The traditional February trip to the bottomlands of the Skagit and Samish rivers did not come off as planned this year. Trip leader Jay Adams and I had looked forward to at least one—and possibly two—visits with Whidbey birders, but we were thwarted by persistent rains and high winds. 

However, we did have good luck on a reconnaissance trip on January 29….

Early in the month, on the Deer Lagoon West dike, we identified over 40 species, and then later for the first day of spring, we mixed it up over at Sunlight Beach and the East Dike, with at least 35 species, including four Northern Harriers swooping together over the fields.  Four!  Two of each, male and female….

Hoypus Point is truly one of the gems on Whidbey. Located on the east side of Deception Pass Bridge, it is home to one of the last old-growth forests on the island. On the day of our field trip, it was overcast with a moderate wind advisory. But Hoypus Point seemed to shelter us from the wind….

Are you curious about how Whidbey Audubon operates? Are you interested in learning more about the people behind the scenes? Do you have an idea you’d like to share?

The Washington State Legislative session started this year on January 13 and is scheduled to end April 27, 2025. There are some exciting updates from Audubon Washington to share and we need your help to ensure that key environmental priorities continue to move forward in the 2025 legislative session.

Do you have a teenager who is a graduating from high school this spring and wants to study conservation, environmental science, ornithology and such? If you do or if you know someone, have them apply for the Whidbey Audubon Society Renee Smith Scholarship for Environmental Studies.

Jackie Lasater serves on the Whidbey Audubon Board of Directors as the Conservation and Science Board Member and as the Conservation Committee Chair. She has been a member of South Whidbey Audubon for two years and joined the Conservation Committee last August. We talked with Jackie about her work with Audubon and her passion for activism and advocacy.

On February 12, five hardy birders donned appropriate clothing and braved the cold to walk the Windjammer Park shoreline to Flintstone Park. We were rewarded with a gorgeous blue sky and more than 1,000 American Wigeons (by Denise’s count) grazing on the lawn and swimming in the lagoon and in the harbor. It was the most thrilling sight and sound (!) when the Wigeons took flight all around us. ….

On February 8, about a dozen people met at the south end of West Beach parking lot of Deception Pass then walked the Dune Trail. They spotted birds including Surf Scoters, Red-breasted Mergansers, Horned Grebes, and a Common Loon downing a flatfish during the two-hour walk. This was one of a series of bimonthly trips coordinated by the park’s AmeriCorps staff and led by Whidbey Audubon Volunteers.

Dave Parent is a semi-retired veterinarian who is well known on Whidbey for his three decades of treating wildlife at the Useless Bay Animal Clinic. While Dave has been leading field trips for Whidbey Audubon for many years, he only recently joined the board. We talked with Dave about his interest in animals and his work with Audubon.

At the end of January, we bundled up and rolled ourselves out into the sun on the dikes at Deer Lagoon, where we identified at least 39 species–a little of everything, including those beautiful and entertaining Hooded Mergansers at the edge in the slough foraging for tiny fishies, then gobbling them down with their adorable little serrated bills!  A Killdeer and some Greater Yellowlegs were taking advantage of what little shore there was, along with the Crows and Mallards. Of course, the eagles and harriers were scaring up the ducks and Dunlin. While we were looking for the Snipe that Carlos had spied, a Lincoln’s Sparrow was a nice surprise….

On January 25, more than 100 people participated in the annual Loon Field Trip to West Beach and Cranberry Lake led by Sarah and Steve Ellis. They spotted all three loon species, along with Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, Horned Grebe, Pigeon Guillemot and many other birds.