Teaching Future Birders
Our Executive Director, Joaquín Swett-Fosmo, has been busy this October teaching nearly 650 students from all over Whidbey Island about birds, birding, and habitats, using specimens from our Bird Specimen Collection.
Purple Martin Nest Box Monitoring 2026 Season
The Western Purple Martin season started off with January news of Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife and Stan Kostka of Arlington (former Secretary of the international Western Purple Martin Working Group) together forming a new Washington Western Purple Martin Working Group to compile nesting data. Close to home, Linda Rhodes volunteered to take over monitoring of the nest boxes at the old pilings on Crockett Lake.
Mary Hollen of the Whidbey Audubon Society has been monitoring these remarkable birds on Lagoon Point since 2014.
Volunteers Create a Successful Bird Specimen Exhibit at 2026 WoW
Volunteers ensured a very successful Bird Specimen exhibit at our 2026 Wings over Whidbey celebration. The exhibition space was filled with visitors, many of them young people, for nearly the entire six-hour period. WAS volunteers (= Bird Ambassadors) answered questions, demonstrated features on specimens and swapped bird stories.
Birding in the Neighborhoods - North
Nine birders gathered at Dugualla Bay on October 14, hoping to see avocets. To our delight, the resident American Avocets were standing like royalty in shallow water near the road, surrounded by Greater Yellowlegs. Learn more.
Fort Casey Wings over Whidbey Field Trip Report, September 26, 2026
This field trip’s total was 44 bird species seen.
Poor Man's Pelagic, Oct. 3, 2026
October 3, 2026 was a calm early fall ferry trip across Admiralty Inlet. Small numbers of expected fall species were seen. Feeding on the edge of Keystone Harbor were Pigeon Guillemots, now all in their winter plumage. On the Port Townsend side we got to see their bright red feet as they dove to swim away from the ferry.
Whidbey Audubon Financial Summary
This summary highlights our organization’s performance for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026. We thank all of our members, donors, volunteers and community members for your participation during the year and look forward to welcoming you to future activities in the coming years.
Potential Ownership Transfer of National Wildlife Refuges to Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe
U.S. Representative Emily Randall (WA 6th Congressional District) is working with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe to transfer ownership of the Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to the Tribe. If the ownership transfer occurs, the Tribe will have sovereign control and these NWRs will cease to exist.
Birding in the Neighborhoods (BIN) North – September 2026
September 9: A glorious day greeted seven birders at Joseph Whidbey State Park. The sky was clear, the sea was calm and there was almost no wind. We wandered down to the beach trail and looked out over the water. Numerous seabirds swam close to shore. We identified Common Loon, Pacific Loon, Surf Scoters, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Common Murre, Double-crested Cormorant and Killdeer.
Fall Bird Migration — Helping Birds Travel Safely
You may have noticed changes when birding recently. It’s fall migration season for birds, with peak migration happening between mid-August and mid-November. Peak migration varies by time of day and throughout the migration season. The large majority of birds migrate at night.
Find links to see statistics on migrating birds over Island County in real time.
WAS Member Awarded Honorable Mention in the National Audubon Society Photo Contest
Lourdes Venard has been awarded Honorable Mention in the National Audubon Society’s 2026 photography contest. Her photo of a Bald Eagle was included in the Conservation category of the United States and Canada contest. Conservation photographs illustrate conservation challenges that birds face. Lourdes’ photograph of a Bald Eagle in Coupeville illustrates the challenges to survival for scavenging birds who may come into conflict with cars when scavenging roadkill. Congratulations to Lourdes Venard for her thought-provoking award-winning image. You can see other honorable mention photographs here.
Birding in the Neighborhoods North: Summer 2026 Outings
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.