Lewis CBC – Thank You
Lewis County Christmas Bird Count 2024—Thank You! With an uncertain weather forecast and an unknown number of hidden birds to search for, more than 29 intrepid field birders and 4 dedicated feeder watchers worked hard on Saturday December 21st to carefully document every single bird they encountered here in our Lewis County Count Circle. Some teams had challenging weather, with rain showers and steady drizzles slowing avian activity, while others were able to enjoy multiple breaks in the precipitation. Through it all, our volunteers persevered, and we were happy to find the rainbows in our journeys throughout the day. We had a total of 19 separate teams (including some solo birders) in the field, covering 25 sections/subsections in the Count Circle, which includes all of Centralia and Chehalis. Though the data is still incomplete, I can say right now that we did very, very well, despite the rain and mild
TEENS ENJOY BHAS FIELD TRIP TO NISQUALLY
Led by Lin Stern and Kameron Lantor, a group of teens enjoyed a morning of birding at Billy Frank, Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in November. This was organized by Grant Connor, a student at Olympia High School, as a community service project. The weather was perfect and the birds were cooperative. The highlight conclusion was a Short-eared Owl seen from the dike before the estuary boardwalk. Some of the comments from the participants: “I had a great time! It was great to see friends and be outside and see wildlife.” “I really enjoyed the time there and was impressed by the number of birds.” “I had a good time and would definitely do it again.” We hope to repeat the field trip sometime in the spring.
Olympia CBC – Thank You
OLYMPIA CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT 2024—THANK YOU Although we don’t yet have the results of the two Black Hills Audubon Christmas Bird Counts that occurred in December, we are filled with memories and appreciation of those who did the work to make this a success. Above is Jen DeSelle’s NE Olympia team at a local bakery before heading out, in the rain, to count all the birds seen and heard. All counts must be done within a 15 mile diameter circle that cannot be moved once established. Many teams were needed to cover these areas and we thank all the volunteers who participated. A huge thank you goes to Bill Shelmerdine (Olympia) and Rachel Hudson (Lewis County) for the massive amount of work that is involved in coordinating the teams and compiling the results of the day’s count. The post count tradition of a Chili Feed resumed this year for the
ACOW 2024
BHAS Hosted ACOW this Year Kim Adelson Every year, Audubon chapter leaders from across the state come together in an event called “ACOW”, which stands for Audubon Council of Washington. It typically takes place on a Saturday and is preceded on Friday by WSACC, the Washington State Audubon Conservation Committee. We hosted the two events this year, and they took place at the Lacey campus of the South Puget Sound Community College. In the morning, we heard inspiring poetry from Washington State’s Poet Laureate Emeritus Rena Priest about cultural ways of understanding birds. Later, Teri Anderson – our point person with Audubon WA – interviewed Lisette Martinez, chief EDBI officer for National Audubon, who discussed how to build more inclusive birding communities. After lunch, we heard from two young Vancouver birders who founded the first Young Birders Club in the state; among other accomplishments, they are working with
A Forkful of Change
A Forkful of Change By Rachel Hudson I stared at it once more. It was still there, unmoving, innocuous enough. I had just overcome one of the longest days of my life, so filled with ups and downs and traveling and changes and disappointments and luck… And my body, now very starved for calories, was reminding me of its needs. The berry pancakes I’d eaten simply weren’t enough. Maybe I could just try it… I tentatively reached across the table with my fork to my fiancé’s mostly-empty breakfast plate. On his plate remained a small, innocent-looking pile of something dark and fluffy… something my body was telling me it really wanted, if only for the assumption that the pile of fluff was, in theory, edible. On a single tine of my fork, I carefully lifted one microscopic particle of haggis off my fiancé’s plate, and gingerly placed the particle into
Outreach Committee Report
OUTREACH COMMITTEE REPORT BHAS OCTOBER 3, 2024 During August and September, we participated in two events: Eco-Fair on August 17th at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Olympia and the Nisqually Watershed Festival in Lacey on September 28th. We had five BHAS volunteers at these events with approximately 100-150 visitors at each event. It was a good way to share avian educational resources with the public. Nisqually Watershed Festival BHAS booth Stevie Morris, Janet DeLapp, and Debby Sarge Photo by Glenda Katt
