A new regional version of the global eBird network connects citizen scientists with opportunities to work with researchers on projects.
The Website ebird.org/nw offers birdwatchers a place to submit bird observations, read bird-related stories, and access information for locating and identifying Pacific Northwest birds.
Entries help biologists for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife better understand bird species locations, population densities, seasonal movement patterns and conservation needs.
Several agencies and organizations joined the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to develop the site. Projects include a sagebrush songbird survey and a Puget Sound bird survey.
This is an excellent website not only for helping with research projects, but also for staying in touch with bird-related issues. Check out the bird sightings by county. (It’s on the right-hand column of ebird.org/nw.) The lists include frequency by month. Click on “map” and you’ll see where the birds have been spotted.
For information on a geographically broader scale, check out ebird.org.
Olympic Hot Springs: The Olympic Hot Springs Road has reopened following a three-year closure. Contractors removed the Glines Canyon Dam so the Boulder Creek trailhead is now accessible. The trail provides hikers and stock-users access to the Olympic Hot Springs Trail in 2½-miles.
Access to the Glines Canyon overlook and the trail to the former Lake Mills is only available from the Whiskey Bend Road until additional work can make the viewpoint safe. The overlook should open in late spring 2015.
The Olympic Hot Springs Trail also is open but be prepared for ice, snow and slippery conditions. The Crystal Creek Bridge is closed due to rock slide damage.
Open fires are prohibited in the Olympic Hot Springs area, which includes Boulder Creek Campground. For more information, call 360-565-3100.
Out and about: The most dedicated birders aren’t deterred by rain or chilly temperatures. They throw on layers and head out, binoculars in hand. Recently they’ve seen a snowy owl on the breakwater north of the Edmonds marina entrance, and one (perhaps the same) on a chimney in the Edmonds Bowl.
Birders keep moving. There have been reports of several eagles hunting off Eide Road, a mile west of Stanwood, as were six short-eared owls and a dozen northern harriers doing the same; a golden eagle at St. Edwards Park in Juanita; and a flock of pine grosbeaks near the Padilla Bay Interpretative Center.
Surprise: Long before astronauts land on Mars, dozens, if not hundreds of new species of life will have been discovered – in Earth’s oceans.
Recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-led explorations into deep undersea canyons off the East Coast have uncovered more than 40 different species of corals and potentially brand new species of sea stars, sea slugs and corals.
This information will help policymakers make more informed decisions about ocean-related issues.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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