numerous times when I got frustrated or needed a new approach), as well as several
members who took test drives for me and provided me with invaluable feedback and suggestions. I am absolutely thrilled
to introduce everyone to your new website!
Some of the new features are highlighted below:
1. Breadcrumbs: For many users, myself included, it is helpful to see breadcrumbs when navigating a website. For
instance, if you click on Annual Conference, then Current Year, and then Registration Instructions you will be able
to click back to Current Year without starting over. It’s common for users to get “lost” within websites and the use
of breadcrumbs can help to prevent that.
2. Access Randy Robinson’s Birder’s Dashboard: This dashboard allow users to quickly search eBird sightings and
hotspots by Washington State County. Currently, there is a link to access it but we are working on being able to
incorporate it into the website in the future.
3. While the Birding Locations Listed by County page already existed on the old website, many links were broken or
did not exist anymore. Therefore, new and updated links have been added as well as new suggested locations for
county birding.
4. A database was created to instantly record all WBRC observation reports. This allows the WBRC committee to log
in at any time to view them. The database also safely stores all reports to eliminate the possibility that data may
be lost. Recently, a Thank You email reply was added for those birders submitting a rare bird to the WBRC which
allows users to be confident that their sighting was logged to the database.
5. There is a general calendar on the top navigation bar that lists all upcoming events. If you’re only interested in Field
Trips you will now be able to view those on the calendar within the Field Trips page, just click on the desired field
trip to open a detail window. A list of field trips is also listed at the bottom of the page. In the Monthly Meetings
page there is a calendar that only pertains to upcoming meetings, simply click on the desired meeting date for
details. On the Home page four upcoming events are also listed for quick reference.
A word of caution: Many of you may have specific pages of the website bookmarked or added to your favorites. I would
urge all members to please clear these favorite settings and bookmarks as the old ones will no longer work, initiating a 404
Error message. I have set up redirects to the main pages to help ease everyone into the new site but there are bound to be
pages that no longer exist as they did before or are new entirely. Please note that if you do receive one of these 404 errors
that there is a search box where you can type in the desired page. Rest assured that I will receive all notifications of 404
errors and will fix them as they are sent to me, though members are encouraged to email me with a copy of any broken
links you may discover.
I would love to hear from any local photographers who would allow me to use photos from their Flickr sites on our website
as my goal in the near future is to host member’s photos on the home page in a slideshow format for viewing. Also, if there
are specific county birding hotspots that you’d like me to add to the Birding by County page please email the links and
names to me as suggestions.
I hope that you all enjoy the new website and find it easy to use. Please don’t hesitate to email me any errors, suggestions,
and/or feedback! I can be reached at [email protected]
Olympic Peninsula ABA Rally Report
by Shawneen Finnegan & Dave Irons
Birders at the ABA Rally in Quinault - by Shawneen Finnegan
During mid-September, the American Birding Association (ABA) hosted four-day rally on the Olympic Peninsula Thirtyfive participants attended the rally, which featured ABA president Jeff Gordon and ABA events coordinator George
Armistead as the primary leaders. Oregonians Shawneen Finnegan and Dave Irons, along with ABA intern Fanter Lane
(a high school senior) and his father Ben were along as local leaders. Jeff ’s wife Liz, two additional ABA staffers and ABA
Board Member Matt Fraker provided invaluable logistical support for the four-van caravan. Ann Nightingale of Victoria,
BC, joined us for a day of birding and gave a well-received evening talk about owls of the Pacific Northwest.
The first two nights were spent in Port Angeles, which served as the base for explorations of Ediz Hook and Dungeness
Spit, where many participants got their first taste of Pacific Northwest sea and shore birds. On Thursday afternoon we
chartered the Puget Sounds Express for a marine tour out to Protection Island. Cruising on glassy waters made it easy
to spot alcids sitting on the water. Along with many guillemots and murres two lingering Tufted Puffins and a group of
Marbled Murrelets were well seen by all. Both Pomarine and Parasitic Jaegers were encountered along with about 1000
Heermann’s Gulls, including about 700 sitting on a gravel bar just outside the boat basin in Port Townsend. Eight members
of the “Willettes” from Gig Harbor joined us for that day.
On Friday morning a trip up Hurricane Ridge netted great looks at Sooty Grouse, Gray Jays, Varied Thrushes and a host
of other species common to the Pacific Northwest rainforests. Despite dense cloud
cover and fog drizzle near the ridgetop, we were afforded spectacular views of Port
Angeles and the Strait of Juan de Fuca once we dropped below the cloud cap. On
Friday afternoon we made our way west and then south to Ocean Shores. It rained
heavily much of the way, but we stopped anyway and made short hikes into the forest
so that participants could sidle up and appreciate some of the largest Sitka spruce,
Douglas firs and Western Red Cedars on the planet. For many participants, this was
their first experience with trees that are in some cases upwards of 1200 years old.
