When Audubon Board Member Patricia Duarte-Pocock moved to Whidbey Island from Southern California, she quickly realized that if she wanted to keep her hummingbird feeders up all winter, she’d need one that was heated. So she built her own! And you can, too.

In this letter, Carlos Andersen shares his concerns regarding the recently released draft/proposed Island County Comprehensive Plan updates and encourages members to comment on the current plan.

Steve and Martha Ellis describe a day spent exploring areas of Fort Casey State Park, the Keystone Boat Launch, and Crockett’s Lake. The 13 attendees found a total of 45 bird species!

While dogs and wildlife have co-existed for many years in the off-leash area at Greenbank Farm, there has been a noticeable increase in dogs digging up, pursuing, and killing small mammals over the past year.

November and December trips to Deception Pass State Park and Keystone Harbor provided excellent winter birding. Calm conditions at Deception Pass revealed seabirds, forest birds, and shorebirds, with memorable sightings of a Great Blue Heron against the Olympic Mountains and…

Read Nancy Luenn’s full report.

Michelle Munro stepped into the role of Membership Committee chair earlier this year. We talked with her about her involvement with Audubon and her advice to other backyard birders.

Govinda Holtby reports that the October 26 launch of Grateful Birds, an illustrated book she published with her husband, Matt, was a great success! More than 65 people attended, enjoying music performed by David Licastro’s ukulele class (accompanied by Stephen Barbour) and seeing bird specimens from Whidbey Audubon’s collection.

In this article, Cathi Bower introduces us to Daniel/Danny/Dan Bernard. “Earlier this fall, he quietly arrived on our island to find his 126^th Washington bird, a Parasitic Jaeger.  Back on January first this year, Dan set out from his home in Michigan for a unique type of Big Year, and not just the kind that comes to mind. He created a project for himself which he has titled People, Places, Birds…”

In this article, Mary Hollen shares her experiences during the recent the Purple Martin nesting season–from insulating and modifying her next boxes last winter to watching the first fledglings launch on a blustery day this summer

This year’s South Whidbey Christmas Bird Count will be held on January 2, 2026, with an alternate day of January 5 if there is inclement weather. Registration deadline is December 12. Chair Govinda Holtby shares details about the 2026 count and ways you can participate in this article.

During some of those final glorious fall days, at Sunlight Beach, in spite of the bouncy surf, we did find some loons, grebes, geese and cormorants out there. We watched a crow watching an Osprey while he ate something on the shore…

Read Cathi Bower’s full report.

Cloudy skies greeted us as we gathered at Dugualla Bay on October 8, but the tide was perfect. A strip of beach brought seabirds close to shore. We successfully identified three species of gulls: California, Glaucous-winged and Ring-billed. The salt marsh featured exposed mud, channels of water and close-up views of…

Read Nancy Luenn’s full report.