The Christmas Bird Count has had a longer run and more name familiarity, but let’s not overlook the Great Backyard Bird Count, which last year collected 52,266 checklists with a record-breaking 612 species and more than 6.5 million birds counted.
Birdwatchers even sent in more than 1,000 photos. The most checklists (413) came from Gautier, Miss.; most species (169) from Corpus Christi, Tex.; and most birds (291,246) from Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Mo.
The 10th annual count will be Feb. 17-20, sponsored by the National Audubon Society, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and Wild Birds Unlimited. Volunteers count them from parks, balconies, shorelines, kayaks, tree houses – and in the comfort of their own homes.
The count is a major source of information about bird populations, with information leading to conclusions about migratory patterns, shifts in territory, population numbers and factors that might affect populations.
Tally for as little as 15 minutes or as long as you like. Register for free at www.birdsource.org/gbbc.
A gathering of pinnipeds: The word derives from Latin for feather foot or fin foot, a reference to large flippers – seals, sea lions and walruses, for instance.
To see a gathering of pinnipeds, head to the Columbia River, where at least 50 sea lions have been spotted at Astoria, Ore., some of them hauling out on navigational buoys.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg. Several hundred have been congregating around the river entrance.
“It’s that time of year again,” said Steve Jeffries, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife research scientist who specializes in marine mammals.
“They start arriving in large numbers to feed on smelt and spring chinook, then move on to later runs.” By May, Jeffries said he expects to see around 400 California sea lions and nearly 1,000 Steller sea lions in the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam.
It’s a first! Birdwatchers of all levels can enjoy the debut of the Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival Feb. 25-26 in the Stanwood and Camano Island areas.
The festival will have events for beginner and experienced birders, art shows, guided and self-guided tours and speakers, including bird-book author Bob Morse and trumpeter swan expert Martha Jordan.
Children can build a bird feeder, take a treasure hunt or enter a coloring contest. There will also be vendors.
For more information, go to www.snowgoosefest.org. The site includes an event list plus good bird-watching locations.
More festivities: The fifth annual Grand Coulee Balde Eagle Festival runs Feb. 17-19, celebrating the 300-plus bald eagles that winter in the area, including a major roosting site along the south wall of Northrup Canyon,a part of Steamboat Rock State Park.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife and Department of Parks and Recreation have developed an eagle viewing site there, including a foot trail and two small parking lots along the road to NorthrupCanyon off Highway 155, about seven miles south of Grand Coulee.
Events include interpretive bus tours of eagle roosting sites, a raptor show, art and poetry shows, a Colville Tribes cultural presentation and weekend displays on Ice Age floods and the Coulee corridor.
Visitors should bring binoculars and be prepared for winter weather.For festival registration and more information, see www.eaglefestival.com/index.html.
Wings: The Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls, Ore., will be held Feb. 16-19. The Klamath Basin is home to more than 350 species of birds and famous for its waterfowl that flock to the lakes and rivers near the national wildlife refuges.
The four-day event includes art, food, music, vendors, workshops, birdwatching tours, displays and speakers. There are also tours to Crater Lake National Park for snowshoeing and the Lava Beds National Monument for caving and rock art.
For information, got to www.winterwingsfest.org.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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