More good Spring bird news!

From our living room, we can see a Red-tailed Hawk nest across the river. The scope is usually pointing towards it. This morning I saw the first hatchling of the season! There may be more but only one fuzzy white head was showing.

Birds are returning!

Despite weather that is at times, windy, sunny, warm, cold, and snowing, all within an hour or so, birds are returning to North Central Washington.

Tuesday I had to be in Wenatchee for a day long Vet appointment and so I took my kayak and I saw a pair of Osprey at the mouth of the Wenatchee River. It was a nice reward for the trip.

At our house in the Methow on Friday, a Rufous Hummingbird arrived and yesterday it was joined by Calliope hummers. In Twisp there is an unusual hummingbird that is puzzling even to the experts. It could be an Anna's.

Ken said he saw five Turkey Vultures here on Tuesdsay and suddenly they are everywhere!

Dusky Grouse have been displaying on hillsides for a couple of weeks now.

What interesting birds are you seeing?

Spring is for new beginnings....

And so we embark on a new endeavor: the creation of a blog for the North Central Washington Audubon Society!   

As you know, our chapter encompasses a HUGE geographical area within our fine state:  Okanogan, Ferry, Douglas, and Chelan Counties, with a diverse array of habitats and plethora of associated birds.  In that sense, we are fortunate!  However, it can be a daunting task to bring together our far-flung membership, and make us all feel like part of the same family.  

Probably no single person (or may I say, force!) has united us more than our current President, Mark Oswood.   His unfathomable energy and unabashed enthusiasm has kept our chapter purring.  (Well, perhaps "singing" would be a better term, under the circumstances.)  Teri Pieper has coaxed and cajoled articles, poems, pictures, and news items of interest out of many members, sharing them via our newsletter The Wild Phlox.  Many others of you have led field trips, given lectures, and helped teach and inspire new generations of students on the wonders of birds and nature. How about those award-winning "analog" birds!  And let's not forget the dedicated souls who put out our mailings, solicit funding, and promote memberships. ALL are essential ingredients to a dynamic and thriving chapter.

In that spirit of camaraderie, we'd like to help bring our chapter communications up to the 20th century (perhaps even the 21st) by creating this blog and updating our website.   Website re-design is currently in progress; stay tuned for more info in the next edition of The Wild Phlox.  In the meantime, welcome to this evolving blog.  Please send us your feedback, ideas, bird sightings, items of interest......  Enjoy!

...and happy spring.