Birdathon is Back!

Are You Ready for Birdathon in May?

Check out our Birdathon page for more information!

Birdathon is a fundraising event that lasts for the entire month of May.  The funds we raise support our efforts in promoting birds, education, and conservation.  Last year, we reached out to children and adults at various schools and events to educate the public about the beauty of birds.  We planted and cared for hundreds of native trees and shrubs in Marymoor Park.  We provided numerous field trips.  All of this made possible by your contributions.  This year, we have already given away hundreds of trees to landowners to plant in their yards and have partnered with another nonprofit to plant “mini-forests” in degraded areas around our service areas.

There are 4 ways you can get involved and help us meet our Birdathon goals.

Join a Field Trip

For 11 months a year, we offer field trips to anyone for free.  In May, we ask that each participant donate $25 for each field trip they would like to attend.  We have some great trips planned would love to invite each and every one of you.  Keep an eye on our May calendar as we finalize the details.  And please don’t forget to register and donate! 

Support a Big Day Team

A big day is simply any day in the month of May where a team goes out and counts as many birds as possible. If you would like to motivate teams to raise money and see lots of birds, simply go to our Birdathon page and click on the team you wish to support!  You can also reach out to the team leader for other donation options.

Global Big Day

How is a Global Big Day different than a Teams Big Day?  A Global Big Day is not a team event where you raise money, but an individual event where you pay $25.00 to join.  On May 11, we would invite you to participate in the eBird Global Big Day.  For $25.00, you can challenge yourself against other Eastside Audubon Birders to see who saw the most bird species and gain bragging rights!  You can learn more by going to our Global Big Day page.  Do note that using eBird and connecting it to Eastside Audubon is a requirement, which you can find instructions on how to do that on our Global Big Day page.

Making a Contribution

Do you just want to make it simple and contribute to our Birdathon efforts to raise funds?  We have a plan for that.  Please consider making a contribution by going here or consider mailing us a check at:

Eastside Audubon
PO Box 3113
7241 185th Ave NE
Redmond, WA  98073

 No matter which method you choose to support Eastside Audubon, your support is needed more than ever.  We are grateful to all of our supporters, members, and volunteers.  You really do keep the birds singing by connecting people to nature.

As always, I am here to answer any questions you may have.  Please reach out to me at president@eastsideaudubon.org

With gratitude,
Jeremy Lucas
President, Eastside Audubon Society

Action Alert: Help Migratory Birds Across the Western Hemisphere

ACTION ALERT: Help Migratory Birds Across the Western Hemisphere

We have lost 3 out of every 5 Rufous Hummingbirds since 1970, reflecting an urgent need for on-the-ground conservation of both their winter habitat in Mexico and summer habitat in the United States.

Each spring, more than half of our nation's bird species return from their wintering habitat in Latin America and the Caribbean, including beloved yet declining songbirds and shorebirds.

We have lost three billion birds in North America alone since 1970, and to stem the tide of further devastating losses of migratory birds, we need to conserve their habitats across the Western Hemisphere.

The bipartisan Migratory Birds of the Americas Conservation Enhancements Act (H.R. 4389/S. 4022) would do just that by increasing on-the-ground conservation projects.

Urge Congress to support urgently needed conservation funding for America's migratory birds.

Taking action makes a difference. Sign at the link below to help support funding for conservation projects that support migratory birds.

Visit EAS at our Upcoming Events

Eastside Audubon will be hosting a booth for some upcoming events in the Eastside area!

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Mount Si High School (MSHS) Green Team and The Snoqualmie Tribe Earth Day Celebration.  

Please join us as we will host a booth (12:00 – 2:00) and we need volunteers.  This is your chance to celebrate our Earth! 

When
Saturday, April 20, 2024, from 9:00-2:00 

Where
Kimball Slough Nature and Conservation Area. Across from Mount Si High School (Meadowbrook way side).
Why
To celebrate Earth Day!