Pigeon Guillemot - by Dave Irons
The focal point of Saturday’s birding was seawatching and migrant shorebirds around Ocean Shores. One sub-group
encountered Elegant Terns, which are tough to come by in Washington even during invasion years like this one. We
enjoyed a sumptuous lunch of locally-caught fish and chips. We found all of the expected rockpipers (both turnstones,
Surfbird, Wandering Tattler, and Black Oystercatcher) and enjoyed a stakeout
juvenile Ruff at Oyhut Wildlife Area late in the afternoon. There was a modest
mix of shorebirds at the game range, but a Peregrine Falcon working the area
kept things stirred up and the numbers low. As is typical this time of year,
swarms of Sooty Shearwaters were streaming north and south just beyond the
breakers at Ocean Shores. We had up to 20,000 in sight at times.
In the end, most of us felt that we had barely scratched the surface during this
whirlwind tour. Hopefully this introduction to the region will inspire many in
the group to return and explore this region at a more leisurely pace.
Pomarine Jaeger - by Dave Irons
The Willettes with Jeff Gordon - by Shawneen Finnegan
Olympic BirdFest 2016
Come Bird With Us
Sequim, Washington, April 15-17, 2016
Grab your binoculars and join the 12th annual Olympic BirdFest 2016 celebration at the Dungeness River Audubon Center,
April 15-17, 2016.
The stage is set…quiet bays and estuaries, sandy beaches, a five-mile-long sand spit, and a protected island bird sanctuary
on the Strait of Juan de Fuca; wetlands, tide pools, rainforests, and lush river valleys. The players are ready … Marbled
Murrelets, Rhinoceros Auklets, Harlequin Ducks, Black Oystercatchers, Peregrine Falcons, Barred and Pygmy owls will
be sporting their finest spring plumage for this celebration. Enjoy guided birding trips, boat tour, and a gala banquet. Our
featured speaker this year is noted artist Tony Angell, “Revealing the Secret Lives of Owls”.
Come bird with us and experience with others the spectacular landscapes of the Olympic Peninsula …you just might go
home with a new bird for your life list! Check out the offerings by going online (www.olympicbirdfest.org).
Precede your BirdFest weekend with a three-day, two night birding cruise of the spectacular San Juan Islands on April 1214, 2016. Visit San Juan and Sucia Islands, and more. Stay at the historic Roche Harbor Resort. Get cruise information and
register online at: www.pugetsoundexpress.com/audubon.
Extend your Birdfest weekend with the Neah Bay post-trip, April 17-19, 2016: two and one-half days exploring northwest
coastal Washington, a region rarely seen by birders.
Contact us by phone, at 360-681-4076,
E-mail us at [email protected] ,
Or write to us at:
Dungeness River Audubon Center
P.O. Box 2450
Sequim, WA 98382
Birders of All Skill Levels Needed
A message from Ethan Schmerling, research assistant to Thomas Palmeri, Ph. D of Vanderbilt University
Our laboratory at Vanderbilt University is looking for birders of all levels of experience to participate in a project
examining how perception and memory for birds differs between beginners and experts. We really do mean all levels of
experience, from the true beginner to the expert with decades of study, and everything in-between.
These experiments are online on the web. They measure your ability to remember and identify birds and sometimes other
animals or objects. Many experiments are fairly short. They can be done on any computer, wherever and whenever you
decide to do them.
One of our current experiments is a bird identification test. Go online and test your birding skills.
This is the web site for our experiments: http://expertise.psy.vanderbilt.edu
Once you register your own login id and password on the site, and
complete a short survey of your birding expertise, you will be able to participate in any experiments that are available. We
expect to add new experiments over time. Some future experiments may include modest compensation.
If you have questions, please contact Professor Thomas Palmeri
([email protected]) at Vanderbilt University.
Thomas Palmeri, Ph.D
Professor of Psychology
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37240
[email protected]
http://catlab.psy.vanderbilt.edu/
The Great North-Central Washington Bird Race
to
Help support those communities affected by the Washington wildfires
When: Saturday, January 16, Sunday, January 17, and Monday January 18 of 2016
Where: Omak, WA and surrounding areas
What is the Bird Race?
A team competition to see which birding team can score the highest amount of points each day. Points will be awarded
based on Washington Birder abundance codes in the respective counties. Specific counties in the area will be designated as
a target each day. Teams are limited to 4 birders or less.
So for example, a code 1 bird in Okanogan county scores one point, however a code 5 bird is worth 5 points and so on.
The birding day is defined as from any point from midnight to 5:00 PM. From 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM, teams will gather at
the breakfast area of the Omak Inn to tally points and to award the winner for the day. After the tally meeting, teams will
disperse for dinner on their own. Monday is the exception as most teams will be heading home that day (results are to be
submitted by mail or electronically for Monday). The birding day for Monday will end at 1:00 PM.
Target counties: Saturday – Okanogan Sunday – Ferry and Douglas Monday – Chelan and Stevens
Prizes will be awarded for the top team each day which include a new edition of the Washington state Bird-finding Guide
and a trophy. Results will also be posted online.
Our goal is to encourage birders from around the state to come visit the North Central Washington area in a time when
tourism is low. Birders can influence the local economy by lodging in the affected communities, eating, and buying fuel
and other essentials there, too. This is a great chance to find some winter birds while supporting those that suffered during
the past two record-setting wildfire seasons.
Please contact me with any questions and to register for the event.
