Beginning in 2017, the North Central Washington Audubon Society (NCWAS) began promoting ecological and social improvements in the Horan Natural Area. We studied the area’s history, explored earlier studies, and established connections with key Chelan County PUD (land owners) and Washington State Park personnel (area managers). We walked through the Horan frequently and engaged others along the way. We learned about the diverse views people have about what the Horan area is and how they relate to it.

The Horan is unique within the Wenatchee Valley. One hundred acres located alongside the two largest rivers in the area, the Wenatchee and Columbia and linked to many developed parks by the Apple Capital Loop Trail. It’s the only pseudo-wild area in the valley.

The place is amazingly diverse and people visiting the area consider it valuable and enjoyable. Quiet moments are possible even though you are flanked by a city’s hustle. A variety of birds sing and pose for viewing and photographs. Deer wander throughout the area. Runners pass by quickly, usually with a nod or quick wave of acknowledgment. Spiders and beetles forage on the viewpoints’ wooden rails. Native cottonwood, dogbane, and milkweed respond to each season, providing habitat for perching, foraging, and nesting.

NCWAS attended numerous public meetings to provide input about the possible improvements listed in a “vision paper”- return water to the ponds, develop a plan to reduce invasive plant species and promote native species, promote understanding of the Horan through bilingual education materials, and highlight/honor the significant history of Native Americans throughout time. We returned to these themes repeatedly.

One might ask, “how successful have we been?”  Is a meaningful amount of water flowing into the ponds? Have invasive plant populations been reduced? Are native plants expanding and doing well? Do we see see evidence of efforts to inform and educate visitors about indigenous history?  Are under-served communities enthusiastically welcomed to the area?

The answer to all these questions is, unfortunately, “no.”  

That’s truthful – but rather depressing.

And yet, good things happen. The City of Wenatchee recently re-introduced stormwater runoff to the Horan. This came after a decade of environmental review, permitting, and design of water quality treatments prior to water physically entering the Horan. During a period of extended rainfall, the stormwater system directed a substantial amount of water to the Horan in December 2025. Over a period of weeks, the ponds responded. Standing water expanded slowly in the ponds closest to the inflow.

Flows in the Wenatchee and Columbia Rivers also increased because of the heavy December precipitation. Groundwater associated with the higher river levels helped support the surface water inflow to the ponds. Jointly, the high river levels and stormwater inflow resulted in the first visible, ponded water in years. Vegetation responded and, today, the ponds are covered with cattails and other wetland plants.

As a reward for the ponds standing water, Red-winged Blackbirds appeared and began to nest. These birds offer proof that having water and riparian vegetation result in a cascade of ecological benefits. To add to this success, two Virginia Rails were recently heard (July 2026) in the pond-side cattails along the trail. It is unlikely that they would have been in the area without their preferred wetland, riparian habitat.

Another high point in 2026 was the return of adult Bald eagles to the nest in the Black cottonwood gallery in the northern part of the Horan. Their use of the nest was cause for celebration after a couple of years when the nest went unused. Observers noted that the birds were incubating and, eventually, feeding young. But wait, there’s more. Two eagle chicks were rescued from a nest on a high-tension power tower and transplanted in the Horan nest – while the adult eagles were caring for their chick. Remarkably, the adults seemed to accept the new eaglets without any interruption to their normal behavior. The Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine produced a very nice YouTube documentary of the rescue and transplant operation (click here). The Horan native cottonwoods provided the base for this remarkable event, proving their value for a wide variety of bird species – from kinglets to eagles.

Audubon’s efforts to improve ecological conditions in the Horan have publicly elevated the importance of the Horan at a time when the local population is growing and recreational use of publicly available lands is increasing. The 100-acre Horan area will become increasingly important as use increases. It is unfortunate that the Chelan PUD has stepped away from actively finding a sustainable supply of water to fill and support the ponds that they dug in 1990. It is equally unfortunate that the Washington State Parks managers seem to be leaning heavily toward turning the Natural Area into another developed recreation site, aggressively mowing roadside and riparian vegetation, much of it native and culturally significant. Audubon members continue to walk through the Horan, talk to others as we go, and encourage respectful management to allow natural processes to function as they will. We continue to look for ecological improvements and educational opportunities in the area and hope that the PUD and State Park managers will recognize the area’s potential and treat it accordingly. For them to publicly wear a white hat as the result of purposeful, light-handed management seems a reasonable outcome and future goal.