Tentative schedule: 

9:00 - 9:30
Opening/Welcome (Land acknowledgement and Orientation)

9:30 - 11:30
Restoration Work Party
Planting native plants
Removing invasive species

11:30 - 12:00
Lunch

12:00 - 2:00
Organization / Education Booths / Stations

We look forward to seeing you there.

Please reach out to Jeannine Sielinski  j9marie@live.com if you are interested in volunteering with the booth!

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Pollinator Fest

Join Eastside Audubon on May 4th for a fun-filled, family friendly day of pollinator themed activities at 21 Acres in Woodinville.

Eastside Audubon will be hosting a booth at this event, so make sure to stop by and say hi!

There will be speakers on soil, pollinators and garden friendly bugs, farm and garden tours, nature walks and exploration, presentations, and much more.

Find out more info on the Sammamish Valley website here, and looking forward to seeing you there!

Birding East King County Webpage Now Live

Birding East King County Webpage Now Live

Written by Andy McCormick

Where would you like to go birding on the east side of Lake Washington? Eastside Audubon has now expanded the list and descriptions of birding locations on the chapter’s website to a total of 21 birding hotspots. You can find and explore the updated information on the Eastside Audubon website at Birding East King County. The 21 birding locations are within the Eastside Audubon service area which extends from the shore of Lake Washington to Snoqualmie Pass and includes locations along the Snoqualmie and Sammamish Rivers, Lake Sammamish, and the Issaquah Alps.

Information on each location can be accessed in two ways: By scrolling through the list of hotspots and also by selecting a pin on the chapter area map. Each entry includes a general description of the hotspot, lists of representative birds observed in spring/summer and fall/winter, and comments about accessibility and trail conditions. References to the book A Birder’s Guide to Washington (Hadley, 2015), or to the The Great Washington Birding Trail Map, Puget Loop offer a way to learn more about some of the larger hotspots. A link to directions to each location is also included.  

EXCELLENT BIRDING

The service area of Eastside Audubon is home to wonderful birding in a variety of habitats and elevations on the western slopes of the Cascades. Many hotspots are located in the Snoqualmie and Sammamish River Valleys, and on the shores of our large Lakes - Washington and Sammamish.

The expanded list of birding hotspots include mountain and forest birding at Snoqualmie Pass and Tradition Lake in Issaquah. Eight of the locations are along or close to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail beginning at Rattlesnake Lake Recreation Area, and continuing through the Three Forks Natural Area, Snoqualmie Falls and Tokul Creek, Neal Road in Fall City, Tolt River-John MacDonald Park, Carnation Marsh, Chinook Bend-Carnation Farms-Sikes Lake, and the Stillwater Unit of the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area in Carnation, and McCormick Park in Duvall.

Five locations in the Sammamish Lake and River Valley area include Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah, Marymoor Park in Redmond, the Tolt Pipeline and Sammamish River Trails, and Gold Creek Park and 21 Acres in Woodinville. Four parks provide good access to the shore of Lake Washington. Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland and St. Edward State Park in Kenmore are on the northeastern shore of the lake, and Mercer Slough Nature Park and Newcastle Beach Park are along the lake in South Bellevue. The Lake Hills Greenbelt and the Bellevue Botanical Gardens offer birding in two city parks.

EXPLORE THE WEBPAGE

Take a few minutes now to follow this link to the new Birding East King County. On the Eastside Audubon home page, you will find the link for Birding East King County under the heading Birding. Then get your binoculars and go out to explore these excellent birding hotspots. Have fun and enjoy the birds.

Eastside Audubon Turns Out for Wetlands Fair

Eastside Audubon Turns Out for Wetlands Fair

By Lori Danielson

The City of Bellevue held a family-friendly World Wetlands Day open house on the first Saturday in February at the beautiful Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center and Eastside Audubon joined in the fun by setting up an information table at the fair. World Wetlands Day is a global event held each February to recognize the importance of protecting our wetland ecosystems. EAS was among several other environmentally-oriented local nonprofits represented, including 300 Trees, Bellevue Master Naturalists, Bats Northwest, Washington Native Plant Society and Beavers NW.

