April 5-18, 2006

• The Saratoga Passage area continues to be a hot spot for gray whale sightings. The grays have been traveling throughout the passage between Camano and Whidbey islands since early March. One observer reporting to the Orca Network (http://www.orcanetwork.org/sightings/map.html) saw two to three gray whales slapping the surface and going in circles, possibly chasing a school of fish. 

• Birdwatchers have reported seeing groups of yellow-rumped warblers - at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, at Vance Creek County Park in Elma and in Olympia. The males, in particular, delight viewers with their antics as they fly up to retrieve their prey in midair before returning to the branch.

  Visitors to Nisqually have also been treated to the sight of three types of swooping swallows - tree swallows, violet-green swallows and northern rough-winged swallows.

• Osprey are showing up right on time, however. Late March and early April is generally when these unique birds return to the state after wintering south of the U.S. border. As reported on the Tweeters birding website (http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/), two osprey were spotted sitting in a long-established nest above the bridge over the Chehalis River south of Montesano. Three birds were spotted along Wenzel Slough Road in the Elma/Brady area in Grays Harbor County at a regular nest site atop a dead snag, and a fourth was seen flying overhead near Elma.

• An Audubon group looking for sandhill cranes on a field trip to the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge were not disappointed. When they ultimately tried the Dike Access Road in Woodland, an estimated flock of 1,400 of the huge birds flew by them in waves. About 200 then settled in the field in front them. 

• North Spokane County's Peone Prairie elk herd is entertaining morning commuters on and around Bruce, Argonne and Bigelow Gulch roads. The winter-hungry elk are foraging on newly greening agricultural fields in the area, dwarfing the more common whitetail deer browsing alongside them.

• Othello - sandhill cranes are just one of hundreds of bird species now gracing the refuge and surrounding area as spring unfolds. It's great place to drive around to see green-winged and cinnamon teal, northern pintails, gadwall, American wigeon, redhead, lesser scaup, common goldeneye, bufflehead, ruddy duck, black-crowned night heron, American avocet, least sandpiper, common snipe, Caspian and Forster's terns, bank, cliff and barn swallows, rock and marsh wrens, savannah, grasshopper and white-crowned sparrows, red-winged, yellow-headed and Brewer's blackbirds, and many other species. To learn more and plan a trip, visit the refuge's website at http://pacific.fws.gov/refuges/field/wa_columbia.htm.

• The Yakima River Delta Wildlife Park in Richland is currently hosting more spring migrants, including dunlin, greater yellowlegs, Caspian terns, and violet-green swallows. This 1,000-plus acre urban wetland park commonly has Canada geese, great blue herons, many species of dabbling ducks and songbirds, cottontail rabbits, and mule deer year-round. From Wye Neighborhood Park, walk across a short dike to Bateman island or walk upstream as far as the Yakima River bridge.
  

April 6-19, 2005

• Port of Olympia:  For the third straight year, a pair of peregrine falcons is nesting in one of the two tall cranes that loom over the port docks.  No chicks were produced the first year, because the falcons' eggs were addled when a beam on one of the cranes was moved during maintenance.  Last year, with the port's approval, WDFW wildlife biologist Kelly McAllister installed a nest box 175 feet up on the southernmost crane.  The birds used it, producing one chick.  In recent days, the female falcon has been spotted on the front lip of the nest box.

• Lake Quinault's Community Action Forum and WDFW are teaming up to produce the first Quinault Rain Forest Roosevelt Elk Festival, set for April 9 and 10.  The festival will include a Saturday morning breakfast at the Lake Quinault Lodge, guided tours highlighting Roosevelt elk in the Quinault Rain Forest and a buffet dinner at the lodge.  Speakers will give lectures on big-game habitat, conservation and management. For more information, see http://www.QuinaultRainForest.com and click on " Festivals."

• Eastern Washington:  Pine squirrels, thirteen-lined ground squirrels and yellow-belly marmots are up and at it, some after being holed up in winter dens.  Wild turkey toms and rooster pheasants are displaying and sounding as breeding season advances.

• Columbia Basin:  Brewer's, red-winged, yellow-headed and maybe even tri-colored blackbirds can be spotted throughout the Basin's wetlands and farmlands.  Long-billed curlews have been seen from Royal Slope north.  Yellow-bellied marmots are running around rocky slopes. 

