Fishing Owls in Washington?
I had seen posts on various sites about Barred Owls catching and eating crayfish but I had never witnessed it myself. So when a birding friend called…
The Importance of Shared Spaces: Stillwater Unit, Snoqualmie Wildlife Area
If you have not yet visited this diverse habitat area, now is a good time to go. This 456-acre unit is three miles north of the town of Carnation, is the largest unit within the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area and hosts the greatest diversity of habitats. There are…
Trip Report: Camano Island
September 21, 2021
65 Species
It was another gorgeous September day on Camano Island for our group of 17, as we stopped along Utsalady Bay, and at Iverson Point, Barnum Point County Park and Eide Rd. Some of the highlights…
Trip Report: South Whidbey Island
September 14, 2021
76 Species
Sixteen birders boarded the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry for a tour of birding hotspots in the southern half of Whidbey Island. We had many interesting finds, including an out-of-season…
Trip Report: Fir Island
September 7, 2021
61 Species
Sixteen birders welcomed back the Tuesday day trips after an 18-month hiatus. A shortage of shorebirds at…
The Results Are In!
Photographers from across the state submitted their best bird photos from this past year, and the results were breathtaking! With record participation this year, the judges had an incredibly difficult task on their hands…
The Importance of Shared Spaces
John Muir once wrote “Keep close to Nature’s heart….Wash your spirit clean”. There is little doubt that being out and enjoying nature is a soul cleanse for many people. We have different ways of enjoying what nature offers us…
Bird Banding: Its Role in Conservation and How You Can Help
Bird banding is the practice of safely applying a band or tag to part of the bird, usually the leg, for data collection and individual identification. Banding birds allows researchers to learn the migration patterns, life span, breeding territory, and…
Birding is the Only Thing
Sometimes birding is the only thing that makes me feel better.
When I’m out walking through the woods, scanning a pond, or scoping out a wetland; when I hear the call of a Barred Owl or focus my binoculars on a Green Heron—the troubles and controversies of the political scene fade away…
Reconnect with Your Local Birds
March 24, 2020
For the health of our communities and ourselves, we should all heed the shelter-in-place orders as much as we possibly can. But that doesn’t mean we have to rid ourselves of birding completely!
Weekend Bird Walk to Camano Island, Barnum Point
March 7, 2020
Pilchuck Audubon Society and the North Sound Birders’ Meetup visited Island County’s newest park development: Barnum Point County Park. Until recently it was known as Barnum Point…
Great Backyard Bird Count Trip
February 26, 2020
On February 26th Pilchuck Audubon Society, Academia Latina, and the North Sound Birders’ Meetup visited Ferguson Park and Blackman’s Lake in Snohomish to celebrate the Great Backyard Bird Count with…
The Pursuit of Accuracy
For a novice birder or even a well-traveled, experienced birder, everyone at some point has faced the disheartening ritual of writing these dreaded words on their checklist…
Blaine & Birch Bay
February 25, 2020
68 Species
Birds of the day included a great view of the leucistic Red-tailed Hawk and the Eared Grebe. At the Blaine Harbor we had a very close up view of a Long-tailed Duck pair and the photographers were able to get stunning photos…
Deception Pass
February 18, 2020
68 Species
It was not until we got to Ala spit that we found our first Oystercatcher of the day. Then we when to Dugualla Bay and found Canvasbacks and Redheads…
Port Townsend
February 11, 2020
71 Species
The best part of the day was seeing all of the alcids on our list. When looking for the alcids a Red-throated Loon popped up right in front of us. That was a favorite sighting for the day…
Weekend Bird Walk to Riverview Wildlife Refuge with Snohomish Rising
January 18, 2020
On Saturday, January 18th Pilchuck Audubon Society and the North Sound Birders’ Meetup conducted a Snohomish Rising Weekend Bird…
Fir Island
February 4, 2020
52 Species
This was a very cold day with temperatures hovering between 32-35 with wind and snow flurries. The bird of the day was the sighting of the Golden Eagle…
South Whidbey Island
January 28, 2020
71 Species
We enjoyed seeing the 300 Western grebes with most of them at Holmes Harbor. We also found a Red-breasted Sapsucker…
Snoqualmie Valley
January 21, 2020
49 Species
Birds of the day included seeing over 800 Cackling Geese fly into the field in the Valley. We also enjoyed watching song sparrow practically…