Audubon Washington just released its latest in a series of state birding trail maps. These maps are fantastic resources for birders and wildlife watchers that lead you to some of our state's most beautiful natural areas. The maps give detailed directions to good birding/wildlife-watching spots and tell you what species you can expect to find there.  You can purchase them at Seattle Audubon for $4.95 each https://www.seattleaudubon.org/sas/Default.aspx?TabID=55&CategoryID=34&ProductID=1288

A boon to eco-tourism, these birding trails also build constituency for protecting parks, green spaces and natural areas that provide habitat for wildlife. Nice work, Audubon!

Have a look at the latest map and listen to KPLU radio's story about it:

http://kplu.org/post/audubon-map-%E2%80%93-new-puget-loop-unveiled-enviro-groups-strategize#.TyCf9jBCyyE.email

Good Birding!

Looking for birds in all the wrong places?*

Would you go if I invited you on an all-day birding trip on an industrial waterfront in a major city at one of the darkest, rainiest times of year?  Would we see any birds?

On December 31, 2011, five intrepid birders joined me for this very trip.  It was Seattle Audubon’s annual Christmas Bird Count.  Our route took us on a two-mile stretch of Seattle’s heavily-developed Shilshole Bay, from Golden Gardens Park to the Ballard Locks and Fisherman’s Wharf.  We tallied 67 species of birds; 18 California Sea Lions and one River Otter.  Among our less common findings were:  Orange-crowned and Townsend's Warbler; Thayer’s and Herring Gull; Common Murre, Harlequin Duck and a Pacific Loon.

In fairness, there were extenuating circumstances that led to this relatively high count.  First, I was accompanied by five competent birders, two of them armed with spotting scopes.  Secondly, since this was the Christmas Bird count, we worked hard to count every species and bird.  Third, we had incredibly good weather for this time of year:  clear, calm, dry, sunny and up to 50 degrees.

Another factor was at play too:  habitat.  Although most of our route consisted of marinas, shipyards, restaurants, railroads and condos, the majority of birds and wildlife were seen at Golden Gardens Park.  This park features native vegetation planting strips and two shallow ponds lined by riparian (waterside) vegetation that are packed with wintering waterfowl, especially Mallards, Wigeons, Buffleheads and Northern Shovelers.  The upper portion of the park is a wooded hillside with tall evergreens and snags that provide habitat for Bald Eagles, other raptors and woodpeckers.

As I’ve noticed before on Christmas counts in Seattle, Tacoma, Walla Walla, Marysville and other urban locations, habitat is absolutely the key to bird abundance and diversity.  There is a stark contrast between park and green space areas with high bird activity, and less-vegetated neighborhoods nearby that host a handful of species, like American Crows, House Sparrows, House Finches and European Starling.

Fortunately, many cities have been improving their urban landscapes of late to become greener.  Seattle is among them, with its Green Seattle Partnership program, and numerous other public and private restoration efforts.  Since most of us live in cities, green spaces are absolutely vital.  They literally help us breathe easier by providing oxygen, and as many studies have shown, they relieve stress.  And they provide homes for birds and wildlife, which in turn enrich our lives.  If you would like to go on an urban or rural birding adventure, contact me via my website at http://www.conservationcatalyst.com and we can arrange a custom tour.

book recommendation:  City Birding, True Tales of Birds and Birdwatching in Unexpected Places – edited by Mark Allison.

*  Even here we found Double-crested Cormorants, Buffleheads, Barrow's and Common Goldeneyes, & Kingfishers.

Conservation Collaborators (left to right): Bryan Zemp, Eagle Scout/Realtor; Joy Johnson, City of Bothell; Jim Freese, Friends of North Creek Forest

As I have written before in this blog, good does happen, especially when it is by design. Good just happened in Bothell, Washington where a 35-acre parcel of mature forest was purchased by the City for parkland/green space.  This was a triple-win:  The City of Bothell, The Boy Scouts, and the Friends of North Creek Forest all benefited from this deal.  But the people who live in the area stand to benefit the most by having this wonderful natural area protected for its recreational, educational and habitat values in the midst of a rapidly-developing urban area.  To top it off there was excellent media coverage of the forest purchase.  Read on and smile; sometimes people come together to make the world a better place:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017026406_bothellwoods16m.html

http://heraldnet.com/article/20111228/NEWS01/712289932/-1/News#A-boon-for-Bothell

http://www.ci.bothell.wa.us/CityServices/Administration/CityManagersOffice/CityNews.ashx?p=1710&2077_na=243

Snowy Owl at Damon Point, WA

Twice a decade or so, we in the Pacific Northwest are graced by the presence of majestic Snowy Owls in the winter.  People are seeing them now in many places in Washington State and all across the north-central United States and southern Canada http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2011/nov/28/snowy-owls-making-scene-across-country/.  Clearly, a Snowy irruption is underway!

