February 22 - March 7, 2006

• Whale sightings picked up recently. Orcas were spotted traveling throughout Puget Sound, ranging from the northern San Juan Islands to Edmonds. One observer reporting to the Orca Network sighted a pod of more than 25 transient killer whales traveling toward Moresby Island in Haro Strait. Within the group, but traveling by himself, was a transient named "Captain Hook," an old male with a mangled dorsal fin. East of the whales, about 30 Steller sea lions were sighted, along with "lots" of harbor seals, reported the observer.

• They're baaack! Several groups of two to 15 transient killer whales have been sighted heading southbound in Puget Sound by several observers in recent days. The whales probably belonged to a larger grouping of as many as 30 transients that was seen near the San Juan Islands in mid-February. According to Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research, this large group included all six members of the group of transients that lingered in Hood Canal from late January until July of last year He also identified the calf - T124A - that was born last year.

  Within a few days, other observers were reporting sightings in Admiralty Inlet and Commencement Bay. Could they be headed to Hood Canal where two whales were sighted in mid-January? "That's hard to say," said Gary Wiles, a WDFW wildlife biologist. "The important thing is that they've returned to Puget Sound, just as they did in 2003 and 2005."

• The birder also spotted more than 100 sandhill cranes, 40 Wilson's snipe and 12 yellow-rumped warblers at Ridgefield NWR.

• Other notable sightings of late include a female black-backed woodpecker working over a pine tree in the Dishman Hills Natural Area of the Spokane Valley (Argonne Road I-90 exit south to Sprague Avenue, west to Sargent Road, left to parking area, then a mile-long walk on trail.) Also recently seen in the natural area are evening grosbeaks, mountain chickadees, pygmy nuthatches, golden-crowned kinglets, American robins, varied thrushes, and winter wrens.

• Season's first report of 13 tundra swans flying high over Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge in southwest Spokane County. The first report of the year of three Wilson's snipe at Turnbull came on Feb. 13. A rarely seen golden eagle soared over Cheney on Feb. 12. Ferguson also reported 13 short-eared owls on Feb. 15 "at their usual location" - Coulee-Hite and Thorpe roads, south of Highway 2 in western Spokane County. 

• Mountain bluebirds recently spotted near Vantage testify to longer days and the coming of spring. Birders have also reported sage sparrows and Say's phoebes in shrub-steppe country - and even a few barn swallows feeding out over the island in the Columbia River below Wanapum Dam. Red-winged blackbirds are lighting up the Columbia Basin with their sights and sounds.

• The Sinlahekin Wildlife Area in Okanogan County is a good spot to see whitetail deer, now highly visible as they feed almost round-the-clock.

February 23 - March 9, 2005

• Near Lyman, raptors are soaring about – including a mini-kettle of four or five bald eagles, a couple of red-tailed hawks, a northern harrier hawk and a northern pygmy owl sitting on a telephone wire just east of Lyman on the Lyman-Hamilton Road

• One lucky birder reports seeing close to 10,000 snow geese lift off the Fir Island fields simultaneously and fly out to Skagit Bay late one afternoon, presumably to roost on the bay.

• Drayton Harbor is described as having one of the largest populations of water birds anywhere in the area. With the good light of a clear day, birding there is reportedly spectacular, with good observation points the south side of the harbor and Semiahmoo Spit. Large numbers of birds such as red-breasted mergansers were present, and the area also is said to be “lousy” with loons.

• The pod of a half-dozen (transient) killer whales feeding in Hood Canal for the past month continues to fascinate researchers and passers-by alike. Unlike resident orcas, which feed primarily on salmon and other fish, transient pods like the one now visiting the Canal prefer marine mammals. In 2003, a pod of 11 transients down from southeast Alaska killed and ate “hundreds” of seals during their two-month stay in Hood Canal.  The best place to see them is at Point Whitney, just off Highway 101. They’re spending a lot of their time in Quilcene Bay.

• Shillapoo Wildlife Area:  this is also the best time of year to view great blue herons in the rookery across the road from the entrance from Vancouver Lake Park. Observers may also easily notice great egrets in both open fields and wetlands. The large white birds stand out and are easy to spot from a distance. 

• Great blue herons are re-building their nests in the age-old rookery on the Little Spokane River in north Spokane County.

• There are typically lots of eagles in the Ellensburg and Yakima canyons at this time of the year. Goldens are known to nest on the cliffs above the Yakima River across from WDFW’s Oak Creek Wildlife Area headquarters off Highway 12.
  

