The Washington Ornithological Society was chartered in 1988 to increase knowledge of the birds of Washington State and to enhance communication among all persons interested in those birds.
The annual Washington Ornithological Society elections are upon us. WOS members can now vote on candidates for WOS President, Vice President, Secretary and two board positions. No candidates presented themselves for the treasurer position, though the ballot allows for write-in votes for all positions, including treasurer. The voting period will close at midnight September 26, 2024. To learn about the candidates and get the link to the ballot, please go to the elections page.
Long-billed Curlew by Paul Anderson
The June 3rd WOS monthly meeting featuring a Members Photo Night program is now online at WOS’s YouTube site. The presenters included Megan Lyden, Ray White, Jim Betz, Qinglin Ma, Brett Haining, Paul Anderson and Carla Conway. You can see the program at: https://youtu.be/8spFhKvXh2c Also, this link will always take you to the full set of WOS recorded presentations at WOS monthly meetings. Previous presenters have included Dennis Paulson on cormorants, Julia K. Parrish on seabirds and citizen science, Andy Stepniewski on Eastern Washington birding, Tom Good on Caspian Terns in Puget Sound, Nick Bayard on BirdNote, and Martha Jordan on swans and Snow Geese. Many thanks to Elaine Chuang for managing the wonderful monthly meetings this year. The summer hiatus is here; monthly meetings will return first Monday in October.
WOS’s Washington Bird Records Committee brought the state’s checklist of birds to 525 species at its spring meeting on May 13, 2024. The two new species were a Song Thrush seen by Scott Gremel January 12, 2024 in West Port Angeles and a Cassin’s Sparrow reported by Liam Hutcheson and Jason Zolle October 7, 2023 in Neah Bay. Other reportable species accepted by the committee included a Painted Bunting female (pictured here) in Seattle, a Pinyon Jay seen in Olympia, a Little Bunting in Neah Bay, and a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Tokeland. All four of these were seen in October 2023. Painted Bunting sightings were also reported at Cape Disappointment in late September and in Neah Bay a few days later. All told, the committee accepted 38 reports as valid new records and did not accept 9 reports. The committee meets each spring and fall. The spring meeting handles the more quickly decided cases, while the fall meeting is more comprehensive and deals with reports that require more in-depth consideration. The WBRC voting summary for this spring can be found here.
The WOS Newsletter has a new editor: Sophia Krupsha. Sophia, who also ran for the WOS secretary position, moved to Washington only a year and a half ago but says she has “taken every opportunity to expand my knowledge of our beautiful state’s biological diversity through extensive trips to all corners of Washington.” Her first newsletter reports on a 35th reunion of some of WOS’s founders, news of two new WOS social media accounts, an update from WOS President Dave Kreft, an enviable Yakima County field trip led by Scott Downes last May, and a check-in from Pullman from Jacob Miller, the 2020 Patrick Sullivan Young Birder awardee from Mason County. He’s now a a freshman at WSU. Read the Current Newsletter here.
Patrick Sullivan
Undergraduate students with ties to Washington State are encouraged to apply for grants from the Patrick Sullivan Young Birder’s Fund (PSYBF) to support research related to wild birds or related topics in Washington state. Applicants should propose research to take place during the 2022 calendar year that is done under the coordination or supervision of their undergraduate faculty. Grants will range from $1,000 to $1,500. The new approach is part of the board’s effort to strengthen the Young Birder’s Fund and also WOS’s diversity and inclusion efforts. For more information, go to the PSYBF page.
Thanks to a partnership with Cornell Lab of Ornithology, we now have a terrific new benefit for WOS members: FREE online access to “Birds of the World,” the world’s largest online encyclopedia of birds. Inside its 10,700+ scholarly, in-depth species accounts you’ll find expertly curated media galleries with photos, videos, and sound recordings, dynamic range maps, breeding calendars, and other life history details. Soak up detailed accounts of every species and every family and use the Taxonomy Explorer to explore the birds in your own county. Learn more about this benefit and how to get access to it on our Birds of the World page.
Go to WOS’s Monthly Meetings page for information on our fabulous monthly meeting programs. WOS members who live outside the Seattle area (or are on the road) can still attend using a computer, tablet or phone. It’s easy!