This photo is a simple view of a few Mallards on a pond. The scene is fairly common in our area whenever there is standing water. Give a Mallard a puddle and it is likely to make use of it.

But this photo represents much more than a simple view. These Mallards are part of about 25 that I saw on this pond during the hour I was there filming them. Again, this is not an uncommon situation. What makes this photo important and, hopefully, interesting, is that there is water in a pond in the Horan Natural Area. Yes, enough water has dropped onto or flowed into the Horan that Mallards are exploring areas that they have not accessed for a very long time.

The water has been evident for a week now thanks to unseasonably warm rains. I really do not think that the rainfall itself was sufficient to provide this much water to the Horan ponds. I’m a bit surprised, but I think a large part of the water seen here came from the City of Wenatchee stormwater drainage system. The system treats the water before it enters the Horan pond system and the inflow receives additional benefits from natural filtration in the wetlands that have been drying out for a considerable time.

So, it’s very rewarding for me to see this event – a couple of ducks on a pond. Common, but not so much in this area for years. All brought to you by the City of Wenatchee and the rains we’ve collected. While people in Cashmere and Leavenworth are recovering from floods, the waterfowl in the Horan are celebrating revitalized habitat. Ying and yang – that’s how water is many times. How long the pond water will remain is an open question. Time will tell.

NCW Audubon has been working for years to improve habitat conditions in the Horan Natural Area. Many of the potential benefits we see come from reestablishing a source of water to the ponds and their associated riparian/wetland habitats. The pond system has been largely drying in recent years after termination of both stormwater entry from the City of Wenatchee and irrigation water from the Pioneer Irrigation Users system. Options to restore irrigation water supply to the area have been deemed infeasible by the Chelan PUD so the prospect of sufficient water to fill the ponds, or even a portion of them, is viewed as a long shot. NCW Audubon thinks this is highly regrettable.

The City of Wenatchee complied with a PUD request to cease direction of stormwater to the Horan Area based on a fear of accumulation of a variety of pollutants coming from parking lots and roads in Wenatchee. For over a decade, the stormwater was directed to a location near the Wenatchee River where it would be filtered by soil and rocks in the area. The City of Wenatchee applied to the Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) for funds to support design and installation of state-of-the-art filtration of the North Wenatchee Avenue stormwater system. At one point, the City’s application was the Number One request in the list of DOE list of candidates. The project was funded, and the City celebrated as they pulled the diversion barrier from the stormwater system so water could once again flow to the Horan.

Now, not to be overly optimistic, it only realistic to remember that the water is sporadic and will usually be small in amount. Yet, any water entering the Horan Natural Area will be put to beneficial use by the riparian and wetland plants that it reaches. My personal hope is that enough water is made available to support the key wetland that lies at the north end of the Horan area along the west edge of the area. This area is key to Wood Duck nesting and use. If the incremental water revitalizes or supports the wetland character of the area, we all win.

I recorded about 1.5 inches of rain at my house in Wenatchee over the last three days. I knew that the chances of seeing live water entering the Horan from the City storm drain system were pretty good. My short trip out the culvert crossing under the Loop Trail on Hawley Street was rewarding. I could hear flowing water before I saw it emerging from the box culvert as it entered the culvert to Horan. I visited the detention pond below the culvert outflow to learn that water was gracefully flowing out the east edge and into the Horan. It is unclear exactly where the water is going but it will likely be intercepted by the existing channel that runs north-south along the railroad alignment. Once in that channel, it may make its way north to the critical wetland. I’m hopeful.

My hat goes off to the City of Wenatchee for their persistence in finding a way to make this happen. Specifically, Jessica Shaw deserves a big shout-out for her success.

NCW Audubon has not totally given up on getting irrigation water back to the Horan. Our input about contemporary possibilities to do this are in the hands of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). We will all know the final outcome once the new Rock Island Dam license is issued.