February 24 - March 8, 2000

• Some 50,000 snow geese remain in the Skagit and Fraser river valleys, and nearly 5,900 tundra and trumpeter swans were counted recently in Whatcom, Snohomish and Skagit counties. All three populations are well above historic averages, according to WDFW waterfowl manager Don Kraege. Many other waterfowl– including dabbling ducks, mallards, American wigeons, northern pintails and green-winged teal– remain by the thousands in the area. Viewers who hope to enjoy wintering birds shouldn't delay; unseasonably warm weather is causing some species such as brant to head north earlier than usual, says Mike Davison a WDFW wildlife biologist based in La Conner. Recent surveys turned up only 3,100 brant from Padilla Bay north, instead of the 12,000 to 15,000 that normally are present at this time of year.

• Bald eagles are abundant throughout the Peninsula and South Sound region. Rob Nicolay, a WDFW employee at the Forks Creek Hatchery near Raymond, reported seeing four eagles feeding on salmon carcasses in the creek. Another agency staff member saw three eagles hovering over Trosper Lake near the high school in Tumwater. "This is already nesting season for eagles and other birds," said Mike O'Malley of WDFW's Watchable Wildlife program. "Right now, you're especially likely to see eagles anywhere there is a late run of chum salmon – the last salmon run of the year."

March 8-21, 2006

• A pod of resident orcas - rarely seen in Puget Sound this time of year - were spotted near Boston Harbor recently. About 16 killer whales from the K pod and a portion of the L pod ventured into the region. The orcas are part of a larger population of resident killer whales that reside in Puget Sound from early spring to late fall. Although the resident orcas spend a majority of their time in the sound, they are rarely spotted in local waters during the month of March. "That's because there's really not that much out there for them to eat this time of year," said Rocky Beach, WDFW wildlife diversity manager. "So, it's quite a surprise to see them out there."

  Unlike transient killer whales, which occasionally wander into Puget Sound to feed on marine mammals, the resident population favors fish, such as salmon and steelhead.

  About 90 orcas make up Puget Sound's resident J, K and L pods, which are protected under the state and federal endangered species lists. Of the three pods, only J pod is frequently spotted in Puget Sound throughout the winter. Both the K and L pods usually leave Puget Sound sometime during the winter and reappear in early June, often joining the J pod near the San Juan Islands.

• Counted 35 snowy plovers between Midway Beach Road and Warrenton-Cannery Road on the incoming tide.

• It's time to watch tundra swans on and near Calispell Lake in Pend Oreille County. WDFW district wildlife biologist Steve Zender of Chewelah said that according to past studies and counts during the month of March, up to 4,000 swans make a feeding and resting stop at Calispell Lake during their migration north. The area also hosts probably twice that many Canada geese, and hundreds of mallards, pintails, wigeons, redheads, scaups, and other ducks. "It's not just great viewing, it's great listening to all the sounds of these waterfowl," Zender said. The best spot is along Westside Calispell Road, reached from Highway 211 north from Highway 2. On the way, also check for waterfowl at Sacheen and Davis lakes. Loop around Calispell Lake following county roads through the Cusick Valley, which provides many opportunities to view waterfowl and other migrants.

March 9-22, 2005

• Birders riding the ferry from Anacortes to Lopez Island counted roughly 100 rhinoceros auklets – most in breeding plumage.

• A pod of killer whales is still flashing and splashing in Hood Canal near Hoodsport, and a lone gray whale was spotted March 3 off Whiskey Creek Beach, 15 miles west of Port Angeles.

• One birder counted 17 trumpeter swans on Black Lake near Ilwaco.  Numbers of sandhill cranes are increasing on the Shillapoo Wildlife Area near Vancouver as birds arrive from their southern wintering grounds.

• Spring migration for tundra swans and other waterfowl has reached its peak along the Pend Oreille, Colville and Columbia rivers. “Calispell Lake in Pend Oreille County usually has the most spectacular concentration of swans now,” Zender said. “Several thousand are usually there in mid-March, although I'm not sure what this mild and dry weather will do to migration stopovers. Certainly there will be less standing water in fields, so birds will likely be found on lakes and rivers more than we're used to in a normal spring.

• WDFW biologists are surveying golden eagle nests this spring and recently noted two in the China Bend area of Lake Roosevelt. That area, including the mouth of Flat Creek, is excellent for raptor watching in general, with recent observations of bald eagles, red-tailed hawks and other birds of prey.

• Local bird-watchers spotted the first dozen sandhill cranes earlier this month, feeding in cornfields near Basin City and just south of Othello – early arrivals for the eighth annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival

• The Mosebar Pond unit of WDFW’s Sunnyside Wildlife Area near Mabton is full of tundra swans, Canada geese, and even some greater white-fronted geese.

