In This Issue

Articles:
April President’s Notes—Proper Prior Planning…
Announcement! BirdFest volunteer opportunity
April HabiTIPS!
Conservation Matters: Trumpeter Swan Memories of Water and Lead
"When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along"

Events:
April 4: OPAS Field trip: Dungeness Landing & 3 Crabs
April 4: OPAS Backyard Birding: “Sounds of Spring” 
April 8: Groundbreaking of the New Waterfront Marine Center
April 15: OPAS Program: “Beyond the Burrow—Secret Lives of Puffins Across the North Pacific”
April 16—19: Olympic BirdFest
April 26: OPAS Field Trip: Mouth of the Elwha River Bird Walk

Kathy and I are well aware of the 7Ps adage. Actual adherence to the adage is another story altogether. We have rare flashes of compliance, but by and large we are planning‑challenged. I moved into my Boise house in 1993; Kathy joined me in 2000. That gave me a head start on landscaping, which provided ample time to make mistakes without her guidance.

I started with a standard suburban Boise yard—lawn, a border of big‑box‑store shrubs with a black‑plastic/red‑lava‑rock understory, and a six‑station sprinkler system. Two birch trees out front provided some structural diversity, but like everything else, water‑wise choices were not considered in the landscaping scheme. Working on a limited budget, I attempted to improve wildlife habitat one step at a time.

Continue reading about Matt’s goal of improving wildlife habitat
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The Dungeness Nature Alliance, the volunteer team that supports the Dungeness River Nature Center and Jamestown S'Klallam Refuge Management Program, is looking for OPAS members to help visitors spot and identify birds at the River Center during BirdFest (April 16-19)!

Volunteers can choose to station themselves outside at the raingarden or inside the wildlife viewing room, whatever is most comfortable for them. This is a great fit for people who enjoy connecting with the public and sharing their knowledge of local birds in a relaxed, drop-in setting.

If you're interested, please complete the Dungeness Nature Alliance Special Event application form, which gets us all the required paperwork in one place. Once you've completed the form, you can sign up for shifts automatically!

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Dungeness Landing & 3 Crabs Field Trip
Leader: Gary Bullock
Saturday, April 4th, 2026, 8:00 a.m.—11:00 a.m.
Limit: 25 participants—Registration required
Free to attend
(Note: Currently, the field trip is full, but a waitlist is available.)

Dungeness Bay is a spectacular estuary at the mouth of the Dungeness River. Deemed an Important Bird Area by the National Audubon Society, it is rich in birdlife throughout the year. The second location that will be visited is the 3 Crabs restoration area. Waterfowl gather by the thousands, including Brant, shorebirds, gulls, herons, puddle ducks, sea ducks, and cormorants at both locations. These areas attract hunting eagles, falcons, hawks, and a possible shrike. We will also look for early spring migrants.

It can be damp, cold and windy, even on a sunny day, so dress in layers. Wear shoes suitable for beach walking. Bring binoculars and a spotting scope if you have one. The Dungeness Landing location is accessible to everyone. However, at 3 Crabs there will be some beach walking as well as birding from the parking lot.

Click here to learn where to meet and registration information
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“Sounds of Spring” 
Presented by Dow Lambert & Ken Wiersema 
Saturday, April 4, 2026 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 
Rainshadow Hall, Dungeness River Nature Center 
Suggested donation: $5

Welcome spring on the North Olympic Peninsula with our annual Backyard Birding program, “Sounds of Spring.” Dow Lambert and Ken Wiersema will share a fresh selection of local audio and video recordings that highlight both resident and returning migrant birds as they begin their breeding season. Their curated mix of new material and favorite clips offers a lively refresher on the songs and calls heard across our yards, forests, fields, and shorelines.

Dow and Ken will also demonstrate how to use the free Merlin Sound ID app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology—an easy tool for identifying birds by ear. Join us for this popular, uplifting program and enjoy the color, energy, and music that birds bring to our region during their spring mating and nesting season.

Learn more
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Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 3:00 p.m.— 6:00 p.m
Free, but must RSVP

We invite you to join us for the ceremonial groundbreaking of the marine center being built in partnership by Feiro Marine Life Center and NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries!

Following the ceremony we will head next door to Field Hall for a community celebration with food and fun for the whole family.