• Groups of up to 30 American white pelicans along the Yakima River near Prosser.
  Sunny's note: 15 white pelicans on Yakima River between Ellensburg and Yakima on 4/30.
  

March 31 - April 13, 2004

• Birders have seen turkey vultures kettling over the San Juan Islands and an estimated 500 black turnstones and surfbirds on Penn Cove.

• On the coast, charter-boat services are again offering offshore trips to see gray whales moving north on their way back from the calving grounds in Baja. The Westport-Grayland Chamber of Commerce lists a half-dozen charter services that offer whale-watching trips through April. (See the Chamber's website at http://www.westportgrayland-chamber.org/.) 

• Wildlife viewers may enjoy the spectacle of hungry seals and sea lions vying for fish on the Columbia River.  A sea lion was spotted "ripping apart" a 6- to 7-foot sturgeon below Bonneville Dam. Many of the seals and sea lions are concentrated in the Kalama and Longview areas and the area below the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam. 

• WDFW wildlife biologist Howard Ferguson reports tundra swans among other waterfowl at Reardan's Audubon Lake and on small ponds near Creston in Lincoln County. WDFW's Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area manager Juli Anderson says the swans that stopped at the wildlife area in late winter have pretty much moved north now.

• There are hundreds of colorful adult Lahontan cutthroat trout in the inlet stream and at the fish trap (an area closed to fishing) on the southeast shores of Lenore Lake just north of the town of Soap Lake in Grant County. 

April 2-15, 2003

• The first Washington Brant Festival is set for April 11-13 and will be headquartered at the Semiahmoo Resort near Blaine. The festival honors brant geese, the diminutive marine goose with a migration that takes the birds through northern Puget Sound twice a year between the extreme northern reaches of Canada and the southern tip of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Festival activities include birdwatching excursions, lectures, a banquet, art exhibition and more. Check out the Washington Brant Foundation's website for more information. 

April 2-29, 2003

• Sandhill cranes and other migratory waterfowl are still making a spectacle of themselves throughout the Columbia Basin, where they make feeding and resting stopovers in their journeys north. The wetlands and farmlands south and west of Othello and Scootney Reservoir provide good viewing of thousands of cranes, Canada geese and ducks. The cornfields east of Corfu Road and about 13 miles west of Othello have been the hot spot this year. The Royal Lake public viewing area on the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, and Crab Creek south of State Route 26 between Othello and Royal City are also good places to check for cranes. Or drive the auto tour route of the refuge and area gravel roads to look for feeding cranes and waterfowl. Other notable birds to watch for in the Basin now are red-winged, yellow-headed and tri-colored blackbirds, long-billed curlews, killdeer, great blue herons and northern harriers. 

April 3-16, 2002

• April is a good time to start watching for shorebirds. Thousands of various birds will pass through Skagit and Port Susan bays on their annual northward migration to summertime habitats. Find an estuary, like the Jensen access on the Skagit Wildlife Area, or the snow goose viewing site, and check it out for shorebird activity. Check a tide book and plan your trip for one hour before the high tide, which will give visitors the best opportunity to see the largest number of birds. Binoculars are a must on any trip to a wildlife area, and a spotting scope is extremely helpful in picking out individual birds on the flats. Be sure to scan the skies and log perches for peregrine falcons, which prey upon the area's abundant shorebirds.

• On the Washington coast, hundreds of massive gray whales pass by.  Many of these leviathans are clearly visible from shore, spouting and rolling in the surf.  Nearly 26,000 migratory whales will pass by the coast through the end of April as they make their annual trek from the breeding grounds off Baja California to the Arctic feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi seas.  So, if you're traveling along Highway 101, be sure to take a pair of binoculars.  To help whale watchers time their trip, the Forks Chamber of Commerce is installing a web camera in LaPush to post pictures on the Internet every 30 seconds displaying weather and whale-watching conditions.  The new web cam at http://www.forkswa.com is expected to be on line within the week. 

April 4-17, 2001

• Migrating shorebirds and black brant are on view now, says Lora Leschner, regional wildlife manager. "This time of year, brant are close to the shoreline feeding to store up food for their Arctic migration," Leschner said. Visitors to Birch Bay State Park should keep an eye out for brant on the beach feeding on sea lettuce, she suggests. Other good spots to look for black brant include remnant eel grass beds on the Kitsap Peninsula, Hood Canal, Three Tree Point and near Edmonds, she suggests. 