March 3-16, 2004

• There are hundreds of trumpeter swans - North America's largest waterfowl - scattered throughout the region. One of the best places to see these magnificent birds is the Johnson-DeBay Swan Reserve, near Mount Vernon, where 300 to 400 swans were spotted recently feeding on corn. Despite its name, the swan reserve is also host to thousands of ducks, as well as bald eagles and other raptors. To reach the swan reserve, take the College Way exit off I-5 in Mt. Vernon, then head east and turn left on LaVenture Road. Follow LaVenture Road, which becomes Francis Road, for approximately four and a half miles and turn left on DeBay Isle Road. 

• Oregon spotted frogs are already "laying eggs like crazy" along the Black River in Thurston County, said Kelly McAllister, WDFW wildlife biologist. 

• Wildlife viewing: Bald eagles are out in the Vancouver lowlands, says Brian Calkins, manager of WDFW's Shillapoo and Mount Saint Helens wildlife areas. The eagles have been visible lately along the roadsides bordering the north and south units of the lowlands, which lie west of Vancouver along the Columbia River, and can be reached by driving State Route 501 (lower River Road). Ducks and geese also are plentiful now in the area. 

• As the month of March unfolds, thousands of sandhill cranes are expected to pass through southwest Washington on their spring migration. Agricultural fields, including those on the Shillapoo Wildlife Area, are the prime spot to watch the spectacular birds, which can assemble in flocks of up to 100 birds or more. 

• This is a good time to travel the back roads and see flocks of wild turkeys near farms in the Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille county area.

• We've got a few thousand ducks and geese on the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area and in the Coffeepot and Pacific lakes areas of Lincoln County now. Baarstad also says mule deer are very visible on open slopes feeding on new greens and turkeys are starting their courtship rituals with the coming of spring.

• If you want to see elk or bighorn sheep at the winter feeding stations on the Oak Creek Wildlife Area and Clemans Mountain unit southwest of Yakima, time is running out. By mid-March these animals will be dispersing back to transitional winter range.

• Oak Creek Wildlife Area manager John McGowan reminds shed antler hunters that the area around the elk feedsites is closed during March and April. Vehicle gates will open at 8 a.m. on May 1 and the area opens to horse and foot traffic at midnight that day. "This closure is in place to reduce disturbance to big game animals just coming out of winter stress. These animals need to graze for long periods on the early spring grasses, which are just beginning to grow."

March 5-18, 2003

• Bigger birds in the region that can still be seen throughout the Puget Sound region include thousands of snow geese in the lower Skagit Valley near Fir Island, conspicuous knots of trumpeter and tundra swans scattered throughout the agricultural areas of Skagit and Whatcom counties, and plenty of fencepost-sitting raptors in search of their next meal. 

• Speaking of comings and goings, the transient pod of orcas that spent eight weeks dining on seals in Hood Canal appears to have departed. On March 4, two bridge workers watched members of the pod snatch one more seal, dive under the Hood Canal Bridge, then make a beeline for the mouth of the canal. "They were the best show in the world," Carol Johnson of Glen Ayr Resort near Hoodsport told the Bremerton Sun. "It was wonderful having them here, that's for sure." That sentiment was not necessarily shared by the local seal population, however. Biologists estimate the pod consumed as many as half of all the 1,500 seals in Hood Canal before leaving. 

• Sandhill cranes are out by the hundreds, according to reports on the Tweeters website with more than 800 reported sighted in the Vancouver Lake area, and another 400 or more seen in the Dike Access Road area of Cowlitz County. 

• The McNary National Wildlife Refuge near the Tri-Cities has been hosting its usual array of waterfowl, including Canada geese, greater white-fronted geese, pintails, shovelers, mallards, wood ducks, ruddy ducks and long-tailed ducks. A lesser black-backed gull and a lone trumpeter swan were also recently sighted at McNary. Sandhill cranes are flying overhead in the Ringold area, heading for the Royal Slope and feeding fields to the north. 

March 6-19, 2002

• Trumpeter and tundra swans can be found along the Chehalis River in places like Brady Loop Road near Montesano.

• Bald eagles have congregated on the Nisqually River and its tributaries, as they do each year from late January through much of March. The unusual late run of chum salmon in this river makes it a favored destination for hungry eagles. However, while migrants and young eagles feast on salmon, resident adult birds have more serious things to attend to. March is the month when many females lay their eggs. Once eggs are laid, eagles dedicate themselves to the month-long chore of incubation. 

• Waterfowl numbers have remained steady at Swofford Pond in the Cowlitz Wildlife Area over the last few weeks, with large rafts of coots (200-plus) and wigeon, common mergansers, buffleheads, ring-necked ducks, Canada geese and double-crested cormorants visible. Buffleheads have also been seen on some of the smaller loafing ponds on the Mossyrock Unit. Wildlife area staff have seen small flocks of Western meadowlarks and savannah sparrows on the Kosmos Flats, as well as a small band of Roosevelt elk along Riffe Lake.