Tim O’Brien
Cheney, WA
[email protected]
Phone: 509-850-7114 or 509-863-9656
www.facebook.com/northcentralWAbirdrace
Northern Hawk Owl
by Tim O’Brien
A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEW WOS MEMBERS
Don & JoAnne
Weldon
Kim & Steve
Covington
Mary Lee Collings
Pete Gurney
Joseph Spencer
Snowy Owl - by Tim O’Brien
Cristine Luboff
Bruce Lagerquist
Bill Brynteson
Andrea Bennett
Casey Cunningham
John Benner
Mark Wangerin
Upcoming Field Trips
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Clallam County CBC Warmup
Joint trip with Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society
Leader: Bob Boekelheide
Join OPAS for a joint field trip in preparation for the CBC that regularly posts the highest species count in Washington
State. Meet at the Dungeness River Audubon Center at Railroad Bridge Park at 8:30 am, spending a couple hours looking
for land birds by the Dungeness River. We will then meet around 11:30 at Dungeness Landing County Park on Dungeness
Bay to look for shorebirds, waterfowl, gulls, and everything else. Email Bob Boekelheide at [email protected] for details
and to sign up.
Friday, Jan 1, 2016
Wahkiakum County
Leader: Andrew Emlen
Andrew will lead a trip highlighting the winter hotspots of Wahkiakum County. Stops will include Puget Island, the Julia
Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge, Altoona, Pigeon Bluff, and Gray’s Bay. We will take the opportunity to seek any
unusual species found on the December 29 Wahkiakum Christmas Bird Count. The focus for the day will be waterfowl,
raptors, wintering shorebirds and sparrows. Target species include Ruddy Duck; Redhead; Canvasback; the three scoter
species; Common, Pacific and Red-throated Loon; Red-shouldered Hawk; Rough-legged Hawk; Sora; Virginia Rail;
Black-bellied Plover; Greater Yellowlegs; Barn Owl; American Dipper; Gray Jay; Northern Mockingbird; White-throated,
Lincoln’s and Swamp Sparrow. Be prepared to walk up to two miles over mostly even terrain.
For details, contact Andrew at aemlenATcenturytel.net. We will meet at 7:45 at Skamokawa Landing, 957 Steamboat
Slough Road, Skamokawa, WA 98647. From SR4, do not take the east entry of Steamboat Slough Road, by the refuge
headquarters - it no longer goes through. Take the west entry in Skamokawa.
Upcoming Field Trips (cont.)
Sunday January 10, 2016 Owls by Night [on Bainbridge Island] Leader: Jamie Acker
Join Jamie for a night of owling around Bainbridge Island (weather permitting). Participants will take the last Saturday
night ferry (the 2:10am Sunday boat) to Bainbridge Island and owling will begin from there. Northern Saw-whet and
Barred Owls are expected and others are possible, but more challenging. This trip is intended for those new to owling.
Limited to 10 adults.
To sign up, contact Jamie by email at [email protected].
Saturday – Monday, January 16-18, 2016
Winter Birds of Okanogan and Douglas County
Leader: Stefan Schlick
Join Stefan on this trip to Okanogan and Douglas counties in search of winter birds. Areas covered include the Okanogan
Highlands, the Bridgeport area, the Waterville Plateau and wherever else the birding is hot. Target birds include Northern
Goshawk, Gyrfalcon, Sharp-tailed Grouse, all the winter owls, Bohemian Waxwing, American Tree Sparrow, Lapland
Longspur, Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, Pine Grosbeak, Common Redpoll, Gray Partridge, and Snow Bunting.
Limited to 12 participants.
All overnights will be in the town of Omak. Meet Saturday at 7:00 AM at the Omak Inn. This is a very popular trip, so sign
up early. Contact Stefan to register at [email protected].
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Samish-Skagit Flats
Leader: Brian H. Bell
January is a good time to visit the Samish and Skagit flats with lots of raptors (hawks, eagles, falcons), waterfowl (ducks,
Trumpeter & Tundra swans), maybe shorebirds and whatever else we can find. Come prepared for any weather (waterproof
shoes probably good). Bring lunch, scopes, a Discover Pass if you have one. We will carpool to three cars, and will aim to
be back by about 5 PM. Carpool cost shared among passengers.
Limit: 11.
Call Brian to reserve your spot – 425-485-8058 (morning of field trip only 206-619-0379). Meet: 7:30 AM at NE 145th St.
P&R (also called N. Jackson Park).
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Whatcom County Northern Coast
Leader: Joe Meche
Joe Meche will lead a field trip along the shoreline of northern Whatcom County, starting just south of the Canadian
border.
We will meet at Marine Park in Blaine at 9:00 AM and explore the Blaine harbor/waterfront on foot. We will then carpool
to the Semiahmoo Spit, with a few stops along the way. After a lunch break at Semiahmoo, we will take a walking tour of
the spit before returning to our starting point in Blaine. For more information and to sign up, contact Joe Meche [[email protected]] by email or at (360) 739-5383.