You can watch water flow to the Horan in this VERY short video. It may be a small amount of water but it represents a significant success for the City of Wenatchee and Horan Natural Area. It’s fine to celebrate even a modest success.

Occasionally, NCWAS evaluates an opportunity to assist conservation work. The need may be local, within Washington State, or, as described below, international. When these opportunities arise, the NCWAS board evaluates the need and its potential outcomes relative to our mission.

When NCWS contributes funds to a worthy conservation cause we look forward to hearing how the money was used to advance a project or support a community conservation need. The story below begins with a “thank you” note that NCWAS received in January 2025. This simple note thrilled everyone on the NCWAS board. The author, Ailen Anido Escalona, provided photos along with her note. We have chosen to not show the photos to protect the identity of the youth who are shown. Trust me, the photos are great and show how our assitance to Ailen was channeled into youth education about the value of birds and their habitats.

Our thanks to Susan Sampson for writing up the following account of how NCWAS helped this project. We also appreciate that Ailen gave us permission to share her note and the story here and in the February 2025 Wild Phlox newsletter.

Sue Sampson’s article

The following article was submitted by Richard Scranton, NCWAS Community Science

Since 2021, the NCW Audubon chapter has monitored American Kestrel nest boxes up on and around the Waterville Plateau. We call it The Richard Hendrick Conservation Project, named after the person who was instrumental in managing it.

In the 1980s, staff at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in Northcentral Washington placed kestrel nesting boxes on the Waterville Plateau near Mansfield, Bridgeport, and Brewster to bolster kestrel production. In 1993 Richard joined the WDFW effort as a volunteer. Over time he took on more responsibility for the project by constructing new boxes, cleaning out and maintaining old boxes, monitoring production, and banding young prior to fledging.

Eventually the project became his and remained that way until his passing in December 2020.  Over time his network included more than 250 boxes and over time he banded more than 7,000 birds.

Our Audubon chapter decided to revive this route and we spent the first year (2021) taking steps to make this a successful venture.  The effort included establishing a management team, finding volunteers, mapping box locations, and building boxes to replace those in ill repair or destroyed. 

This spring we are now monitoring over 200 boxes with 35+ volunteers. Late March is the time to ready the boxes for the new crop of Kestrels looking for a place to raise a family.

Four of our boxes contain cameras so that we can watch as the kestrels go from choosing a nest box to laying eggs and rearing young. Two of the boxes have attracted Kestrels with one of them containing 4 Kestrel eggs. The female usually lays 4-6 eggs every other day before incubating them, resulting in all the chicks hatching within 24 hours of each other.

This spring and summer I plan, along with some of the other volunteers, to periodically write about our experiences and update what we are seeing in the camera boxes during the kestrel’s breeding season.  We’ll write about mapping, data, biology, breeding cycle, odd sightings, etc. 

The North Central Washington Audubon Society’s Hummingbird Survey was created to gather data to show the presence and timing of hummingbirds in North Central Washington. The organizers had questions about year-round presence and where the birds were located. They also observed that published Anna’s Hummingbird range maps didn’t match what was known to be true – the birds are here year-round, and they are successfully breeding here. 

The survey leaders looked into how to use existing knowledge and photo/video proof to facilitate the needed updates to published range maps and species descriptions. When they asked various authorities how to do this, they consistently heard “get your data into eBird”. This is where the NCWAS Hummingbird Survey came in. 

Quick summary:  IT WORKED!

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology recently released new range maps on their “eBird Status and Trends” website. The Anna’s Hummingbird is among the many bird species included in this work. The maps show two very important things: (1) Anna’s are present in North Central Washington year-round, and (2) they are successfully breeding here. These maps result from an analysis of eBird data.  

The data submitted to eBird as part of the NCWAS survey contributed to the successful revision of the Anna’s Hummingbird range map to show what we know to be true. The new maps are a great step forward in our understanding of Anna’s across their entire range and locally.