• The Scotch Creek Wildlife Area (Okanogan County) Assistant Manager Todd Baarstad reports "lots of opportunity to watch waterfowl on the smallest puddle to the largest river, initiating their paring and nesting rituals." Baarstad also notes that bluebirds are visiting many of the nest boxes placed around the county, and mule and white-tailed deer are feeding in good numbers on the hillsides as the snow gives way to the first green-up.
  

March 7-20, 2001

• Damon Point, a mile-long stretch of sand jutting into Grays Harbor near Ocean Shores, is alive with sea ducks and shorebirds – and at least one off-course Snowy Owl. If you happen to visit Damon Point or any other promontories along the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula in the next month, be sure to check the sea for the arching backs of gray whales making their own pilgrimage north. 

• A survey of Canada geese in the Vancouver lowlands near Shillapoo Wildlife Area yielded about 4,500 cacklers and 200 taverner's geese, but there were thousands more that went uncounted. A spring spectacle to view, to be sure.

March 8-22, 2000

• Waterfront areas such as Birch Bay State Park are a good place to watch migratory marine birds as they feed, group up and prepare to head north. Watch for black brant feeding on eel grass and sea lettuce, and keep an eye out for scaup, oldsquaw and other sea ducks. Harlequin ducks can be seen near rocky intertidal areas in northern Puget Sound. Bald eagle viewing, too, is especially good now because adults are preparing to nest and sit in locations where other eagles can see them.

• Check the hundreds of tundra swans in the Sacheen Lake area in Pend Oreille County.

• Lesser sandhill cranes have arrived for their annual stopover in the Shillapoo Wildlife Area in the Vancouver Lowlands. The birds can be seen easily from Lower River Road between the Vancouver Lake Flushing Channel and Post Office Lake. The cranes can be disturbed easily so birdwatchers are advised to view them from their cars. Large flocks of geese and common egrets also are in the area.

• Elk are almost always "watchable" to some extent from Highway 240 along the Hanford Site, just northwest of the Tri-Cities in Benton County.
  

March 11-24, 1999

• The Yakima River Canyon is full of birds of prey reports WDFW district wildlife biologist Lee Stream. Golden eagles have several nesting territories there and can be seen soaring or foraging. Nest building is in progress and egg laying and incubating soon will follow. Prairie falcons are common canyon residents and often are seen when hiking the Umtanum Creek drainage. 

• Woodpecker fans should check out the north and south fork Ahtanum and Cowiche Creek drainages to see Lewis' woodpeckers now, Stream says. Oak stands are the most frequently used by the woodpeckers and they are readily visible during this pre-leaf time.

• One of the most visible Great blue heron nesting colonies is between the Yakima Training Center I-82 exit and the Yakima gravel pit. The colony or "rookery" is on the west side of the Yakima River in a stand of cottonwood trees. Herons are also very visible in the Kittitas Valley where they forage in agricultural fields.

• Bighorn sheep can be seen on both sides of the river in the Yakima River Canyon between Umtanum Creek and Milepost 25. Rams occasionally work open banks as salt licks near the road, so beware when traveling the canyon road. 

• Bighorns also are still watchable at the Clemans Mountain winter feeding site, and along Hwy. 97-A on the west side of the Columbia River between Wenatchee and the Entiat River. 
• The Swakane Canyon, northwest of Wenatchee, and WDFW's Swakane Wildlife Area are also good bighorn sheep viewing sites.  
  

March 22 - April 4, 2005

• The Saratoga Passage and Possession Sound areas have been frequented by gray whales recently. Two to three grays have been sighted in the waterways and were even spotted feeding near Possession Point.

• Nearly 600 brant geese were counted earlier this year between Fort Flagler, Oak Bay and the waters between Indian and Marrowstone Islands on the Olympic Peninsula. Locals can expect many more to pass through during the next few weeks as they head north to their breeding areas in coastal Alaska and Canadian Arctic. 

• Spring courting may have been in the works near Tenino where a hiker on the Chehalis Western Trail spotted five western bluebirds near some nesting boxes. Two peregrin falcons were seen around a nest box near the Warren Ave. bridge in Bremerton.

• Marmots have emerged from winter dens throughout the region and are especially amusing to users of the Spokane River Centennial Trail and Riverfront Park.

• Fitkin suggested a trip to WDFW's Sinlahekin Wildlife Area and other public land parcels along the Okanogan River just below Oroville for wildlife viewing. "There's also a good chance this time of year to see bighorn sheep at the base of Mt Hull just east of Highway 97," he said. "The sheep are often seen from the highway in orchards and pastures."