Saturday – Monday, February 13-15, 2016
Okanogan Highlands/Waterville Plateau Winter Trip Leaders: Shep Thorp, Fanter Lane
Join Shep Thorp and Fanter Lane for winter birding in the Okanogan Highlands and Waterville Plateau. Our recreational
bird watching will help to support the region after devastating wildfires and destruction of critical habitat to avifauna. We’ll
be staying at the Omak Inn in Omak Friday night February 12th, and birding our way home Monday February the 15th. We will be birding Havillah, Sno-Park, Hungry Hollow Rd, Nealy Rd, Chesaw, Mary Ann Creek Rd, Scotch Creek Wildlife
Area, Conconully, Brewster/Bridgeport Area, West Foster Creek Wildlife Area (Central Ferry Canyon, Bridgeport Hill Rd),
Mansfield, Waterville plateau and Waterville. Species we hope to see include Sharp-tailed Grouse, Gray Partridge, waterfowl, Rough-legged Hawk, Great Gray Owl,
Long-eared Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, Snowy Owl, Clark’s Nutcracker, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Blackbacked Woodpecker, Gyrfalcon, Prairie Falcon, Bohemian Waxwing, Pygmy Nuthatch, Mountain Chickadee, American
Tree Sparrow, two subspecies of Horned Lark, Lapland Longspur, Snow Bunting, Red Crossbill, Gray-crowned Rosy-finch,
Pine Grosbeak, and Common Redpoll. Our trip will start Saturday morning 2/13 at 6:00am at the Omak Inn Office and finish Monday afternoon 2/15 at 3:00pm
in Waterville. Please contact Shep Thorp at [email protected] or call 253-370-3742.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Whatcom County Northern Coast
Leader: Joe Meche
Joe Meche will lead a field trip along the shoreline of northern Whatcom County, starting just south of the Canadian
border.
We will meet at Marine Park in Blaine at 9:00 AM and explore the Blaine harbor/waterfront on foot. We will then carpool
to the Semiahmoo Spit, with a few stops along the way. After a lunch break at Semiahmoo, we will take a walking tour of
the spit before returning to our starting point in Blaine. For more information and to sign up, contact Joe Meche [[email protected]] by email or at (360) 739-5383.
Washington Field Notes
December 2014 - February 2015
Compiled by Ryan Merrill
Birds in bold or capital letters represent birds on the state review list which requires documentation to be submitted to the
Washington Bird Records Committee.
With the increase in reporting to the online database eBird (www.ebird.org), beginning with this report I will be reducing
effort to include all reports reported directly to eBird. I will still strive to include the most notable species, but many of those
of moderate rarity will likely have some omitted reports. For example, in this column there are some reports of “Eurasian”
Green-winged Teal, eastside Anna’s Hummingbirds, and Swamp Sparrows, among others, that can be found in eBird but are
not included here. For those looking for a more complete picture of birds reported during this season and more complete
date ranges for rarities, I recommend checking eBird in addition to this column.
Hybrid waterfowl reported this season included an American Wigeon x Mallard in Pierce and a Northern Pintail x Mallard in
Yakima. Three Tufted Ducks included Clallam’s first. The fall’s Snowy Egret remained in Clark through late December.
A tally of 119 Black Oystercatchers in Island is likely the highest total reported from Puget Sound. The state’s first Spotted
Redshank was seen again in Skagit the first of December. Two Lesser Yellowlegs were found this season, which are less
than annual in the state during winter. The Pierce Slaty-backed Gull remained through the period. A Thick-billed Murre
returned to Clallam for the third consecutive winter in January. A dead Scripps’s Murrelet in Grays Harbor is likely just the
second winter record for the state. A highlight of the February Westport Seabirds pelagic trip was a pair of Parakeet Auklets.
Long-eared Owls were found in exceptional numbers in western Washington, with at least 8 individuals reported from five
counties. An incursion of unprecedented scale of Acorn Woodpeckers included at least ten individuals from six sites. Three
House Wrens this season were exceptional, with most winters not recording any.
Nashville Warblers in Clallam and Snohomish were even more unusual, with very few previous winter reports from the state.
A Black-and-white Warbler wintered in Spokane, though was only spotted a couple times during its stay. A male Blackthroated Blue Warbler, at least the state’s 13th, spent most of the period visiting a feeder in Snohomish. A Lark Sparrow
in Kitsap was just the state’s second winter record. The Clallam Orchard Oriole remained through the season, and later in
the winter the state’s 9th was discovered coming to a feeder in Grays Harbor. A Brambling in King stayed for weeks after its
discovery in early February. Pine Grosbeaks were widely reported in the lowlands, including flocks at the coast near Neah Bay.
The state’s 3rd “Eastern” Purple Finch was well-photographed in Kitsap in December.
