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July - August 2014 Whistler is online

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Click to Download the pdfThe July / August 2014 Whistler is available now.

 

Read more of its content:

  • Invitation to the WHAS Annual Picnic for Members and Friends
  • Conservation Faces Many Challenges 
  • Membership Form
  • WHAS contact information
  • Betty Mayfield 1930-2014
  • Osprey Nest near Woodland
  • Birding and Leisure in Southern Arizona
  • Purple Martins are welcome at Indian Jack Slough
  • Summer Birding on the Long Beach Peninsula
  • Longview Reynold’s Aluminium Smelter Cleanup
  • Loving Hummingbirds to Death
  • WHAS Programs and Field Trips;

 

WHAS opposes Fossil Fuel Export Facilities

Details

A Resolution to Oppose Fossil Fuel Export Facilities
In Washington and Oregon

Willapa Hills Audubon Society
Passed by Vote of the Board of Directors, June 11, 2014

 
Whereas: Fossil Fuel Export facilities are proposed at many NW locations including Whatcom County, Grays Harbor County, Coos Bay, at several locations along the Columbia River, and new proposals appear with increasing frequency; and,

Whereas: The increased burning of fossil fuels will lead to increased levels of greenhouse gas in the global environment, pollution, and dangerous climate change; and,

Whereas: The extraction of most newly exportable fossil fuels is most often environmentally unsound, such as mountain-top removal in search of coal, strip coal mining, the fracking process in search of oil and gas, or of poor quality, such as the tar sands oil of Canada; and,

Whereas: The transport of fossil fuels, particularly by rail, is most often dangerous and/or dirty and disruptive, and requires large scale facilities in wetlands and next to ecologically sensitive waterways; and, Whereas: Conservation of United States' fossil fuel resources is a national security and energy independence issue, worthy of detailed debate; and,

Whereas: Conservation of energy in the US is becoming increasingly important; and,

Whereas: Willapa Hills Audubon already opposes several proposed LNG ports along the lower Columbia River, and the proposed coal export facility at Longview, and oil export at Clatskanie; now, then,

Be it Hereby Resolved: Willapa Hills Audubon opposes all export of fossil fuels from NW American ports, (with the possible exception of derivatives of natural gas, which will be determined on a case by case basis), and that this resolution will stand until changed or amended in future.

This resolution is available as a pdf here.

Osprey nest near Woodland

Details

Pair of Osprey - Robert VanNatta

Pair of Osprey - Robert VanNatta

There is an active Osprey nest west of Woodland next to the Columbia River in a public access area. Robert VanNatta was able to park beside where he set up the camera outside the dike. He got quite a show that morning as an eagle came by just after these photos were taken, and the Osprey went after the eagle and chased it off.

First Ever Black-throated Sparrow seen in Woodland

Details
May was an exciting month for rare migrants in Cowlitz County. The headliner had to be the county's first ever record of Black-throated Sparrow. The bird was seen and photographed in a Woodland yard on the 20th and seen briefly the next morning before it disappeared.  Primarily a species of the arid southwest U.S., there are a few nesting on arid slopes near Vantage in eastern Washington, but to find a migrant west of the Cascades is very rare.
 
Other birds recorded less than annually included a Swainson's Hawk seen soaring over the Woodland Bottoms for a few minutes on the 4th, before disappearing to the south. A Wilson's Phalarope was seen by a number of people when it spent the 10th in a Woodland Bottoms pond. Starting on the 15th a Yellow-breasted Chat spent at least 6 days singing at Willow Grove, to delight of many. 
 
While not showing on this list, a hybrid Lazuli x Indigo Bunting was found singing on territory near Cougar on the 29th. With only a handful of records in Washington state, this spot has become famous among folks who are into these phenomenon, since this is the 5th consecutive year for this hybrid at this location.
 
Lastly a migration extravaganza was witnessed on the 5th as 4000 Band-tailed Pigeons streamed north along the Columbia River at Kalama in a half hour.

May - June 2014 Whistler is online

Details

Click to Download the pdfThe May / JUne 2014 Whistler is available now.

Read more of its content:

  • Indian Jack Slough Update
  • New Board Officers Announced
  • Membership Form,
  • WHAS contact information
  • Board Meeting Notes
  • Washington Birding Trail ID’s Lake Sacajawea
  • Update on Conservation Concerns
  • Wood Duck Boxes installed
  • Images from recent field trip to Woodland Bottoms
  • Earth Day Booth a Big Success
  • WHAS Programs and Field Trips;

 

2014 Cowlitz County Bird List (January Update)

Details

Another year with a nice start, mostly due to a fine Christmas Bird Count on New Years Day. The headliner was the second ever record of Rusty Blackbird for Cowlitz County found on 52nd Ave in west Longview. A Sora found the same day on Washburn Road was very unusual for winter. Keep those reports coming.

You find our bird lists here.

WHAS recent Field Trip featured in The Daily News

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TDN image

Willapa Hills Audubon's recent field trip to local birding locations at an industrial park, a sewage lagoon and a mothballed nuclear power plant was featured in Longview's The Daily News. The participants spotted 51st species that morning including a rare (for Longview) red-shouldered hawk at Willow Grove.

January - February 2014 Whistler is online

Details

Click to Download the pdfThe January / February 2014 Whistler is available now.

Read more of its content:

  • Lake Sacajawea Bird Walk and Social Recap
  • Membership Form,
  • WHAS contact information
  • Amphibian Egg Mass Training
  • Bald Eagle found at Lake Sacajawea
  • Christmas Bird Count Recap
  • Are Your Birds Southbound, Just Arriving, or Homebodies
  • Thea Linnaea Pyle: Naturalist,
  • WHAS Officer nomination form
  • Book Review: The Snow Geese
  • WHAS Programs and Field Trips;

 

Dead Eagle found in Longview

Details

On December 27, during his daily walk around Lake Sacajawea in Longview, John Green found a dead Bald Eagle at the edge of the lake.  It is illegal to collect wild birds, per the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, so he did not touch the bird, determined to find the proper action to take.

Upon arriving home, he called Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, who were not interested (maybe not their jurisdiction) and recommended to call Portland Audubon.  Audubon gave him the number for the Federal Fish and Wildlife office.  These folks have committed to picking up the bird, which upon their direction was stored in a plastic bag in his freezer.  They advised that there is a demand for Native American ceremonial use and the feathers will be donated after a necropsy is performed to determine cause of death.

It has been determined that the eagle died in a collision with a motor vehicle probably in flight over the Washington Way bridge.

November - December 2013 Whistler is online

Details

Click to Download the pdfThe November / December 2013 Whistler is available now.

Read more of its content:

  • Bald Eagle Released at Willow Grove Park
  • Welcome back Pacific County Auduboners
  • Membership Application Form,
  • A special Memorial Gift
  • Christmas Bird Count Information
  • WHAS helps with Forestry Day
  • Washington Audubon, WHAS and Coal,
  • Highlights of State Audubon Meetings
  • Update on LNG
  • Book Review: Freeway Birding: San Francisco to Seattle
  • WHAS Programs and Field Trips;

 

WA Audubon News