• Golden eagles are nesting on the cliffs on the south side of the Tieton River and other parts of the wildlife area. McGowan says the most easily observed pair is near the river bend rock climbing area about two miles west of the Oak Creek headquarters. The nest can be seen with binoculars from a parking area off Highway 12.

• WDFW Fish Biologist Jim Cummins recommends getting out to see spring wildflowers blooming in shrub steppe habitat right next door to the Cowiche unit of the Oak Creek Wildlife Area. Cummins recently hiked the Snow Mountain Ranch portion of the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy and enjoyed sagebrush buttercup, grass widow, yellow bell, fern-leaf parsley, salt and pepper, and several other early blooming wildflowers. He reported the same flowers blooming adjacent to the Cowiche Canyon Trail just west of Yakima, accessed via Scenic Drive (near the end of the road) and Weikle Road. Access to Snow Mountain Ranch is from Cowiche Mill Road just east of Oak Creek Wildlife Area's Cowiche unit, which is closed until May 1. For additional information, see http://www.cowichecanyon.org/.

• Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge reported two singing sage sparrows along Pumphouse Road, several tree swallows near Marion Drain Road, a redhead duck at the refuge headquarters pond, and well over 100 tundra swans throughout the area.
  

March 23 - April 6, 2005

• The best places to see whales in Puget Sound this time of year might be in Possession Sound north through Saratoga Passage. Check the Orca Network sightings website, at http://www.orcanetwork.org/sightings/map.html for more information on where to see killer whales, gray whales and other species. 

• For an outdoor birding experience, check out the third-annual "Wings Over Water" Northwest Birding Festival, April 2-3 in Blaine and Birch Bay. The festival honors all the area's magnificent birdlife, especially the brant goose, which winters in northern Washington's bays this time of year and feeds on eelgrass and seaweed. Festival attendees have the opportunity to see brant and other birds from five birding stations that will be set up along Birch Bay and Drayton Harbor. More information is available at http://www.washingtonbrant.org/events.html on the Internet.

• What do Roosevelt elk do in the off-season?  "Right now, they're mostly grazing and hanging out," said an organizer for the first annual Quinault Rain Forest Roosevelt Elk Festival, scheduled April 9-10 at Lake Quinault.  Co-sponsored by the Lake Quinault community and WDFW, the festival will feature three guided tours each day to see elk, guest speakers and an evening banquet.  For more information, call (800) 255-6936 or see the festival's website (http://www.quinaultrainforest.com). 

• Check out the "Come Bird with Us" festival April 1-3, Sequim. Besides viewing the area's avian wonders, participants can go sea kayaking, take a cruise around Protection Island, join in a salmon bake and hear stories from members of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe. See www.olympicpeninsulaaudenon.org for more information  (or http://www.olympicbirdfest.org/)

• Increasing numbers of gray whales weighing up to 30 tons are moving into Washington waters on their way to the Bering Sea from their breeding grounds off Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Hundreds have already been spotted off the Oregon coast, with sightings in Washington reported from Bremerton to Neah Bay.  Most of the whales now being seen along the coast are males; females with calves will start arriving in April and May. In all, 20,000 gray whales are expected to pass through Washington waters in their annual spring migration.

• Dale Swedberg, WDFW's Sinlahekin Wildlife Area manager, reports he saw his first butterfly - a Milbert's Tortoiseshell - on the area in Okanogan County March 4. "On March 10 I saw numerous Mourning Cloak butterflies and some California Tortoiseshells," Swedberg said. "If you hike in areas where sedum or stonecrop are present, watch for the Moss' Elfin, and where Eriogonum is present, watch for Sheridan's Green Hairstreak. Sarah's Orangetips will be flying in late March and early April." 

• Swedberg also noted eight tundra swans on Blue Lake, which is finally ice-free, along with most of the area's lakes.  Canada geese are migrating earlier than usual, Swedberg said. 

• White-tailed deer are commonly seen just driving through the Sinlahekin at dusk. Small herds of mule deer can be seen in the the dryland alfalfa fields south of Fish Lake. WDFW district wildlife biologist Scott Fitkin of Winthrop reports lots of mule deer now on spring ranges - southerly slopes with new green-up - in the Methow Valley and especially on WDFW's Methow Wildlife Area.
  

• Denny Granstrand reported long-billed curlews in a pasture on the north side of Bell Road southwest of Moxee, just west of Beaudry Road. Granstrand says the "curlew pasture" is the first large pasture on the north side of Bell and west of Beaudry. "I call it the curlew pasture because it seems to be a gathering place for curlews," he said. "I've seen over 30 curlews there on several occasions." Granstrand also recently noted that the extremely low water level at Wenas Lake at this time of year good make it a good place to view shorebirds in April and May.
  

