The Birds of North Central Washington

© Paul Bannick

© George Vlahakis

Woodpecker Wonderland

When it comes to woodpeckers, nature has been very generous to the Northwest. Some areas, like the Okanogan region in North Central Washington, host among the highest diversities of woodpecker species anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Loquacious Chat

In summer, the thick tangles of streamside vegetation in many canyons echo with an uncanny sound — the Yellow-breasted Chat. Look for it in willow thickets, brushy tangles, and other dense, understory habitats at low to medium elevations around streams.

© Paul Bannick

© Gerrit Vyn

Lazuli Bunting

With its beautiful colors, the Lazuli Bunting might just have inspired Navajo artists. In summer, they inhabit the brushy canyons east of the Cascades. And where the Lazuli Bunting sings, you'll often hear the music of Vesper Sparrows and Western Meadowlarks.

Sharp-tailed Grouse on a Lek

During spring, male Sharp-tailed Grouse perform their elaborate mating dances on a matted patch of ground called a lek. Throughout the world, very few species of birds, perhaps fewer than 100, use leks when breeding.

© Paul Bannick

© Mike Hamilton

Winter on the Columbia

A stiff December breeze blowing down the Columbia River delivers a brisk chill. A stretch of river near Bridgeport, in North Central Washington, is held tightly by a series of dams, creating lakes, which in winter harbor thousands of water-birds.

Bullock's Oriole Weaves a Nest

The Bullock's Oriole is the only member of the oriole family that nests in the Northwest. Like the females of other oriole species, the female Bullock's builds an intricate hanging nest.

© Michael Woodruff

© Nick Saunders

Flammulated Owl

The Flammulated Owl nests in old woodpecker tree cavities in the West and has even been known to evict the occasional woodpecker, if no other cavity is available. Its life and livelihood depend on healthy, mature ponderosa pine forests.

Birdsong on the Talus

The ringing notes of a Rock Wren’s song reverberate across a steep, rocky slope in the American West. The Rock Wren is most at home in piles of rock rubble at the foot of cliffs, a life zone known as a talus slope.

© Greg Lavaty

© Dona Hilkey 

Song of the Canyon Wren

One bird's voice embodies the basalt canyons and deep coulees of the West like no other. It's that of the Canyon Wren. The evocative, cascading notes bounce off the tall, sheer rock faces and jumbled talus slopes.

Nature Prospers in Avalanche Chutes

Natural snow courses known as avalanche chutes collect soil. Eventually, a new zone of habitat takes form, home to diverse wildlife. In the West, the shrubby cover of avalanche chutes attracts nesting Fox Sparrows and provides ideal habitat for MacGillivray’s Warblers.

© Tom Grey

© Tom Munson

Lark Sparrow

The Lark Sparrow is large, gorgeous, and unmistakable. Lark Sparrows nest throughout the West and Midwest, in grassy habitats with scattered shrubs, fields with brushy edges, and sagebrush.

Brewer's Sparrow, Sageland Singer

The song of the Brewer's Sparrow rings forth from the sagebrush of Eastern Washington's Columbia Basin. This quintessential drylands bird can survive for an extended period of time with no supplemental water, getting all the water it needs from seeds and arthropods.

© Tom Munson

© Bob Griffith

Sagebrush Sparrows Return

In late February, a few miles from the Columbia River in Central Washington, Sagebrush Sparrows arrive from their wintering grounds in the Southwestern deserts. Unlike most songbirds, male and female Sagebrush Sparrows often arrive on their nesting grounds already paired.

Sage-Grouse Lek and Grasslands

At a display area, known as a lek, the male Greater Sage-Grouse perform for mating rights, while the smaller females look on. Today, the Greater Sage-Grouse is seriously endangered, its fate intertwined with the loss of sage habitat. Millions of acres have been converted to cropland, and on millions more, the sage has been removed.

© Jeff Compton

© Adam Sedgley

Celebrating 50 Years+ and One Rare Bird at Wenas 

The song of a Western Meadowlark rings out across the eastern slope of Washington’s Cascade Mountains. Come Memorial Day weekend, members of Audubon and friends will gather at the Wenas Campground to welcome the birds and wildflowers of spring.