Ross’s Goose Reports included: 1 at Vancouver Lowlands Clark 2/7 (RFl) to 2/21 (DI,ShF)
Brant Uncommon locally: 1 at Green Lake King 1/10 (James Fiero)
Trumpeter Swan Reports from e WA included: 6 at Mondovi Lincoln 2/19 (JoI)
American Wigeon X Mallard Rarely reported: 1 at Fife Pierce 12/25 (eBird)
Northern Pintail X Mallard Rarely reported: 1 at Toppenish Yakima 1/30 (JKo)
“Eurasian” Green-winged Teal Uncommon in WA: 1 at Brady Loop Road Grays Harbor 12/19 (BS), 1 at Magnuson Park
King 1/14 (ScR), 1 at Edmonds Snohomish 1/17 (AG)
Redhead High counts: 2500 at Kalispel Indian Reservation Pend Oreille 12/16 (JoI), 22 at Lake Erie Skagit 12/21 (RyM), 24 at
Federal Way King 12/27 (GSo)
Tufted Duck Rare in WA: 1 at Vancouver Clark 1/6+ (RH), 1 at Waatch River Clallam 1/25 (BWg), 1 at Woodland Cowlitz
2/24 through the period (BT)
Long-tailed Duck Reports from e WA included: 1 at Rock Lake Whitman 12/26 (TLi)
Common x Barrows Goldeneye Reports included: 1 at Tacoma Pierce 12/30 (Ryan O’Donnell)
Barrow’s Goldeneye High counts: night roost of 246 at Green Lake King 1/14 (MM), 74 at Winthrop Okanogan 2/14 (ErH)
Red-breasted Merganser Reports from e WA included: 6 at Osoyoos Lake Okanogan 12/16 (WW), 1 at Kalispel Indian
Reservation Pend Oreille 12/24 (TLi)
Pacific Loon Reports from fresh water included: 1 at Vancouver Lowlands Clark 1/20 (RFl), 1 at Hollebeke HMU Walla
Walla 2/14 (MlD,MD)
Yellow-billed Loon Reports included: 1 at Vashon Island King 12/6 through the period (Ezra & Harsi Parker), 3 near
Dungeness Clallam 12/15 (CWr,BL), 1 at Neah Bay Clallam 1/12 (RyM), 1 at Obstruction Pass San Juan 2/14 (Noah Sanday)
Eared Grebe Reports included: 17 at Neah Bay Clallam 1/12 (RyM)
Laysan Albatross Reports included: 1 dead at Neah Bay Clallam 1/2 (fide CWr), 2 at Westport Pelagic Grays Harbor 2/14
(BL,JDz)
Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel Reports included: 1 at Neah Bay Clallam 1/18 (SDo)
American White Pelican Rare locally: 1 at Lake Sammamish King 12/3 (MHm)
Brown Pelican Reports included: 1 at Salt Creek CP Clallam 2/7 (JMu)
Great Egret High count: 30 at McNary NWR Walla Walla 2/14 (MlD)
SNOWY EGRET Rare in WA: 1 at Ridgefield NWR Clark continued through 12/21 (SC)
Black-crowned Night-Heron Reports from w WA included: 2 at Dungeness Clallam 12/15+ (fide BoB), 3 at Ridgefield
NWR Clark 12/21 (SC)
Turkey Vulture Uncommon in winter: 1 at Port Angeles Clallam 12/24 (JDz)
Osprey Rare in winter: 1 at John Wayne Marina Clallam 12/13 (JGc), 1 at Yakima Yakima 1/10 (AS)
White-tailed Kite Uncommon in WA: 1 at Steigerwald Lake NWR Clark 1/5 to 1/30 (fide WC)/
Golden Eagle Reports from w WA included: 2 at Sikes Lake King 1/4+ (DeL), 1 at Samish Flats Skagit 1/28 (Doug Brown), 1
at Lummi Flats Whatcom 2/14 (Nat Whitman)
Sandhill Crane Reports included: 2 at Waterville Plateau Douglas 2/15 (MR)
Black Oystercatcher High count: 119 at Penn Cove Island 1/1 (TMn)
American Avocet Reports included: 1 at Everett Snohomish 12/5 to 1/29 (Amy Willoughby)
SPOTTED REDSHANK Rare in WA: 1 at Jensen Access Skagit 12/1 (JeB)
Lesser Yellowlegs Rare in winter: 1 at Skagit WMA Skagit 12/24 (GB,SGi), 1 at Ridgefield NWR Clark 2/25 (RFl)
Whimbrel Reports included: 1 at Dungeness Clallam 12/15 (fide BoB)
Marbled Godwit Reports included: 1 at Everett STP Snohomish 12/12 (EvH), 45 at Dungeness Clallam 12/15 (fide BoB), 1 at
Belfair Mason 1/17 (MlD)
Ruddy Turnstone Reports included: 1 at Samish Island Skagit 12/27 (RyM), 2 at Ediz Hook Clallam 12/28 through the
period (HdG), 1 at Sandy Point Whatcom 1/25 (PhW)
Rock Sandpiper Uncommon locally: 1 at Larrabee SP Whatcom 1/11 (MaB)