March 17-30, 2004

• Thousands of sandhill cranes, tundra swans, ducks, geese and other birds are back in Washington, at least temporarily in their migrations north. Perhaps most celebrated among these spring spectacles is the concentration of up to 15,000 sandhill cranes in the Columbia Basin of northcentral Washington. Neither binoculars nor long hikes are needed to enjoy these 4-foot-tall, prehistoric- looking birds with 7-foot wingspans - they're literally a roadside attraction in the farm fields around the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge south of Moses Lake in Grant, Adams and Franklin counties. The annual Sandhill Crane Festival, scheduled March 26-28, celebrates the birds' migratory stop-over. Details of festival activities are available at http://www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/.

• Gray whales are now passing along the Washington coast on their way north from the calving grounds in Baja. The best way to spot one - from land or sea - is to look for "spouts" that can reach 10 to 12 feet in the air when the behemoths exhale. At this time of year, they can often be spotted two miles off the mouth of Grays Harbor with their calves in tow. While your surest bet for seeing a whale is to charter a trip with a trained skipper, they can also be observed from headlands from Cape Alava to Cape Disappointment. 

• Gray whales have again been sighted in Possession Sound and Saratoga Passage near Everett. Sharp-eyed observers have been spotting grays in this part of Puget Sound for many years as the big whales slowly move through our area during their annual migration from winter breeding grounds in Mexico to summer feeding grounds in Alaska.

• Approximately 60 tree swallows were seen swooping and diving over Tennant Lake near Ferndale. Tree swallows are typically the first swallows to return to our region and like to nest in tree cavities near water, where they can be seen swooping low and skimming just above the surface in search of flying insects.

• Peregrine falcon activity is heating up in downtown Seattle. It's been 18 years since the speedy birds were first observed wintering in the city, where they found a plentiful food supply in the form of pigeon and starling flocks. Falcons have been successfully breeding downtown since 1994, and sightings seem to be increasing every year. Falcons are now frequently seen near the West Seattle bridge, the grain terminal along the downtown Seattle waterfront, the Ballard bridge, and in the Renton-Tukwila area. Check out the Seattle Peregrine Project website on the Internet for more information. 

• If anybody wants to watch river otters, the south portion of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge is the place." During a March 12 visit to the observation blind at Rest Lake the wildlife watcher enjoyed the sight of three otters through his spotting scope for half an hour or more as they swam, dove and fished together. "I inferred that they were cooperatively fishing, by herding fish against the stands of submerged weeds whose tops were showing above the water," he wrote. "They were having lots of success; I was starting to feeling full just watching all the fish they were eating." 

• Migration-weary tundra swans seem to be everywhere there's water now, reports WDFW wildlife biologist Howard Ferguson. The largest concentration recently reported is at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge southwest of Spokane, where at least 1,500 tundra swans are using Long Lake. Those birds can be seen by hiking or bicycling the Columbia Plateau Trail. There are also about 75 swans on Philleo Lake, just east of the refuge. Lesser numbers are gathered on Peone Prairie north of Spokane near Deadman Creek and in the wetlands at the Cheney rodeo grounds. Further north in the region, Calispel Lake in Pend Oreille County and various spots along the Pend Oreille River are traditionally good areas to see hundreds of tundra swans. 

• WDFW's Chief Joseph Wildlife Area in Asotin County has very visible elk now. "We've been seeing two to three different bands of elk every day near the headquarters buildings," reports area manager Bob Dice. "On the 14th I observed just over 120 elk total."

• Thousands of sandhill cranes have descended on the Columbia Basin's agricultural region in their traditional feeding and resting stopover on their way to breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska. Randy Hill, Columbia Basin National Wildlife Refuge biologist, reports that their numbers will build to a peak of near 15,000 by the first of April. The seventh annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival is March 26-28. Hill says if you don't get in on a festival tour, you can cruise the backroads virtually anywhere between I-90 on the north and the Tri-Cities on the south, and Hwy. 395 on the east and the Columbia River on the west, and find groups of cranes. The greatest numbers use cornfields near the refuge. 

March 19 - April 1, 2003

• The northward migration of gray whales is in full swing, with sightings reported everywhere from Ilwaco to southern Puget Sound. Whale-watching charters operating out of Ilwaco and Westport offer a good look at these leviathans as they pass along the Washington coast en route between their breeding lagoons in Baja to the Bering Sea. Some apparently detour into Puget Sound, and one was spotted as recently as March 16 in Budd Inlet near Olympia. Weighing up to 40 tons and measuring up to 50 feet in length, gray whales can make for an unforgettable sight. 

