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.
DECEMBER MEETING – PRESENTED IN PERSON ONLY
“Annual Holiday Photo Program”
Presented by: Neil O’Hara, Master of Ceremonies
Tuesday, Dec. 12th at 7:00 pm
7:00 pm Meeting
6:30 pm-7:00 pm Social
Please join us at the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center, 10441 Bayview-Edison Rd., Mt. Vernon, for our annual holiday photo program. Neil O’Hara will be the Master of Ceremonies, and this is not a competition but a celebration of the birds in our lives.
Meeting Logistics: The doors at the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center will be open by 6:30 pm and the show will start at 7:00 pm. Neil will be doing all the narration so we will not be passing the microphone to the live audience.
Attendees may bring easily shareable holiday treats. Coffee and tea will be available, or feel free to bring a personal (non-alcoholic) beverage.
Photo credit: Pileated Woodpecker by Lisa Hopkins (2020 Holiday Photo Program)
by John Day
Dear Members and Friends of Skagit Audubon Society,
While I don’t necessarily look forward to the soggy, gray days we so often have here in the Skagit Valley at this time of year, there are some aspects of fall that always fill me with wonder, namely the return of thousands of Trumpeter Swans, Tundra Swans, and Snow Geese, as well as a multitude of other waterfowl. My first experience of this was in 1973, when I was visiting the area from my home in Olympia and learned that people were reporting a flock of Trumpeters on Francis Road near Clear Lake. I managed to find my way there and was amazed to see a group of, I think, 50 or so birds.
by Tim Manns
Sometime in the early afternoon of October 28th, a half mile from downtown Mount Vernon, a Wilson’s Snipe dropped into our backyard for a meal. When darkness fell she, or he, still probed the wet ground near the rain garden, finding enough earthworms and other good things to stay a while. Encountering snipe around Skagit’s wetlands and ditches isn’t unusual, but before that day we had never caught sight of this fine bird on our city lot. Birders know the thrill when rare birds appear or more familiar ones turn up in unexpected places, especially in the backyard. One of the great gifts birding gives us is the habit of attention, of being open and alert to the other than human world all around us. Paying attention sets us up to be thrilled again and again. And birds, given our attention, remind us that the Earth is not ours alone.
are featured in this article:
by Tim Manns
The 2023 Padilla Bay Christmas Bird Count (CBC) organized by Skagit Audubon will take place Saturday, December 30th.
The fifteen-mile diameter count circle is one of nearly 2,500 where volunteers will document the species and numbers of birds present late this year. Because the CBC is such a long-running project its data make an important contribution to avian science. Rather than a birding field trip, the CBC is an effort to collect the most complete and accurate data possible on the birds within the count circle. We particularly need the help of experienced birders. For information about participating in this all-day, rain or shine survey birders should contact Tim Manns (conservation@skagitaudubon.org or 360.333.8985). Photo: Steller’s Jay by Mary Sinker
HAVE YOU SEEN A BANDED BIRD OR FOUND A SICK OR INJURED BIRD?
To report a bird with a federal band or color marker, please visit the USGS’ Bird Banding Laboratory website.
In addition to reporting collars to the USGS Bird Banding Lab, please report swan collars to Northwest Swan Conservation Association.
To report other bands or tags for local projects, please visit the Washington Ornithological Society’s Research page to view current projects, the types of markers they use, and how to report them.
SWANS
All swans that are dead, sick, or injured need to be reported to the WDFW hotline by calling (360) 466-0515. The hotline is monitored several times per day.
SICK OR INJURED BIRDS
Contact one of these organizations if you are sure the bird requires rescuing:
The Education Committee needs volunteers to help with a number of adult presentations coming up in the next several months. These Power Point presentations are scheduled at libraries and private organizations/clubs in the area. If you can help give part of a presentation (already written), that would be great; or, you can assist with the computer and help answer questions from the audience. If you can lend a hand, please contact Committee Chair Jeff Osmundson at education@skagitaudubon.org.
Read The Skagit Flyer, Our Newsletter
Skagit Audubon Society holds monthly meetings on the second Tuesday of each month except for the months of July and August. We meet at 7:00 pm at Padilla Bay Interpretive Center (Google map), 10441 Bayview-Edison Rd. Mount Vernon. Meetings are open to all.
The board of directors meets at the same location at 7:00 pm on the first Tuesday of each month, except for the months of July and August.
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