Skagit Audubon Society

Photo by Ann Kramer

Watching Birds - Protecting Habitat - Connecting With Nature

Our mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.  

In response to the COVID-19 virus, some of our general meetings are being held at the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center while others will be available on Zoom only. Hybrid meetings are not currently offered.  Please check the monthly program description for meeting details. As with our hikes and field trips, only vaccinated, symptom-free individuals should attend meetings in person. Some programs offer “watch parties” - see newsletter for details.

The Puget Sound Seabird Survey is looking for birders in Skagit County to join this established Community Science program. Volunteers are asked to conduct 7 surveys with a small team of fellow surveyors at specific coastal locations. All surveys are synchronized to take place once per month on the first Saturday, October – April. You will be provided training in the survey technique, and ideally will have good seabird identification skills. However, there are roles on the survey team for birders of all levels. Now in its 17th season, you’ll be contributing to valuable science that monitors wintering seabirds across the southern Salish Sea and informs important management decisions. With the indiscriminate dismantling of federal and state wildlife monitoring programs across the US, your involvement in this project is more important than ever. If interested, please sign up at the following link: https://form.jotform.com/t_ross/psss

“Despite efforts to conserve nesting habitat and reduce threats at sea, marbled murrelets continue to decline in Washington,” said Jen Mannas, WDFW marine species lead. “With continued low reproductivity among a decreasing population, we recommend maintaining the species’ endangered classification while continuing to pursue conservation actions.” 

Learn more and comment here: WDFW invites public comment on marbled murrelet endangered species listing status review | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife Photo credit: Marbled Murrelet/Joachim Bertrands/Macaulay Library

They leave their Arctic breeding grounds at different times so fall migration is both less concentrated and lasts longer than spring migration, usually well into September, both in western Washington and along the coast. While most of the shorebirds will continue moving south after resting and refueling, some (primarily Dunlin) will remain for the winter and thousands will continue to arrive well into October. Uncommon and rare birds (like the Bar-tailed Godwit in the photo who spent a few weeks at the Tokeland Marina on the Washington coast in Sept. 2024), often turn up locally and farther afield.

Fir Island Farm Reserve (Hayton) in Conway is a good place for shorebird viewing, but you will need to time it with the tide. Shorebirds must take advantage of the available mudflats for as long as possible, so the basin will be flooded during high tide and the birds will have left. Conversely, during low tide, the basin will be empty and the birds will be gone until the next incoming tide replenishes their food supply.

Try to aim your visit for when the tide is between 6.0-8.0 feet. When the tide marker in LaConner is at five feet, the basin will begin to fill up and the tide comes in quickly. This website is useful for timing your visit to see shorebirds: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions.html?id=9448558

Pictured above-from the left: JoAnn Price, Renee Westlund
Ann Skinner, Julie Kinder, Randy King, Stan Kosta, Lynn Kosta

For thousands of years, wildfire has shaped the diverse ecosystems of the American West. From redwood forests to desert grasslands, fire forged the lands we love. But fire is not what it used to be in the western U.S. Wildfires are larger and happen more frequently. And more fire means more smoke.

Birds are highly sensitive to air pollution, but we know very little about how wildfire smoke impacts birds. Join Project Phoenix and help us solve the mystery.

Project Phoenix is a community science monitoring project to study the effects of smoke on birds in neighborhoods across California, Oregon, and Washington. By observing birds in your neighborhood for just 10 minutes a week, you can help us learn more about bird responses to smoke. Together, we can safeguard birds through ever-smokier summers.

More info and sign up here: https://www.project-phoenix-investigating-bird-responses-to-smoke.org/get-involved (not affiliated with or sponsored by Skagit Audubon Society)

AVIAN INFLUENZA AND BIRD FEEDERS, by Tim Manns

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza has infected and killed many birds and mammals in the United States, including Washington. At this writing in mid-January 2025, the U.S. has also seen 66 confirmed cases in human beings and one death. Because of H5N1’s particularly lethal effects on poultry, it is referred to as highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. So far, reports of infected birds in the Skagit are not nearly as extensive as in 2022 when hundreds of Snow Geese succumbed. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife reported H5N1 in two hunted Mallards in Skagit County in January 2025, in a Trumpeter Swan last November, and in a Snow Goose and Great Horned Owl in October (https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/diseases/bird-flu).

Among birds avian flu for the most part infects waterfowl and predatory birds. Of the thousands of birds testing positively for this flu, only a small percentage are songbirds, perhaps because of their infrequent mingling with waterfowl. This is relevant to the question of whether to take down bird feeders due to avian flu. Here’s what Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has to say (Avian Influenza Outbreak: Should You Take Down Your Bird Feeders? | All About Birds):

“As of January 2025, there is no official recommendation for people to take down bird feeders because of the risk of avian influenza .... The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has updates and recommendations about H5N1 in humans.

“There has been widespread transmission of avian flu to wild bird species including waterfowl and raptors. The virus has also been found in mammals that prey on dead birds. However, transmission to songbirds and other typical feeder visitors has been low (about 3% of all cases reported in wild birds), although this may change with increased testing or changes to the virus. That means there is currently a low risk of an outbreak among wild songbirds, and no official recommendation to take down feeders unless you also keep domestic poultry, according to the National Wildlife Disease Program. We do always recommend that you clean bird feeders and birdbaths regularly as a way to keep many kinds of diseases at bay.”

The Washington Departments of Health and Agriculture have information about avian influenza in Washington with a focus on poultry flocks. Owners of backyard flocks should take measures to ensure separation of these flocks from wild birds.

Use this form to report a possible avian flu death of a wild bird to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/1550804e5fd743668049e06d5ad8836a

For links to additional information about avian influenza in wild and domesticated species, see the more detailed article in the January 2025 Conservation Notes on the Skagit Audubon website: Jan2025ConservationNotes.pdf.