Red Phalarope Uncommon locally: 1 near Olympia Thurston 12/14 (DaH)
Franklin’s Gull Rare in winter: 1 at Sequim Clallam 12/9 (BcP), 1 at Tualco Valley Snohomish 1/4+ (TMn), 1 at Two Rivers
Walla Walla 2/22 (MlD,MD), 1 at Wallula Walla Walla 2/22 (MlD,MD)
Mew Gull Reports from e WA included: 2 at Ice Harbor Dam Walla Walla 12/6 (MlD,MD)
Thayer’s Gull Reports from e WA included: 3 at Ice Harbor Dam Walla Walla 12/6 (MlD,MD)
Lesser Black-backed Gull Reports included: 1 at Clarkston Asotin 1/2 (KeC)
SLATY-BACKED GULL Rare in WA: 1 at Tacoma Pierce 12/1 through the period (MCh)
Glaucous Gull Reports included: 1 at Pacific Beach Grays Harbor 12/19 (BS)
THICK-BILLED MURRE Rare in WA: 1 at Ediz Hook Clallam 1/3 to 1/20 (BoB)
Marbled Murrelet High count: 600 at Point Roberts Whatcom 1/17 (Ken Klimko)
Scripps’s Murrelet Rare in winter: 1 dead at Pacific Beach Grays Harbor 12/22 (fide CWr)
Ancient Murrelet Reports included: 840 at Neah Bay Clallam 1/12 (RyM)
Cassin’s Auklet Reports included: 1 at Rosario Beach Skagit 12/21 (RyM)
Parakeet Auklet Uncommon in WA: 2 at Westport Pelagic Grays Harbor 2/14 (BL,JDz)
Snowy Owl Reports included: 1 at Rock Lake Whitman 12/23 (fide MD)
Great Gray Owl Reports included: 1 at Sauk Valley Skagit 2/7 (fide RyM)
Long-eared Owl Reports from w WA included: 1 at Leque Island Snohomish 12/7+ (Mitchell Von Rotz) with 2 there 1/1+
(DSg), 1 dead at Lopez Island San Juan 12/14 (fide PDB), 1 at Waatch River Clallam 1/12 (RyM), 1 at Lummi Flats Whatcom
1/17+ (FL), 1 at Port Susan Bay Snohomish 2/11 (Jennifer Standish), 1 at Samish Flats Skagit 2/13+ (fide PDB)
Short-eared Owl Reports included: 1 at Sauk Valley Skagit 12/21 (RL), 1 at Waatch River Clallam 1/24 (BWg)
Anna’s Hummingbird Reports from expanding range included: 1 at Corkindale Creek Skagit 12/1 (RKn), 1 at Concrete
Skagit 12/5 (RKn)
Rufous Hummingbird Early reports: 1 at Freeland Island 1/18 (John Schuster), 1 at Greenbank Island 1/19 (LnB). Late
reports: 1 at Fox Island Pierce 12/19 (GnH), 1 at Tacoma Pierce 12/20 (fide FM)
Acorn Woodpecker Rare in w WA: 1 at Weir Prairie Thurston remained through 2/19 (NSw), 2 at Vancouver Clark remained
through 2/11 (CMk), 1 at Lakewood Pierce 12/29 (Rex Takasugi) with 2 there 12/30 (MCh) and 3 there 1/7 (NSw), 2
elsewhere in Lakewood Pierce 2/6+ (BL), 1 at Kelso Cowlitz 2/11 (RKo). Rare locally: 1 at Cashmere Chelan 12/13 (Debbie
Sutherland) to 2/21 (BT,BL)
Red-naped Sapsucker Rare in winter: 1 at UW Arboretum King 12/29+ (AnJ,MTh), 1 at Yakima Yakima 1/3 (JKo)
Red-breasted Sapsucker Rare locally: 1 at Dixie Walla Walla 1/1 (GSh), 1 at Hood Park, Walla Walla 2/14 (MlD)
American Three-toed Woodpecker Rare locally: 1 at Hurricane Ridge Clallam 2/16 (McB)
Gyrfalcon Reports included: 1 at Sikes Lake King 12/22 (Vicki S.), 1 near Rock Lake Whitman 1/6 (JoI), 1 at Carnation King
2/7 (MHm)
Prairie Falcon Uncommon in w WA: 1 at Butler Flats Skagit 1/10 (RyM,CWr)
Black Phoebe Reports from expanding range included: 1 at Puyallup Pierce 1/24+ (BL)
Say’s Phoebe Reports included: 1 at Walla Walla Walla Walla 12/14 (fide MlD), 1 at Kennewick Benton 1/15 (LN)
Loggerhead Shrike Reports included: 1 near Fort Simcoe SP Yakima 12/21 (AS,ElS)
Blue Jay Reports included: 1 at Biscuit Ridge Walla Walla 12/13+ (fide MlD), 1 at Walla Walla Walla Walla 12/14 (fide MlD), 1
at Yakima Yakima 2/28 (SDo)
Western Scrub-Jay Uncommon locally: 1 at Coupeville Island 12/31+ (Ruth Richards, Jay Adams)
Horned Lark Reports included: 1 at Discovery Park King 12/27 (JGn,JKg)
Tree Swallow Reports included: 1 at Ridgefield NWR Clark 12/6 (JDz)