• Black brant passing through this area on their way north from Mexico are joined by white-bellied brant which winter here in Washington. The white-bellied brant head to the central-high Arctic for the summer, while the black brant are destined for the Alaska coastline. For more information visit the International Brant Monitoring Project's website at www.padillabay.gov/brant on the Internet. There is an opportunity to learn more about brant this weekend (April 6 through 8) at the brant festival in Parksville-Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island; visit the festival website at http://www.brantfestival.bc.ca/ on the Internet.
  

• Black brant are prevalent along Hood Canal, from the Hamma Hamma river delta north to the Dabob Bay, Marrowstone Island and Indian Island. They are staging but still there in pretty high numbers.

• Wood ducks have started to arrive in the Cowlitz Wildlife Area, and sightings have been reported on Oxbow Lake and the Spears Unit. Also to arrive are tree swallows and pied-billed grebes. Swofford Pond is being visited regularly by several foraging bald eagles, and Kosmos, Mossyrock and Swofford Pond also are good places to catch sight of elk foraging in maintained meadows. Wood duck boxes on portions of the Cowlitz Wildlife Area are being used by flying squirrels and screech owls.

• Sandhill cranes are in good numbers in the Columbia Basin, possibly in greater concentrations than during the Othello Crane Festival March 23-25. Tundra swans have been seen off Dodson Road, and throughout the Basin, along with many other spring migrating and resident waterfowl species. The wetlands of the Basin are very lively now with the sights and sounds of red-winged and yellow-headed blackbirds, coots, grebes, and other birds. Bluebirds are back and starting to nest in natural cavities and nest boxes.

April 6-20, 2000

• Wildflowers, songbirds, raptors and other wildlife are very visible now in the Yakima River Canyon area. Another good early spring spot for such viewing is the Esquatzel Coulee Wildlife Area northeast of Mesa in Franklin County; part of the channeled scablands, it includes waterfowl breeding grounds, colonies of burrowing owls, and lots of coyotes.

April 19 - May 2, 2005

• About eight Dall's porpoises were reported cruising through Saratoga Passage near Langley.

• Birders on an Easter Sunday tour of the Brady-Elma area were treated to the sight of two separate flocks of sandhill cranes. As noted on the Tweeters birdwatchers website (http://www.scn.org/earth/tweeters/), they located the first flock of about 70 birds along the west side of Wenzen Slough Road. The second group of 35 was spotted between the Elma Airport and Vance Creek County Park. 

• A pod of 15 orca whales was seen about 2 to 3 miles off Copalis Beach on April 4.  
  Also four resident orcas about a half mile off Neah Bay.

• Also seen at Steigerwald NWR flying along the Columbia River were six Caspian terns. The largest of the terns, they are white with a gray mantle and black cap, and distinguished by a large, bright red-orange bill. They are most commonly seen during nesting season in Columbia River estuaries.

April 20 - May 3, 2005

• About 50 brant geese were tallied off Discovery Park in Seattle - also two Bonaparte's gulls, 100 mew gulls and "a couple hundred" western grebes.

• Juanita Park in Kirkland:  colorful wood duck, a small flock of golden-crowned sparrows and green-winged and cinnamon teal.

• Several gray whales have been spotted in Hood Canal, and one found its way into Dyes Inlet before departing.  Biologists believe they are associated with a group of whales that returns to Whidbey Island each year during their spring migration from Mexico to Alaska.  But the best place to spot the behemoths right now is at La Push, where calves and their mothers often swim close to the shoreline.  Back in Hood Canal, a pod of a half-dozen transient killer whales is also still attracting attention.  Dubbed "The Slippery Six," the orcas have been seen around the canal since Jan. 24. 

• On Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge's autotour route, snipes were winnowing overhead, soras were calling, yellow-headed blackbirds were displaying and Vaux's swifts were visible overhead. Also ospreys establishing a nest, a great horned owl incubating eggs, and another great horned owl nest with two juvenile owls.

• Both bald and golden eagles should be hatching out young in nests now, and that usually means good viewing of the comings and goings of parent birds feeding chicks.  WDFW wildlife biologists in the northeast and central districts have been surveying nests and report the best area to watch for bald eagles is along Lake Roosevelt north of Kettle Falls.  There are also bald eagles along the Pend Oreille River from the Usk area north.  Golden eagles are more rare and don't typically nest along major waterways, but keep an eye out along the cliffs in northern Lincoln County near Lake Roosevelt.

