June 10 – Pratt Loop Trail: Walking and seated birders appreciated the calm sunny day. Sitting quietly in a single spot allowed birders to observe birds well and for a long time. The seated birders were delighted when a Common Raven perched on the back of the trail sign, poked its head over the top and comically evaluated the birders. Eventually there were four ravens capering on the lawn.

Read 0n to learn what was seen on June 10 and also the July and August BIN-North trips.

Seven of us spent July 30 to August 2 camping and hiking at Sunrise, Mount Rainier National Park. We car-camped at White River Campground and took excursions up the hill to Sunrise.

Three of us arrived on Thursday to secure first-come first-serve campsites. I spent the afternoon walking on the Glacier Basin Trail which begins in the campground.

On Friday, I planned to do a scouting trip to climb Mount Fremont but due to logistics, I went up solo but with many other hikers. I stopped at a pullout on the road up and observed a black bear feeding in a meadow. I heard Ptarmigan at the top but could not locate them. Spectacular views of The Mountain from the Mount Fremont lookout. I saw a Swainson’s Hawk and Prairie Falcon on this hike.

On Saturday, three of us met at the Sunrise parking lot at 7 a.m.

On Sunday, June 7, 2026, 25 of us met on the deck of the Blitz captained by Todd Sawin. A cloudy sky, occasional gusts and a few sprinkles had us wondering about things to come but the double rainbow gave us hope for a great trip. This day was scheduled perfectly during a 24-hour window of worthy weather with a clearing sky and lack of significant wind. We bounced over the swells at the bar between the jetties and the seas eventually relaxed to a 4-foot multidirectional swell with no sheep on the pond (white caps). Read more…

Our bird trip started the evening of May 19. Most of us had arrived earlier by several days. Roger Melendez Peria had dinner with us and then gave a talk about the trip showing us the regions of Costa Rica, weather we could expect, and then had each of us talk a little about ourselves. We bonded like a bevy of quail and felt like family members from then on.

The following opinion piece was published in the South Whidbey Record on August 5, 2026 and is reprinted with permission.

Deer Lagoon is an area of natural beauty with an abundance of wildlife, but it needs to be properly managed to preserve its special qualities. Deer Lagoon Preserve is unique because it is a public location with a primary function of protecting and preserving wildlife and their habitat rather than encouraging recreation. A detailed site-specific management plan is needed to fulfill that prime responsibility, and we call on Island County to prioritize the process to adopt a plan for Deer Lagoon Preserve.

Our Birdathon team, Raven For More (Madrone Ruggiero, Martha Ellis, Steve Ellis), conducted a birding Big Day on July 28, 2026. The purpose was to determine which species are present in July and to “ground truth” what birders can realistically expect to find in midsummer.

Iris missouriensis at Admiralty Inlet Preserve. Photo Credit: Jim Zimay

May 13: BINN visited Admiralty Inlet Preserve on a cool gray day. We planned a hybrid excursion to accommodate birders who are having trouble walking. Halfway around the meadow, two birders set up their folding chairs while the others continued on the trail toward an ancient windswept Douglas Fir. 
The highlight for the seated birders was listening to Orange-crowned Warblers warbling.

Cinnamon Teal photo by Mary Jo Adams

At the always satisfying Deer Lagoon back at the end of April we identified nearly 50 species, including Ospreys and Caspian Terns who have arrived, and the most glorious Cinnamon Teals hanging with about eight other types of ducks all mingling together!  A Savannah Sparrow posed for a long time for good looks.  Everyone is sporting their very best breeding plumage, and busy! 

Great time of the year to see the park! A nice mild spring day with broken clouds provided soft light for our walk. The six of us met up with State Park AmeriCorps Interpretive Naturalist Lyla Biddle.

Newer members of the Whidbey Audubon Society Bird Specimen Collection team were treated to a late April behind-the-scenes visit to the Puget Sound Museum of Natural History, located at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. The museum contains more than 28,000 bird specimens, including extinct species such as the Passenger Pigeon and parts of birds. Ellie Olpin (Education and Outreach Director) and Gary Shugart (Collections Manager) displayed specimens, shared archiving methods, and described feather structure research to Patricia Duarte and Linda Rhodes. Patricia learned useful techniques for preparing and displaying skeletons, a special interest for her.

The Basic Bird Photography classes in April and early May were a great success. The single-session introductory class was offered on three separate days at no cost as a “members only” benefit to WAS members. I enjoyed helping others with their photography skills and camera frustrations. Bird photography is hard. With only two hours, it was a challenge to pack as much information in so little time. Working with each group was a lot of fun and it was encouraging to see a student’s “light bulb” go off.

Inappropriate lighting can also be harmful to birds who migrate here to nest and to our year-round resident birds. When confused by lighting, birds waste valuable time and energy when avoiding or trying to understand the situation. Making small changes in lighting around your own home or workplace can produce big benefits for your local birds.