Barn Swallow Uncommon in winter: 1 at Ridgefield NWR Clark 12/6 (JDz), 1 at Marymoor Park King 12/18 (MiH), 1 at
Ediz Hook Clallam 1/7 (BoB), 1 at Deer Lagoon Island 1/10 (GeH), 1 at Marysville Snohomish 1/14 (SK) with 8 there 1/20
(SK), 1 at Clallam Bay Clallam 1/15 (JGc), 2 at Edmonds Snohomish 1/16 (CRi) with 3 there 1/17 (AG), 6 at Neah Bay Clallam
1/18 (SDo)
Mountain Chickadee Uncommon locally: 1 at Seattle King 12/2 (JeB), 1 at Vancouver Clark 12/13 through the period (JJ), 1
at Cape Disappointment Pacific 12/14 (RKo), 2 at Fir Island Skagit 12/17 (RyM,BWg), 1 at Priest Point Snohomish 12/30 (SP)
White-breasted Nuthatch Uncommon locally: 1 at Weir Prairie Thurston 12/2 (Evan Hayduk, Kara Karboski) to 2/19 (NSw),
1 at Little White Salmon River Skamania 12/14 (SSc), 1 at Lakewood Pierce 2/6+ (MCh, BL)
Pygmy Nuthatch Rare locally: 3 at Little White Salmon River Skamania 12/14 (SSc) with 5 there 12/15 (LTk)
Rock Wren Reports included: 1 at Fort Flagler Jefferson 12/13 (Len Mandelbaum)
House Wren Rare in winter: 1 at Samish Island Skagit 12/27 (RyM), 1 at Neah Bay Clallam 1/12 (RyM) to 1/25 (BWg), 1 at
Skagit WMA Skagit 1/26 (BLe)
Western Bluebird Reports included: 3 at Vashon Island King 2/12 (fide ESw)
Mountain Bluebird Uncommon in winter: 5 at Horse Heaven Hills Y Yakima 12/6 (AS), 2 at Sandy Point Whatcom 12/7 with
4 there 12/31+ (PhW), 1 at Sikes Lake King 1/12 (ASc,PR)
Northern Mockingbird Uncommon in WA: 1 at Skookum Inlet Mason 12/4 (David Ness), 1 at Puget Island Wahkiakum
12/30 (RKo)
Bohemian Waxwing Uncommon in w WA: 1 at Corkindale Skagit 12/1 (RKn), 1 at Rockport Skagit 12/7 (CzH), 1 at
Burlington Skagit 1/18 (GB)
Snow Bunting Reports included: 2 at Ediz Hook Clallam 1/1+ (SGr)
Northern Waterthrush Reports included: 1 at Skagit WMA Skagit through 2/13 (GB)
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER Rare in WA: 1 at Riverside SP Spokane 12/31+ (Patrick McKann)
Orange-crowned Warbler Reports included: 2 at Union Gap Yakima 12/19 (AS)
Nashville Warbler Rare in winter: 1 at Waatch River Clallam 12/14 (AAk), 1 at Mountlake Terrace Snohomish 1/1 (fide CRi)
Common Yellowthroat Reports included: 1 at Edmonds Snohomish 12/3 (JSy), 1 at Jensen Access Skagit 12/5 (CWr), 1 at
Ridgefield NWR Clark 12/12 (CMk)
BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER Rare in WA: 1 at Bothell Snohomish 12/20 through the period (Dmitri Vargas)
Palm Warbler Uncommon locally: 1 at Sequim Clallam 12/6 (BcP), 1 at Renton King 12/13+ (CWr,KB), 1 at Everett Snohomish
1/1 (SA), 1 at Olympia Thurston 1/16 (JAn) to 1/24 (BT)
Wilson’s Warbler Reports included: 1 at Montlake Fill King 12/31 (AG), 1 at Edmonds Snohomish 1/5 (Twe), at Ridgefield
Clark 1/25 (RFl)
American Tree Sparrow Reports from w WA included: 1 at Brady Loop Road Grays Harbor remained through 12/1 (AR), 2
at Lummi Flats Whatcom 1/25+ (FL,PhW)
Lark Sparrow Rare in winter: 1 at Scandia Kitsap 12/3 (BWg) to 12/7 (TMn)
Savannah Sparrow High counts for winter: 30 at Centerville Klickitat 12/17 (SJ), 30 at Edison Skagit 1/1 (DP)
Swamp Sparrow Reports included: 1 at Capitol Lake Thurston 12/8 (CWl), 1 at Ridgefield NWR Clark 12/12+ (CMk), 2 at
Nisqually NWR Thurston 12/17+ (PhK), 1 at Montlake Fill King 12/22+ (BHg), 3 at Crescent Lake WMA Snohomish 1/3 (JV), 1
at Yakima Yakima 1/10 (AS), 1 at Shillapoo WMA Clark 1/25 (LkH), 1 at Sequim Clallam 2/1 (McB)
Harris’s Sparrow Reports included: 1 at Asotin Asotin 12/5 (RiW), 1 at Spokane Spokane 12/6+ (JoI), 1 at Vancouver Clark
12/17 (fide Jim Johnson), 1 at Yakima Yakima 12/18 (KvL), 1 at Brown’s Point Pierce 1/1+ (fide ShT), 1 near Charbonneau
