At least two species of owls in Clallam County are renowned for their “irruptions.” By irruption, I mean a periodic large increase of a species’ numbers, followed by periods with much lower …

Pelagic Cormorants are the smallest of the three cormorant species nesting in Washington. Renowned as cliff-nesters, Pelagic Cormorants place their nests on narrow ledges of rocky cliff-faces, even inside sea caves. Their natural …

It’s robin season, time when American Robins belt out their dawn chorus outside our bedroom windows. Wow – they sure are loud! Robins are “Big-eyed Birds,” able to perceive low light levels and start singing …

One hundred years ago, there was no such thing as “citizen science.” Despite that, from 1929 to 1936 a brilliant woman named Margaret Morse Nice carried out one of the most detailed and insightful studies into the breeding biology …

October and November are times of change in Dungeness. If you watch birds, you can’t help but notice the goose flocks cackling overhead and the Golden-crowned Sparrows returning once again to your bird feeders. Change also comes …

The other day, Rebecca Atherton asked me a question that made me think twice. Her question:  is the House Finch native to Washington state? It turns out that House Finches are considered native to WA, probably arriving …

Bushtits are spritely little birds, usually seen flying in loose, bouncy flocks from bush to bush. They are the antithesis of long-distance migratory birds, staying in the same general area year-round and typically flying only far enough …

This month we give tribute to the amazing Northern Flicker, likely the most abundant woodpecker species in Clallam County. Without exception, on every Sequim-Dungeness Christmas Bird Count (SDCBC) since the …

We all know crows, right?  We see crows every day in the lowlands of the north Olympic Peninsula, walking on beaches, flying about towns, and cawing on the rooftops.  Their reputations range from noisy pests to cunning thieves to smart …

Attention OPAS members!  Do you know about BirdCast?  Researchers from many different institutions, particularly Cornell University, Colorado State University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst, have developed a phenomenal tool …

While birding recently at Three Crabs, it surprised me to see only one Great Blue Heron foraging on the giant mudflats. Where are the herons? There were thousands of Dunlins and hundreds of gulls, but only one heron. Are the herons …

The genus of sparrows known as Zonotrichia is well-represented on the north Olympic Peninsula. The “Zonos,” as they are affectionately called, are the “crowned” sparrows, including five species: White-crowned Sparrow …

On the official Clallam County bird list, the group of birds with the highest number of species is the shorebirds, also known as “waders” in Britain. Shorebirds include plovers, sandpipers, and their myriad relatives, such as oystercatchers …

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) is a classic “forage fish.” What’s a forage fish? Throughout the world, forage fish are super-abundant schooling fish that hold a critical place in the middle of marine food webs. They concentrate lots of …

The “Big Three” shorebird species found in Dungeness Bay during winter are Black-bellied Plovers, Sanderlings, and Dunlins. Without fail, these three species comprise the highest shorebird numbers during our Sequim-Dungeness …

This month we give tribute to the humble American Wigeon, typically the most abundant species on the Sequim-Dungeness Christmas Bird Count (SDCBC, coming up on Dec. 20, 2021). For 37 of the 45 SDCBCs since the count …

One of the most overlooked bird migrations in the Pacific Northwest is happening right now, right on our doorstep. Hundreds of thousands of birds participate in this migration, but most people don't even notice. The birds aren't songbirds …

One of the biggest changes to the avifauna of the Pacific Northwest during the last 50 years is the phenomenal increase of Anna's Hummingbirds. In a tiny eye-blink of time, these pugnacious little birds have skyrocketed from …

Late winter is a critical time during the annual cycles of many birds. After surviving difficult conditions through a long winter, at some point birds must transition over to their need to prepare for the next nesting season. As winter turns to …

Do you know which species consistently ranks as the most abundant "diving duck" on the Sequim-Dungeness Christmas Bird Count (SDCBC)? Is it Surf Scoter? Common Goldeneye? Red-breasted Merganser? Nope. The most abundant …