Lewis CBC – Thank You
Lewis County Christmas Bird Count 2024—Thank You! With an uncertain weather forecast and an unknown number of hidden birds to search for, more than 29 intrepid field birders and 4 dedicated feeder watchers worked hard on Saturday December 21st to carefully document every single bird they encountered here in our Lewis County Count Circle. Some teams had challenging weather, with rain showers and steady drizzles slowing avian activity, while others were able to enjoy multiple breaks in the precipitation. Through it all, our volunteers persevered, and we were happy to find the rainbows in our journeys throughout the day. We had a total of 19 separate teams (including some solo birders) in the field, covering 25 sections/subsections in the Count Circle, which includes all of Centralia and Chehalis. Though the data is still incomplete, I can say right now that we did very, very well, despite the rain and mild
TEENS ENJOY BHAS FIELD TRIP TO NISQUALLY
Led by Lin Stern and Kameron Lantor, a group of teens enjoyed a morning of birding at Billy Frank, Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge in November. This was organized by Grant Connor, a student at Olympia High School, as a community service project. The weather was perfect and the birds were cooperative. The highlight conclusion was a Short-eared Owl seen from the dike before the estuary boardwalk. Some of the comments from the participants: “I had a great time! It was great to see friends and be outside and see wildlife.” “I really enjoyed the time there and was impressed by the number of birds.” “I had a good time and would definitely do it again.” We hope to repeat the field trip sometime in the spring.
Olympia CBC – Thank You
OLYMPIA CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT 2024—THANK YOU Although we don’t yet have the results of the two Black Hills Audubon Christmas Bird Counts that occurred in December, we are filled with memories and appreciation of those who did the work to make this a success. Above is Jen DeSelle’s NE Olympia team at a local bakery before heading out, in the rain, to count all the birds seen and heard. All counts must be done within a 15 mile diameter circle that cannot be moved once established. Many teams were needed to cover these areas and we thank all the volunteers who participated. A huge thank you goes to Bill Shelmerdine (Olympia) and Rachel Hudson (Lewis County) for the massive amount of work that is involved in coordinating the teams and compiling the results of the day’s count. The post count tradition of a Chili Feed resumed this year for the
ACOW 2024
BHAS Hosted ACOW this Year Kim Adelson Every year, Audubon chapter leaders from across the state come together in an event called “ACOW”, which stands for Audubon Council of Washington. It typically takes place on a Saturday and is preceded on Friday by WSACC, the Washington State Audubon Conservation Committee. We hosted the two events this year, and they took place at the Lacey campus of the South Puget Sound Community College. In the morning, we heard inspiring poetry from Washington State’s Poet Laureate Emeritus Rena Priest about cultural ways of understanding birds. Later, Teri Anderson – our point person with Audubon WA – interviewed Lisette Martinez, chief EDBI officer for National Audubon, who discussed how to build more inclusive birding communities. After lunch, we heard from two young Vancouver birders who founded the first Young Birders Club in the state; among other accomplishments, they are working with
A Forkful of Change
A Forkful of Change By Rachel Hudson I stared at it once more. It was still there, unmoving, innocuous enough. I had just overcome one of the longest days of my life, so filled with ups and downs and traveling and changes and disappointments and luck… And my body, now very starved for calories, was reminding me of its needs. The berry pancakes I’d eaten simply weren’t enough. Maybe I could just try it… I tentatively reached across the table with my fork to my fiancé’s mostly-empty breakfast plate. On his plate remained a small, innocent-looking pile of something dark and fluffy… something my body was telling me it really wanted, if only for the assumption that the pile of fluff was, in theory, edible. On a single tine of my fork, I carefully lifted one microscopic particle of haggis off my fiancé’s plate, and gingerly placed the particle into
Outreach Committee Report
OUTREACH COMMITTEE REPORT BHAS OCTOBER 3, 2024 During August and September, we participated in two events: Eco-Fair on August 17th at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Olympia and the Nisqually Watershed Festival in Lacey on September 28th. We had five BHAS volunteers at these events with approximately 100-150 visitors at each event. It was a good way to share avian educational resources with the public. Nisqually Watershed Festival BHAS booth Stevie Morris, Janet DeLapp, and Debby Sarge Photo by Glenda Katt