Winter 2025 – 2026
From the Board: New leadership, annual conference, in-person meetings
By Jon Isacoff
The Washington Ornithological Society now has a full roster of leaders, after a period last fall of key vacancies in board and officer positions. Recently elected board member Kim Thorburn stepped up at the end of the year as acting president. Soon WOS had a new vice president (Jon Isacoff), a new president (Tom Bancroft), and a new board member (Doug Santoni). A bevy of new field trips followed. Active planning quickly got underway for the MayNew 2026 “Hells Gate” Annual Conference in Lewiston, Idaho. The board also decided to bring back periodic in-person monthly meetings, beginning with the May 4 meeting featuring a presentation by Dennis Paulson. Read more…
The PSYBF Bank Swallow Nesting Habitat Project is making great progress
By Rowan Young-McMurchie
The Fall 2025 WOSNews Issue 204 described the plans of Rowan Young-McMurchie, last year’s recipient of the Patrick Sullivan Young Birder’s Award, to develop artificial nesting sites for Bank Swallows, a declining species. The project is located in the Badger Canyon area of Kennewick, Washington. In this article, Rowan reports on the impressive progress he and five student volunteers, joined by WOS Board Member and mentor Laurie Ness, have made. The group has learned some “valuable lessons” along the way as they construct the artificial nests that mimic natural habitats. And speaking of the Young Birder’s award, that committee, headed by Jody Hess, will offer scholarships to young birders to attend the upcoming annual conference in Lewiston. Read more…
The state’s most remote Christmas Bird Count: Neah Bay
By Charlie Wright
Since Fall 2013, when Neah Bay went national after the discovery of a Eurasian Hobby, the territory in the far northwest corner of the state has hosted a steady stream of super-rare birds. Beginning in 2009, a small group of dedicated birders had been making targeted expeditions to Neah Bay in search of vagrant birds, mostly in late fall, the “rarity season.” Charlie decided it would be worthwhile to establish a Christmas Bird Count in this special area. Following a successful trial year in 2015, the first official Neah Bay CBC began in 2016 and has been going strong ever since, excepting the Covid hiatus. Charlie discusses the stunning Neah Bay CBC highlights. Read more…
One birder’s journey photographing Washington’s rarest species
By Blair Bernson
Thanks to the era of digital photography, Blair has been able to take more than 100,00 photos of birds, possibly twice that. He relates the stories and challenges of photographing three particular species in Washington State, where he has uploaded more than 12,000 photos of 419 species to eBird for the state. The three: Northern Hawk Owl, Falcated Duck, and Siberian Sand Plover. Their respective themes: “needle in a haystack,” “wishful thinking,” and “photo etiquette.” Read more …
A unique identification challenge
By Liam Hutcheson
Liam describes coming across a genuine bird identification challenge as he and a friend were birding along Foster Road at Brady Loop, Grays Harbor County, a year ago, January 27, 2025. He finally decided that the odd bird they first heard and then saw was a very rare hybrid documented only three times — all coming from the Pacific Northwest. He has been checking that bramble patch every chance he got since then. His persistence was finally rewarded with a re-sighting at the exact spot January 17, 2026. The re-discovery allowed him to get more recordings and great views. Read more…
The ultimate winter birding route: Okanogan and the Watervillle Plateau
By Andy Stepniewski
Legendary Yakima-area birder Andy Stepniewski takes us on an annotated road trip through the winter birding meccas of north-central Washington: an Okanogan Tour. In contrast with the wet, west side of the Cascades, birding in Eastern Washington is tougher with snow covering many areas and water frozen, not to mention the fog. Most birders are seeking “northern specialties” in the Okanogan, such as Sharp-tailed Grouse, Snowy Owl, Great Gray Owl, Gyrfalcon, Bohemian Waxwing, Pine Grosbeak, and Snow Bunting, among others. This route was developed about 1984 by noted birders Gene Hunn, George Gerdts, Phil Mattocks and Andy. This trip was run annually for years before being handed over to Shep Thorp and Ruth Sullivan. Shep is still leading it. It’s been going on for more than 40 years. Andy says an impressive 85-90 species are expected on a three-day tour, and upwards of 105 have been tallied on a five-day expedition. Read more…
Washington Field Notes August to November, 2024
By Ryan Merrill
The notable sightings called out by Ryan Merrill in his Washington Field Notes report for this period include four Common Poorwills in King, Snohomish and Skagit counties; a nocturnal migrant Upland Sandpiper recorded over a Thurston County yard in late September, the first report for that county; and the state’s first Marsh Sandpiper, briefly seen and photographed during a heavy rain at Neah Bay in mid-October. Other highlights included the state’s ninth record of a Chestnut-collared Longspur, seen at Ediz Hook in October; a Black-headed Gull that spent most of September in Whatcom County, the state’s 26th record; and a Laughing Gull in Grays Harbor County for several months in fall 2024, the state’s 12th record. Read more…