Every December, thousands of volunteers across North America head outdoors to count birds — helping scientists understand how our feathered neighbors are doing. The Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) isn’t just a fun birding day — it’s the oldest and largest citizen science project in the world, and it depends entirely on volunteers like you.
Eastside Audubon is now accepting applications for two funding opportunities supporting local conservation and education efforts.
The Puget Sound Seabird Survey is looking for birders in King County to join this established Community Science program.
In the quiet of the woods the bubbling song of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet erupted, and the high trill of the Brown Creeper signaled its presence. The hormonal drive to breed had birds singing regardless of the weather.
Since 2007, June has been celebrated as the month of the Orca in Washington State. Governor Christine Gregoire first designated June as Orca Awareness Month. In 2019, the month was renamed Orca Action Month. We knew then that the population of salmon-eating orcas in Washington State waters, known as Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW) needed help to survive as a distinct population.
We had a wonderful time with researcher Lauren Kuehne during her virtual program night presentation on June 25 as she presented the results of a year-long project to monitor current levels of noise from military aircraft, and estimate the impact of Growler jets on the soundscape of the Olympic Peninsula.
In late May, the WA State Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB) invalidated the King County Adult Beverage Ordinance allowing wine tasting and event centers in the Rural Area of King County south of Woodinville. The ordinance was sent back to the county for environmental review. The Eastside Audubon Conservation Committee has been following the proposal for this ordinance for several years and has commented in opposition to it.
With new guidance from the governor’s office through the Safe Start Washington: A Phased Approach to Recovery plan, Eastside Audubon is ready to ask a new question—what activities can we safely offer that will carry out Eastside Audubon’s mission and reconnect our members to nature.
Current news reports indicate that more people are appreciating birds while they shelter in place. Confined to home during partial shutdowns this spring, people have had a lot of time on their hands and many of them have started watching the birds in their yards, discovering just how much fun it can be. Downloads of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology bird identification app, Merlin, and the Audubon app have increased dramatically. Sales of bird feeders and bird seed have expanded during the pandemic. People are starting to notice birds.
I always enjoy watching birds in my backyard, and yet as the days wore on, I became mesmerized by their activities and voracious eating habits, thankful for my husband’s diligence in filling and cleaning the feeders. One sunny day, my son suggested that I sit on the porch with my camera. He helped bring out a chair for me as I hobbled out with my walker and camera.
With lots of time at home right now, I was reminiscing back to May of last year and the time I spent with so many of you. Just twelve months ago, I was on my first ever trip to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge with my two best birding buddies, excited to do my first Big Day: a quest to see as many birds as possible in one day to support Eastside Audubon’s biggest fundraiser of the year—Birdathon.