The Eastside Audubon table was staffed by volunteers eager to introduce community members to birds and our organization. EAS Community Outreach Chair Jeannine Sielinski was joined by volunteer Lori Danielson for the 3-hour event in which we displayed our mounted Red-tailed Hawk and Bufflehead to draw interested children and adults to the table and answered participants’ questions about birds. We offered Eastside Audubon brochures and maps of The Great Washington State Birding Trail. The event was not too heavily attended but it was a nice way to start 2024’s community outreach effort.

If you’re interested in volunteering for Eastside Audubon at future outreach events, email Executive Director Amanda León at office@eastsideaudubon.org.

Mini Forests are a Great Habitat Refuge

Mini Forests are a Great Habitat Refuge 

Mini Forests have been gaining traction around the world and now Eastside Audubon is working to embrace this idea.  Mini Forests have it roots in Japan by a botanist and plant ecologist Akira Miyawaki.  The idea is to create an urban area as small as a basketball court or a parking lot with densely enriched soil, adding native trees and supplemental plantings.  With enriched soil, plantings grow at a rapid rate and can quickly create a canopy teeming with life.  Birds need ecosystems to thrive, and these small urban forests offer a quick (relatively speaking) forest.  It’s like the saying, if you build it, they will come…these Mini Forests attract insects, critters, birds and additionally offer a heat mitigator to concrete surfaces.   

EAS is partnering with Bellevue’s 300Trees organization at Sammamish High School in a quasi-Mini Forest.  300Trees has been engaged with the high school’s Green Team and instructors to plant numerous native trees on unused school property.  It’s a three-year commitment that requires ongoing maintenance like summer watering and composting.  We are working on the next phase of adding plants and bushes to support a healthy ecosystem.  Now EAS wants to replicate this program with 300Trees (and potentially other organizations) at other sites/school and or cities and work to take unused pockets of land and create a woodland.  EAS will likely take on one project in the coming year as we are super excited to support this small revolution.  To see the planted areas at Sammamish High School, please check out this link.  

To learn more about Mini Forests please go online as there are a multitude of articles under Mini Forest and Mini Forest Revolution.   If you want to help either by volunteering or donating, please reach out to Jeremy Lucas at president@eastsideaudubon.org. 

Eastside Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Eastside Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Written by Andy McCormick

What good fortune we had on December 16 for the EAS 40th annual Christmas Bird Count! We Welcomed the moderate temperature and clear skies after last year’s freezing temperatures and the all-day rain, the year before. The birds were active and early returns show that we had exciting finds of Greater White-fronted Geese at Idlewood Park, a Redhead on Lake Sammamish, a Ruddy Duck at Lake Hills, and 40 Wilson’s Snipe at Perego Park. Other notable birds seen were Peregrine Falcon, Merlin, Lincoln’s Sparrow, and a Red-necked Grebe.

The chapter fielded 15 teams with 51 volunteers counting birds and feeder watchers added to the count. We also had six more volunteers who prepared, set up, and hosted the CBC dinner at the Kirkland Women’s Center. Nearly 40 people attended the dinner, which was the first one held since the pandemic. It was wonderful to see folks in person and get re-acquainted with other chapter members and guests.

A full report of the CBC including totals for all the bird species seen will be ready around early February when data is due for delivery to National Audubon. This was the 124th count that National Audubon has sponsored since its founding in 1900. The fifteen EAS teams went to the Snoqualmie Valley, Fall City and Preston, Redmond and Ames Lake, Marymoor Park, Sammamish and Pine Lake, Lake Sammamish State Park, the East Lake Sammamish Trail, West Lake Sammamish Parks, the Lake Hills Greenbelt, along Issaquah Creek and into the Issaquah Alps at Tiger and Cougar Mountains, and the Issaquah Fish Hatchery.

Mark your calendar for 2024. The EAS CBC is scheduled for Saturday, December 21, 2024.