• Gray whales – and an occasional minke or orca – are visible throughout the Washington coast from March through May. Migrating north from California to feeding areas in the Arctic, the whales swim fairly close to shore, allowing easy observation through binoculars.
• Besides Westport, some of the best viewing spots include the Destruction Island Overlook off Highway 101 near Kalaloch; the Ozette Lake-Cape Alava area in Olympic National Park and Cape Flattery at the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula.
  

• An enthusiastic birder reports a recent trip through southwest Washington where good numbers of turkey vultures were in evidence, including two near Tokeland, four in the vicinity of Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge and eight kettling over the highway near the Cowlitz County line along the Columbia River. Other highlights were a black phoebe still at Julia Butler Hansen, and a rough-legged hawk in the area as well. Tokeland held good numbers of marbled godwit, along with one willet. Hundreds of shorebirds were on the beach just south of the jetty at Westport, including two snowy plover, and a stunning common loon in fresh breeding plumage in the boat basin. A group of 25 intermediate plumage black-bellied plover were present in the freshwater wetlands near Bottle Beach. 

• Spring bird migrations are in full swing.  Concentrations of tundra swans, from a couple of dozen to thousands, have been reported by WDFW staffers and others in several places: on East Swanson Lake of WDFW's Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area and near Coffeepot Lake and the wetlands between Davenport and Creston in Lincoln County; at the farm pond along Highway 395 just north of the cutoff road to Valley and Waitt's Lake, in the valley south of Chewelah, and along the north shore of Lake Roosevelt visible from Colville Flats in Stevens County; and on Calispell Lake just southwest of Usk in Pend Oreille County. 

• Local birders are reporting tundra swans on Long Lake along Grand Coulee Hill Road, common loons and even one Pacific loon on Banks Lake along Highway 155, eared grebes on Soap Lake, violet-green swallows where Kiner Road crosses Wilson Creek just south of Almira, gray-crowned rosy finches off Road 50 NE north of Hartline and a couple of great egrets on Crab Creek near Highway 17.

• Turnbull Wildlife Refuge near Cheney has been the site of many western bluebirds, Says phoebes, violet green swallows, and red-winged blackbirds. Bluebirds have also been spotted along Lake Roosevelt on the Ferry County side, on the Peone Prairie and Greenbluff areas of Spokane County, and in Palouse country of Whitman County. 

• There will be no shortage of sandhill cranes and other birds to view for the sixth-annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival, March 21-23. This week Columbia National Wildlife Refuge wildlife biologist Randy Hill reported at least 3,500 cranes, plus about 15,000 geese and 40,000 ducks, all easily visible from Corfu Road (Road B SE, 13 miles west of Othello, south of Highway 26.) Many of these birds are making a migration stopover to feed and rest before journeying farther north in a few weeks. The festival celebrates the spectacle, and centers around the refuge and the surrounding farmland that the birds also use. Although many of the festival's bus tours, field trips, and other events are already booked, there is still plenty to see on your own now throughout the area. Hill advises crane viewers to give the birds some space, particularly in roosting areas. "If the cranes don't feel secure, they will abandon the area, Hill said. For more information about the Sandhill Crane Festival (New URL 10/25!) and cranes, go to their web site on the Internet.

• Some of the first chicks of the new season can be seen peering out of the great horned owl nest in a tree at the corner of Highway 24 and Bell Road in Moxee, easily viewed from your passing car. 

March 20 - April 2, 2002

• If you're traveling on Pioneer Way east of Tacoma, keep an eye to the sky. The great blue herons are back – at least 35 of them – flocking around a rookery on a private lot just outside Puyallup. WDFW and local volunteers tried to restore the rookery after the original site was destroyed in 2000, but the birds built new nests on an adjacent lot and have returned there for two years running. "It's great that they're back, and we're interested to see whether the colony will branch out and return to the restore site," said Michelle Tirhi, a WDFW urban biologist. 

• While the Pioneer Way colony is on private property, another blue heron rookery is on display alongside a new public trail on Mud Bay near Olympia. The William Cannon Footpath on lower Eld Inlet meanders through an area that is home to the heron rookery, river otters, salmon and – during the spring migration – one of the largest congregations of shorebirds in Puget Sound. A ceremony to open the new footpath is set for 1:15 p.m. April 3 at the state Department of Transportation's Mud Bay park-and-ride lot.

• WDFW Wildlife Research Biologist Mike Schroeder, who conducts a tour of sage and sharp-tailed grouse display grounds or leks during the Sandhill Crane Festival, reports that these prairie grouse species are showing their spring behavior. The males perform spectacular, ritualistic "dances," vying for territories and breeding dominance. Both are listed as "threatened" species, so visits to their known leks usually require scheduling with land managers, best through local bird-watching groups. Schroeder also reports another sign of spring: A flock of up to 1,000 snow buntings seen near Waterville. 