• Now through June numerous tiny blue butterflies will be visible on WDFW's Sinlahekin Wildlife Area in Okanogan County.  Area manager Dale Swedberg says butterfly enthusiasts should look for Western Tailed Blue, Spring Azure, Rocky Mountain Dotted Blue, Square-spotted Blue, Silvery Blue, Arrowhead Blue, Northern Blue, Melissa's Blue, Greenish Blue, Boisduval's Blue, and Acmon Blue butterflies.  The Sinlahekin is also an excellent birding spot at this time of year, for species including common loons on the area's lakes, Lewis' woodpeckers and western wood-pewees in the forest, savannah and vesper sparrows in the grasslands, and canyon wrens in the cliffs. 

• Tieton River Nature Trail provides plenty of opportunities for viewing deer, elk, birds, even lizards and rattlesnakes. The trail begins across the walk bridge adjacent the Oak Creek headquarters off Highway 12 and goes upstream following the Tieton River for nearly five miles.

April 14-27, 2004

• The second-annual Washington Brant Festival is set for April 17-18 at Blaine and Birch Bay. The festival was established last year to honor the brant goose, a small maritime goose that visits the region each year as it moves between summer breeding grounds in the Arctic north and more temperate winter feeding grounds. The brant’s main source of food is eelgrass, which can be found in many bays and estuaries in the region. More information is available at http://www.washingtonbrant.org 

• Reports are coming in of several gray whales feeding in the waters near Everett. Look for these annual visitors off Camano Island, as well as the entire eastern shore of Whidbey Island. Grays are bottom-feeding whales, scooping a muddy mouthful from the seafloor and straining out shrimp and other bottom-dwelling critters. A gray whale’s stomach can hold an estimated 660 pounds of food.

• April 10 Black Hills Audubon Society fieldtrip to Julia Butler Hanson National Wildlife Refuge and other sites in Wahkiakum County. The group found 12 to 15 osprey along the Columbia River and many common yellowthroats throughout the refuge.

• The wetlands and farmlands south and west of Othello and Scootney Reservoir are still providing fair viewing of sandhill cranes, although more of them are moving north every day.

• Waterfowl and other water-associated birds that stick around to produce young in the Columbia Basin are increasingly viewable, especially in pairs. Canada geese and mallard duck pairs dot the landscape wherever water is available. Other notable birds to watch for in the Basin now are red-winged, yellow-headed and tri-colored blackbirds, long-billed curlews, killdeer, great blue herons and northern harriers. The Royal Lake public viewing area on the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, and Crab Creek south of State Route 26 between Othello and Royal City are good places to check for birds of many kinds.

April 16-29, 2003

• Violet green swallows by the hundreds were spotted at the Montlake Fill in Seattle, according to a birder reporting to the Tweeters website, on the Internet.

• The eighth annual Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival is scheduled April 25-27 in Hoquiam. Timed to match the annual migration of hundreds of thousands of shorebirds as they pause at Grays Harbor en route to the Arctic, the festival features field trips with expert birders, lectures, exhibitors, authors, a fun fair, poster contest and more.  Sponsors include the Grays Harbor Audubon Society, Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge and the City of Hoquiam, along with WDFW and dozens of other organizations and businesses. For more information, check the festival website or call 1-800-303-8498.

• Up to one million Arctic-bound shorebirds, coming from as far south as Argentina, concentrate at the muddy tideflats of the Grays Harbor estuary on Washington's Olympic Peninsula every year at this time. Plovers, yellowlegs, sanderlings, sandpipers, dunlins, and dowitchers, as well as gulls, terns, ducks, geese, hawks, and falcons are among the stars of this internationally significant natural event. The Grays Harbor Audubon Society sponsors field trips, workshops, lectures, and exhibits during the festival, with all proceeds supporting enhancement of Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge at Bowerman Basin on the estuary.
  (April 22, 1999)
  

• WDFW District Wildlife Biologist Steve Zender suggests that now is a good time to observe common loons as they loiter on lakes in northeast Washington prior to migrating on north. Loon numbers generally peak about the from April 15-20, Zender says, then drop off by May. Best lakes to watch for loons include Loon, Deer, Diamond, Waitts, Pierre, Sullivan, Mill Pond (near Sullivan Lake), Curlew, and Swan (if snow conditions allow road access). 