Park Walla Walla 1/10 (MlD,MD), 1 at Washtucna Adams 1/11 (TTa,RTa), 1 at Big Flat HMU Franklin 1/14 (RKo), 1 at
Washburn Island Okanogan 2/1 (FL)
Western Tanager Late report: 1 at Discovery Park King 12/6 (NZ,RL)
Tricolored Blackbird Reports included: 3 at Wallula Walla Walla 12/25 (MlD,MD)
Western Meadowlark Reports included: 1 at Kalaloch Jefferson 12/26 (RL)
Yellow-headed Blackbird High count: 55 at McNary NWR Walla Walla 1/17 (CLy). Reports included: 1 at Sandy Point
Whatcom 2/22 (TMn)
Rusty Blackbird Reports included: 1 at Sequim Clallam 1/21 (BcP), 1 at Crescent Lake WMA Snohomish 12/26 (RyM, Adam
Crutcher) to 2/7 (MaB)
ORCHARD ORIOLE Rare in WA: 1 at Neah Bay Clallam remained through the period, 1 at Ocean City Grays Harbor 2/16+
(Joe Schumacker)
BRAMBLING Rare in WA: 1 at Issaquah King 2/4+ (Dan Pope)
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Uncommon locally: 3 at Elwha River Clallam 1/1 (Twe) with 2 remaining 2/7 (JMu)
Pine Grosbeak Reports included: 1 at Corkindale Skagit 12/1 (RKn), 9 at Breazeale Skagit 12/6+ (BBe), 6 at Slavin Ranch
Spokane 12/19 (JoI), 1 at Yakima Yakima 12/2 with 5 there 12/19 (LI), 3 at Bellingham Whatcom 12/26 (Marjorie Leone), 16
at Neah Bay Clallam 1/13 (RyM), 50 at Leavenworth Chelan 1/13 (GG), 2 at Richland Benton 1/18+ (LN), 2 at Lyons Ferry
Franklin 2/18 (GSh), 1 at Wapato Yakima 12/12 (AS)
“EASTERN” PURPLE FINCH Rare in WA: 1 at Bainbridge Island Kitsap 12/15 (BWg)
Common Redpoll Reports included: 29 at Walla Walla Walla Walla 12/14 (fide MlD), 10 at Seattle King 1/8 (eBird)
Lesser Goldfinch Reports included: 2 at Lacey Thurston 12/6 (BT), 2 at Yakima Yakima 1/1 (SDo)
American Goldfinch High count: 504 at McNary NWR Walla Walla 1/1 (MlD)
Observers
ErH
Eric Heisey
LI
Lori Isley
AAk
Adrianne Akmajian
ESw
Ed Swan
LkH
Luke Hanes
AG
Alan Grenon
EvH
Evan Houston
LN
Laurie Ness
AnJ
Anne Jacobs
FL
Fanter Lane
LnB
Linda Bainbridge
AR
Alan Richards
FM
Faye McAdams
LPh
Linda Phillips
AS
Andy Stepniewski
GB
Gary Bletsch
LTk
Lyn Topinka
ASc
Amy Schillinger
GeH
George Heleker
MaB
Marv Breece
BBe
Brian Bell
GG
George Gerdts
McB
Michael Barry
BcP
Bruce Paige
GnH
Glenn Hansen
MCh
Michael Charest
BHg
Brendan Higgins
GSh
Ginger Shoemake
MD
Mike Denny
BL
Bruce LaBar
GSo
Gary Sogard
MHm
Mike Hamilton
BlB
Blair Bernson
GW
Gary Wiles
MiH
Michael Hobbs
BLe
Barry Levine
HdG
Hans de Grys
MlD
MerryLynn Denny
BoB
Bob Boekelheide
JAn
Jon Anderson
MM
Martin Muller
BS
Bill Shelmerdine
JDz
Jim Danzenbaker
MR
Marcus Roening
BT
Bill Tweit
JeB
Jeff Bryant
MTh
Maryanne Thorbeck
BWg
Brad Waggoner
JGc
John Gatchet
NSw
Nathaniel Swecker
CLy
Christopher Lindsey
JGl
Joshua Glant
NZ
Neil Zimmerman
CMk
Cindy McCormack
JGn
Jordan Gunn
PCa
Phil Calise
CRi
Carol Riddell
JJ
Jim Johnson
PDB
Paul DeBruyn
CWl
Chris Warlow
JKg
Jen Kunitsugu
PhK
Phil Kelley
CWr
Charlie Wright
JKo
Jeff Kozma
PhW
Phil Wegener
CzH
Chazz Hesselein
JMu
Judy Mullally
PR
Penny Rose
DaH
Dave Hayden
JoI
Jon Isacoff
RFl
Robert Flores
DeL
Debra Lewis
JSy
Joe Sweeney
RH
Randy Hill
DI
David Irons
JV
Jason Vassallo
RiW
Rick Welle
DP
Dennis Paulson
KB
Ken Brown
RKn
Randy Knapp
DSg
Dave Slager
KeC
Keith Carlson
RKo
Russell Koppendrayer
ElS
Ellen Stepniewski
KvL
Kevin Lucas
RL
Rachel Lawson
RRe
Richard Repp
RTa
Rick Taylor
RyM
Ryan Merrill
SA
Scott Atkinson
SC
Scott Carpenter
ScR
Scott Ramos
SDo
Scott Downes
SGi
Steve Giles
SGr
Scott Gremel
ShF
Shawneen Finnegan
ShT
Shep Thorp
SJ
Stuart Johnston
SK
Stan Kostka
SP
Steve Pink
SSc
Stefan Schlick
TLi
Terry Little
TMn
Thomas Mansfield
TTa
Tina Taylor
WC
Wilson Cady
WW
Wayne Weber

WOS News - Washington Ornithological Society

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