March 21 - April 3, 2001

• Sharptail and sage grouse are "dancing on leks" now and through the next month in Lincoln County. For those new to grouse dancing, that's the spring ritual that the male birds go through on traditional staging areas, vying for the females and breeding dominance. It's one of the most unique spectacles in the wildlife world, but it's not witnessed by many today because leks are disappearing; those that are left are either highly protected and access is restricted, or they are on private land. Contact your local Audubon Society chapter for possible pre-arranged grouse dancing field trips. 

• Sandhill cranes are now near Basin City in Franklin County on the Windmill Ranch unit of the Corps of Engineers and WDFW Snake River wildlife area. WDFW Snake River Project Manager Rocky Ross reports that the big birds are eating fresh-cut corn grown for wildlife there. That area also has lots of Canada geese, White-fronted or "speckle belly" geese, and ducks of many species. To reach Windmill, take Hwy 17 south from Othello and go about three miles south of the intersection with 260, turning west on Merion Road, then two miles on to Baart Road. Ross says the most crane activity is early morning and late afternoon. 

(SW Wa News)

• 3/6/01 -- Klickitat Deer Survey: A total of 803 deer were observed of which 764 deer were classified. The fawn adult ratio was 54 fawns to 100 adults.
• 2/20/01 -- The number of wintering elk on the Klickitat WA has increased to 70+ in the Soda Springs/Old Headquarters area.
  

March 22 - April 6, 2000 

• Portions of Grant and Adams counties are the center of sandhill crane concentrations through mid-April. The Columbia National Wildlife Refuge just northwest of Othello, the Bench Road area south of Highway 26 west of Othello and Scooteney Reservoir in norhwest Franklin County are good places to view cranes. The town of Othello is hosting its third annual Sandhill Crane Festival March 24 - 26.

• White pelicans, yellow-headed blackbirds, long-billed curlews, avocets, and a host of other wetland wildlife and waterfowl may be seen at the McNary National Wildlife Refuge near the Tri-Cities.

March 25 - April 7, 1999

• Peregrine falcons are back to nest in several places around the state, including highly visible urban areas like Seattle and Spokane. These birds of prey, listed as an endangered species, were down to just one known nesting pair in Washington 25 years ago. Today there are at least 40 nesting pairs across the state (most on the coast and in the Puget Sound area). The recovery of this species is due to a ban on certain pesticides in the food chain that led to eggshell thinning and to captive breeding and releasing programs.
  
  In natural settings the birds often choose nest sites on cliffs where they have a commanding view of water or other habitat that provides their food – waterfowl and other birds. Some have adapted to cities, however, and are known to nest on top of skyscrapers where urban park ducks, pigeons, starlings and sparrows are plentiful. The Peregrine falcon's aerial acrobatics when chasing prey, including dives of up to 200 miles per hour, is a sight to see.
  
  Adult Peregrines recently have been spotted back in familiar places in Washington, checking out nest sites and mates. Watch for these crow-sized birds with slate-blue backs, cream-colored bellies and distinctive dark "mustaches" near the eyes, in these areas:
  

• Downtown Seattle, particularly near the grain elevators on the waterfront, Highway 520 bridge on Lake Washington, and Interstate 5 Ship Canal Bridge on Lake Union in King County; (peregrines have nested and reared young on the Washington Mutual Tower for the past several years, using the One Union Building for perching, breeding and plucking prey)
• Skagit River Flats in Skagit County
• Beacon Rock State Park in Skamania County
• Columbia River Gorge in Klickitat County
• Highbridge Park on Latah Creek, just west of downtown Spokane in Spokane County
  

• Now is the time to see thousands of sandhill cranes in central Washington. These huge, pre-historic-looking birds make a month-long seasonal stopover in the Columbia Basin on their way from southwestern wintering grounds to Canadian and Alaskan breeding areas. Up to four feet tall with wing spans up to seven feet, these long-legged, long-necked wading birds are easy to see without binoculars. They're even easier to hear because of their shrill rolling, cackling bugle.

• Observers can distinguish visiting sandhill cranes from Washington's common resident great blue herons by head color and profile: sandhill cranes are gray to rust-colored with a distinctive bald red crown while great blue herons are bluish-gray with white and black head plumage; cranes are also bigger-bodied birds that fly with outstretched necks while herons fly with necks drawn back in a loop.
• Sandhill cranes didn't always stop over in Washington since they are not desert or shrub-steppe habitat birds. But the irrigation projects in the basin have created the shallow water, wetlands and grain fields that cranes use to feed on both plants and animals. Now 5,000 to 10,000 cranes stop in the area to rest and feed before continuing north. Large groups of them can be spotted in grain fields during the day and in shallow open water, where they spend nights, at dusk and dawn.