Oswood: What's that Bird?

A bird/scavenger hunt for kids, created by former chapter president, Mark Oswood, of North Central Washington Audubon, takes families outside — to look for birds! What could be better?

© Chris Peterson

© Heather Murphy

Hendricksons and the Violet-green Swallows

Ray and Gretchen Hendrickson created a sanctuary for Violet-green Swallows, catering to their choices for nesting sites.

Winter Field Notes - Reflections by Heather Murphy

Heather Murphy, a naturalist, watches for birds with the trained eye of a wildlife biologist, then makes a few field notes and illustrates them for her journal.

© Randy Kokesch

Dancing with Birds, With Heather Murphy and Rhona Baron

While having fun exercising in a Zumba class, wildlife biologist Heather Murphy realized she was experiencing a combination of dance, music, and culture that might be used to attract more Latino communities to birds and nature. So from there, she and Rhona Baron created Dancing With Birds – dance videos, sound tracks, posters for festivals, curriculum for schools – in English and Spanish.

Landowners Help Endangered Sage-Grouse

The survival of this Greater Sage-Grouse, a bird now endangered in parts of its range, comes down to preserving stands of healthy sagebrush. And essential to saving habitat is the cooperation of landowners. Recently, Rob Wesselman and his family placed 1100 acres of their land - home to Greater Sage-Grouse - into a federal conservation program called State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement, or SAFE.

© Paul Bannick

© Mark Eggleton

A Baker and Farmer Help Sharp-tailed Grouse

A determined dry-land wheat farmer and a visionary baker decided to help a bird in trouble, the Sharp-tailed Grouse. The farmer, Wade Troutman, left 30% of the land he farms in its natural condition, allowing cover and food for grouse and their young. The baker, Jeff Weissman, owner of Great Harvest Bread in north Seattle, offers Wade's Wheat Bread in his bakery. "Community supported agriculture" projects help farmers such as Wade Troutman.

Shakespeare's Lark and Nightingale with Rod Molzahn

Birds play important roles in many of Shakespeare’s plays. In Romeo and Juliet, the Lark sings at dawn, the Nightingale at night. At a moment of great peril, the Lark warns the lovers their time is short. Rod Molzahn, an actor, a writer, and Wenatchee historian, presents a bit from Shakespeare: lark vs. nightingale, from Romeo & Juliet.

© Illustration by Louis Agassiz Fuertes

© Peter Price

Shakespeare's Crows, Owls, and Ravens - With Rod Molzahn

Rod Molzahn, an actor, a writer, and Wenatchee historian, describes some of the birds in Shakespeare's work.

Bird in Shakespeare - With Rod Molzahn

Rod Molzahn visits several of Shakespeare's works, finding many birds, including this Chaffinch.

© Joseph V Higbee

Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest

Celebrate the return of migratory birds in the midst of peak wildflower season while enjoying field trips, events, and free family activities for all ages and abilities in Leavenworth, Washington, and throughout the Wenatchee River valley!

Falcons and Blueberries

A blueberry farmer in Washington State pays a licensed falconer to scare birds, mainly starlings, away from his crops. Barbary Falcons dive-bomb starlings and other pest birds, and can save the farmer three to four tons of blueberries every day.

© Adarsh Raju

Landscaping Wildlife II - Interview with Russell Link

Russell Link of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife suggests that you take a walk in your neighborhood to see what plants do well. Concentrate on providing structure in the landscape, from ground covers to shrubs to mid-sized trees to larger trees. Native plants provide food and cover for birds, like this Steller's Jay.

Landscaping for Wildlife I - Interview with Russell Link

Healthy habitat is the key to the future of birds. Russell Link, who wrote the book, "Landscaping for Wildlife," says one of his top ten plants is a snag, because it's so important to a wide variety of birds. Plants that have berries in the fall are also a real favorite, especially with Cedar Waxwings, like this one.

Image:

© Bob Moul

Barn Owls Let You Know

The Barn Owl's ability to locate prey by sound, even when concealed by snow or leaves, is the most precise of any animal yet tested. 

Click the play button below to hear : Crickets and Keerrrrr calls of adult Barn Owl during springtime; recorded by Chris Peterson