• 3:00 p.m - Ceremonial groundbreaking featuring the site blessing by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

• Speakers- Mike Chapman, Washington State Senator 24th Legislative District and John Armor, Director-NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

• 4-6:00 p.m. - Visit the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society’s exhibit to learn what you can do about bird strikes and the Lights Out Washington effort.

• “Step aboard” current research from the Vessel Operations Coordinator of the R/V Storm Petrel 

• Try hands-on community science activities 

• Fun for all ages. Everyone welcome!

Learn more about the ceremony and community celebration with a link to RSVP
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“Beyond the Burrow—Secret Lives of Puffins Across the North Pacific”
Presenter: Katie Stoner, PhD Candidate, Oregon State University
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
Virtual program will be presented in Rainshadow Hall, Dungeness River Nature Center
Free to attend

Imagine yourself crawling through tall grass, covered in mud, reaching into long dark tunnels and hoping to find the soft feathers of a puffin before meeting the snap of its powerful bill. Those same birds, with their bright beaks, golden tufts, and striking “horns,” draw people from around the world to see the beloved “clowns of the sea.” But behind the charm are fierce marine predators, navigating rapid environmental change, with an uncertain future.

Travel with Katie to the Kodiak Archipelago of Alaska and join her team as they track puffins across vast winter migrations and work to uncover threats shaping their conservation. Gain insights as Katie shares findings from her PhD research, virtually via Zoom, from Oregon State University (OSU). It all began in 2021 at OSU in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—research focused primarily on evaluating population trends, winter migrations, and conservation threats for Kodiak Island Tufted and Horned Puffins.

Learn more
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Mouth of the Elwha River Bird Walk
Leader: Kathy McCoy
Date and time: Sunday, April 26, 9:30 a.m.—1:00 p.m. +
Number of participants: 12—Registration required.
Free to attend

The mouth of the Elwha River is an especially intriguing place right now, as the delta continues to reshape itself in the years since the dam removals. We’ll explore this dynamic landscape on an incoming tide, watch how restoration is transforming the area, and take on the always‑interesting challenge of gull identification together. The access trail passes a pond and shrubby riparian habitat rich with water birds and songbirds—swallows, kinglets, chickadees, a few warblers, and more. I’ll also be hoping for a Hermit Thrush or two. A link to the April eBird bar chart is included in the full trip description.

The trail is flat and firm for the first half‑mile, then shifts to soft sand that can make walking slower. A porta‑potty is available at the first Y in the trail.

Click here for the full description and registration information
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A GPS-tracked swan flying north in November turned the concept of autumnal migration on its head for me. Swans had feasted on flooded agricultural crops along eastern Vancouver Island, while conditions in the lower Dungeness were parched. This collared swan and its mate had overwintered here last year and were familiar with the landscape. They arrived early in November but then, only a few hours later, turned north and flew the forty miles back toward the known resource on the Saanich Peninsula. Clearly there was little conservation of energy at play with these two Trumpeters.

We experienced our third winter in a row of warmer than average temperatures through much of this 2025–26 season, and it started very dry. At least as meaningful to our local counts of overwintering swans are the temperatures further north and east. Lower overwintering counts in our area may mean that swans found access to ice-free water and forage north and inland in British Columbia into the winter, then followed gradients of cold nights as necessary toward the south.

Continue reading the latest update about wintering swans
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If I told you I saw a bird about 10 inches long, dark grayish‑brown on top with a red‑orange breast and a white eye ring, you would likely suspect I’d seen an American Robin. Their characteristic way of hunting for worms and other invertebrates—quick starts and stops across the lawn—is another clue. They tilt their heads, patiently watching and listening for prey, and then—bingo!—they pull up a juicy worm and slurp it down. Robins are often the first bird a child learns, and I’m sure most of us have memories of watching their antics on the lawn. They can spark a lifelong interest in birding.

They were casually named for the European Robin because of the red‑orange breast, but the two birds are very different. The European Robin is smaller, solitary, and highly territorial, a member of the Old World flycatcher family.

Continue reading about the American Robin
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Experience The Story of Protection Island—Where Birds Find Their Sanctuary through this March 18, 2026 recorded program with Amos Almy. His virtual tour brings to life the island’s deep cultural roots, its dramatic ecological history, and its importance to the birds of our region. It was an engaging, informative evening—well worth a watch.

Click here to watch the video

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