I'm sharing a few ideas that may resonate with you. Happiest of Holidays!
Plants for Birds Giveaway Recap
Tufted Duck
December: Common Birds
Photo of the Month: October
Photo of the Month: September
Leah Turner and Mick Thompson were named co-winners of the Eastside Audubon Photo of the Month award for September. Leah won for her shots of elusive Common Loons at Semiahmoo Spit, south of Vancouver, B.C., while Mick earned recognition for his photos of long-eared owls taken at Boundary Bay in British Columbia.
Northern Saw-whet Owl
November: Consolidation and Nomadism
November’s Green Tip of the Month: Embrace Nature’s Mulch!
Western Field Ornithologists Conference Experience
Each year, the Western Field Ornithologists (WFO) holds a conference in the western United States, bringing together birders and scientists from all over western North America.
Christmas Bird Count
Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Registration for the 2024 Eastside Audubon Christmas Bird Count will be open on November 4! The CBC is the world’s largest and longest-running community science data collection project. The 2024-2025 count period from December 14 to January 5 marks the 125th CBC sponsored by the National Audubon Society. It will be Eastside Audubon’s 41st CBC.
We are recruiting volunteers to join CBC teams or for feeder-watching at home. Go to the CBC page become a feeder watcher, join a field team, and attend the CBC dinner. We will have 15 field teams this year.
JOIN THE COUNT FOR FUN AND SCIENCE
Eastside Audubon’s CBC Count Circle. 25-mile diameter centered on Beaver Lake in Sammamish.
The EAS CBC is an all-volunteer project, and we have three ways for you to participate.
Our chapter has 15 teams being led by experienced birders who are accepting 3-5 volunteer participants.
We also support at-home feeder watchers who count birds at their home feeder or other location within the 25-mile diameter circle centered on Beaver Lake in Sammamish.
View our CBC Count Circle here and see if your address falls inside the circle (top left for search field).
Everyone, whether birding or not, is invited to join the CBC dinner after the count.
REGISTER ONLINE
Whether you participate by joining a field team, watching your feeder at home, or sharing in the experience of the day at the dinner, you can register for the event you want to join at the CBC page. Registration closes on December 10th. If you are interested after that date, please email Andy McCormick at amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org as we may still be able to get you on a team.
Bushtit
October: Seabirds and Rare Birds
A stiff breeze was blowing the already high sea water up onto the boardwalk at Redondo Beach when we arrived. My colleagues and I are a survey team for the monthly Puget Sound Seabird Survey. With the wind blowing we wasted no time setting up our spotting scope for the 30-minute survey period. We were there to count wintering seabirds.
Eastside Audubon Goes Birding with Redmond City Council Members
Eastside Audubon Goes Birding with Redmond City Council Members
Redmond City Council members were taken birding during a council supper break on September 10.
Attending the walk were councilmember Angie Nuevacamina, council vice president Jessica Forsythe, councilmember Osman Salahuddin, councilmember Melissa Stuart, Eastside Audubon Christmas Bird Count chair Andy McCormick, council president Vanessa Kritzer, and Lights Out Program leader Sayna Parsi.
The birding event was led by Andy McCormick, the Eastside Audubon Christmas Bird Count chair and past president, Lights Out Program Leader Sayna Parsi and EAS vice president John Spilker. The walk along the Sammamish River Trail, behind Redmond City Hall, focused on local bird species, bird migrations, the importance of conservation efforts and habitat restoration, as well as reducing light pollution.
Redmond City Council was represented by Council President Vanessa Kritzer, Vice President Jessica Forsythe, and Councilmembers Angie Nuevacamina, Osman Salahuddin, and Melissa Stuart.
Christmas Bird Count chair Andy McCormick lead the birding walk with Redmond city council.
“They gained an awareness of the chapter's goals and our interest not only in birds but also in climate change, and they said they look forward to our input on their climate plan,” McCormick said afterward.
Among the birds the participants saw were an Osprey perched behind City Hall, Mallards in the river, and some Black-capped Chickadees.
“They loved the Osprey, and they remembered that a Bald Eagle has nested in the same area. I think they appreciated our dedication to the birds and the environment,” McCormick said. “They also enjoyed seeing salmon jump in the river and made a point to go up onto the trestle to get a better look at them.”
The event was organized by Parsi. “I wanted to kick-start discussions about strengthening Redmond's existing light pollution ordinance that will impact migratory birds,” she said.
“I want our policy makers to love and care for our avian friends so their love will shape all the little decisions that they make in the future,” she added.
For more information about light pollution, see Wonders of Bird Migrations, City Lights, and How We Can Help.