• WDFW wildlife biologist Woody Myers recommends looking for newly-hatched Canada geese, especially along the Snake River where goslings are jumping from cliff nests to the water below. 

• WDFW Habitat Biologist Doug Wiedemeier notes that small bands of elk are highly visible just west of Newman Lake these days. 

• Earth Day is April 22 but Spokane is celebrating in Riverfront Park on Saturday, April 19, including a WDFW information booth and the fourth annual "Procession of the Species" - a participatory parade of homemade costumes, masks, banners and other renditions of favorite animal and plant species. The Earth Day fair runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the park's Gondola Meadows at the southwest corner, across from City Hall, and the procession starts at 1 p.m. at the Howard and Mallon streets park entrance near the Flour Mill.

• Wildflowers are in bloom throughout this region where spring arrives earlier than other parts of Washington east of the Cascades. WDFW Habitat Biologist Perry Harvester says blooming phylox, arrowleaf balsamroot, larkspur, and bitterbrush are making a good show now at the Juniper Dunes Wilderness Area located northeast of the Tri-Cities. "The blooming bitterbrush makes the entire area smell like orange blossoms," Harvester said. "Meadowlarks and horned larks are abundant and coyotes are out foraging for newborn pups." Harvester recommends the Juniper Dunes for early spring hiking as most trails in the higher elevations are still snowed in or wet and muddy. "There's not a drop of water in the entire wilderness so bring plenty if you plan on hiking here," he said, "and watch for rattlesnakes." 

• WDFW Regional Director Jeff Tayer also reports wildflower blooms on many WDFW lands. "The carpet of wildflowers on our shrub-steppe areas creates a beautiful setting for hikers on the North L.T. Murray Wildlife Area," Tayer said. 

• WDFW Fish Biologist Jim Cummins reports mountain bluebirds along North Wenas Road in the upper Umtanum Creek area.

April 17-30, 2002

• Washington State plays host to the largest population of wintering brant in the U.S., and Padilla Bay near Anacortes is a prime spot to see both native and migrant brant, which often flood into the bay by the thousands during April. The Padilla Bay National Estuarine Reserve is a great place to see brant and many of bird species. The 11,000-acre reserve has a few well-maintained walking trails, and is also a great destination for kayakers looking to get close to the birds. To get there from Interstate 5, head west toward Anacortes on State Route 20, turn north on the Bay View-Edison Road and continue north for five miles until you see the reserve signs.

• Sandhill cranes are now arriving in large numbers, as reported by several contributors to Tweeters, the on-line birdwatchers' journal. One spotted 38 cranes in a cow pasture at the intersection of Hwy. 101 and the Bay Center Dike Road in Pacific County. Another reported seeing 50 or more sandhill cranes in the Chehalis Valley near Porter.

• Check out the bird life at Grant County's Sun Lakes Wildlife Area, one of several in the Columbia Basin used by millions of waterfowl, raptors, songbirds, and others for resting and feeding on their annual migrations along the Pacific Flyway. You'll see Canada geese, mallards, redheads, canvasbacks, ringnecks, ruddy ducks, gadwalls, blue and greenwing teal, shovelers, pintails, goldeneyes, and wood ducks. Shorebirds, terns, pelicans, sandhill cranes, swans, gulls, Brewer's, red-winged, and yellow-headed blackbirds, killdeer, meadowlarks, prairie falcons, red-tailed and Swainson's hawks, golden eagles, and colonies of burrowing owls may also be found.  (Sunny's note: lots of marmots on the golf course)

• The Yakima River Canyon area is exploding in color now, mostly with the big, bright yellow flowers of arrowleaf balsamroot along the hillsides.

April 18 - May 1, 2001

• A golden eagle was recently observed at Swofford Pond, keeping company with numerous bald eagles. Three common loons continue to use Swofford Pond, thrilling visitors with their haunting calls. The best time to hear them is after sunset. Ospreys have returned in force during the past two weeks and are occupying several nests throughout the area. 

April 19 - May 3, 2000

• Wildlife viewers can watch for nesting bald eagles near Tieton Dam and the Peninsula Campground on Rimrock Lake in the Snoqualmie National Forest, east of White Pass off Highway 12. Osprey, waterfowl, and other wildlife also are seen there.