Irruptions are irregular migratory movements that depend upon such factors as food availability and/or a change in seasons.  In the case of Snowy Owls, they have a lot to do with availability of their primary food source:  Lemmings.  Snowy Owls leave their Arctic tundra breeding grounds when the cyclical supply of food (Lemmings) is low.  They will also sometimes leave after a big Lemming year, when there is a resultant bumper crop of young owls needing food and territory.  Finally, extreme winter weather can drive owls southward.

Lemmings are small mouse-like rodents that remain active all year long; they do not hibernate.  Lemmings eat shrubs, herbs and sedges in summer and Willow Buds, leaves, twigs and bark during the winter months.  The notion that Lemmings commit mass suicide is a myth.  They do, however, run as a group and will enter bodies of water to swim to another land mass.

Snowy Owls are one of the few resident bird species of the extreme northern Arctic tundra.  The others are Gyrfalcon, Willow and Rock Ptarmigan and Common Raven.  Even though there are relatively few bird species up there, predators still exist.  Snowy Owls vigorously defend their nesting territories from wolves and Arctic Foxes.  Other Arctic breeding birds like Snow Geese, Brant and Common Eiders will sometimes nest near Snowy Owls to discourage attacks from Arctic Foxes.

Snowy owls perch in open areas waiting for prey, which in these parts would be Voles or other small rodents.  Their white color makes them conspicuous in our blue-green-gray winter color palette.  In their Arctic home, however, white provides the perfect camouflage against the snow.

If you want to see a Snowy Owl, check your local birding sightings, which around here is Tweeters.com or nationally at E-bird.org.  Or join me on a daytime Snowy Owling adventure.  Look for the owls calmly sitting atop trees, power poles, driftwood, snags, small hills, or any perch that provides a view of open country.  We are so accustomed to seeing garbage around, that we sometimes fail to investigate large white items in the countryside, like discarded plastic gallon jugs.  Check these out with binoculars; they might just be Snowy Owls instead.

Sources:  Arctic Studies Center; Cornell Lab of Ornithology Handbook of Bird Biology; Birds of Washington State by Brian H. Bell and Gregory Kennedy; Borealforest.org; Ornithology by Frank Gill; Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behaviour by David Allen Sibley

First Barred Owl Sighting at Union Bay Natural Area, Seattle - photo by Woody Wheeler

Every time I go out birding, there is a surprise.   Recently, while leading a tour at the Union Bay Natural Area (UBNA), we experienced a big one:  the first Barred Owl ever seen at UBNA!  It took me 15 years and hundreds of visits to UBNA to see an owl of any kind there.  Connie Sidles, author of In My Nature, a book about exploring the wilds of UBNA, aka Montlake Fill, confirmed that this was indeed the first Barred Owl sighting at the Fill.

Actually, a flock of Bushtits saw it first.  They buzzed and chattered in such an agitated way that I was alerted to the presence of a predator.  Just around the corner, I saw the Barred Owl perched 12 feet high in nearby tree.  Three Anna’s Hummingbirds hovered nearby, appearing as if they were about to spear the owl with their long, sharp bills.  This owl caused quite a stir.

Barred Owls are relatively large owls of the moist woodlands.  They hunt mostly by sound, primarily at night.  During day they conceal themselves in dense vegetation and tree cavities.  Barred Owls eat small mammals, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates.  They nest in tree cavities or in open nests made by crows or hawks.

In the last few decades, Barred Owls have expanded their range westward from their former range in the eastern United States across southern Canada all the way to the state of Washington.  They were first seen in Eastern Washington in 1965 and are now found in most forested areas of the state.

Another species of owl probably wishes the Barred Owl did not go west.  Barred Owls are aggressive and more adaptable than the closely related and threatened Northern Spotted Owl.  Although Barred Owls do not require old-growth forests, they venture into them in search of food and habitat.  Once there, they can displace Spotted Owls.

During spring and summer you might hear Barred Owls’ distinctive hoot with a southern accent:  “Who cooks for you-all.” Most populations of Barred Owls are increasing, and this one sighted in UBNA is yet another example of their expanding range.

Magical sightings like this happen when you have your head up and your senses engaged. When you  go out to the woods today, you never know WHO might surprise you.  Happy Halloween!

Sources:  AllAboutBirds.com – Cornell Lab of Ornithology website; Birds of Washington State, Brian Bell and Gregory Kennedy; The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, David A. Sibley.