Have you ever wondered about the “where” and “when” of Anna’s in Washington State. A summary paper showing maps and charts of state-wide Anna’s over time is now available (click here to view and download).  The paper consolidates the eBird data along with data collected through the Christmas Bird Count and Cornell’s NestWatch program. Over 250 email entries to the Tweeters listserv were inspected for mentions of Anna’s over time.  Data in the Breeding Bird Survey and published literature are also included in the report.

The report is a PDF file that can be opened and viewed in Adobe Acrobat or other PDF viewers.  Viewing the PDF allows you to zoom in and out for close inspection of details. Using the PDF format also allows the use color to enhance the content.  The PDF file is sized at 8.5 x 11 inches to allow printing if you want a hard copy.

Please let us know if you have new information to share about Anna’s Hummingbirds in Washington State or if you have any questions about the report.

Happy Birding!

From Bruce McCammon and the entire North Central Washington Audubon Society board –

The North Central Washington Audubon Society board members agree that preparing and distributing each issue of the Wild Phlox newsletter is one of the most valuable things we do. Our sincere thanks go to all who contribute content, our current and past editors, and the volunteers who gather to fold, tape, label, and mail each issue.

Receiving a random “Thank You” note that references a Phlox article is always a treat. When such a note explains how birds have touched lives, we celebrate. Such a note recently arrived and, with the author’s permission, is reproduced below. The photos that were attached to the email note are also used with permission.

The author, Mary Watson (Manson, WA) describes how her ten-year-old granddaughter, Tiegen, delighted in watching an Anna’s hummingbird nest and raise its young. We hope that the drawing Tiegen produced will add to her lifelong appreciation of birds and nature.

Surely, this nest was a gift to the Watson family. Mary’s note, photos, and Tiegen’s drawing are a gift to us all.

Trip leader Eric Heisey provided the trip account below. Thanks Eric.

Since my return to Washington, I have found myself inundated with busywork and without a car, itching to get out and do some birding. So, what a great relief it was to lead a field trip on Thursday for North Central Audubon Society at Cassimer Bar! I had a few late cancellations which whittled our group down to a nice size of six in total, and we had a great time!

The first thing that we were struck by when we arrived at Cassimer was the sheer number of swallows clouding the sky over the south part of the bar. Most of these were of the Violet-green variety, though we managed to find at least one of each regularly occurring species and one Vaux’s Swift swirling around in the swarm. In total, I estimated that the flock consisted of almost 1500 individuals, with roughly 1300 being Violet-green Swallows. Funnily, swallows are often quite pish-able, and we were able to call in the swallows until they were flying close over our head. An amazing spectacle, and perhaps my highlight of the day!

Birding around the parking lot, we encountered our first migrants, noticing Purple Finch, Spotted Towhee, Lark Sparrows, Yellow-breasted Chat, Lazuli Bunting, Wilson’s Warbler, and a calling White-breasted Nuthatch (unusual for the location, dispersing in response to poor conifer cone crops in the mountains). We started south towards the southernmost tip of the bar, still being barraged by swallows while Soras called from the marshes. The Russian Olives on the south side of the bar are often where I have the best luck with songbirds, and today was no different. We managed to find a Say’s Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird, Chipping Sparrow, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, two Steller’s Jays (unusual at Cassimer), Hammond’s Flycatcher, Pine Siskin, MacGillivray’s, Orange-crowned, Yellow and Yellow-rumped warblers, and Black-headed Grosbeak. We also managed to track down the Mountain x Black-capped Chickadee hybrid which I have now seen three times at Cassimer; all of us  had excellent looks at this unique individual. Raptors seemed to be moving overhead in small numbers, and we observed a Merlin, Cooper’s Hawk, and Northern Harrier through the morning along with the typical residents.

We popped out of the trees along the Columbia River where there were many birds on the water with excellent calm conditions for scoping. We missed very few of the regularly occurring species, with four Blue-winged Teal, two Greater Scaup, a Western Grebe, 19 Red-necked Grebes, and 19 Common Loons (many still in breeding colors) presenting the most noteworthy waterfowl. The rarest bird of the morning was a Great Egret at the tip, mingling with the Pelicans. While this species is tending to expand northwards, they are still somewhat unusual in Okanogan county. Also at the tip were a flyover Yellow-headed Blackbird and Red-necked Phalarope.

We looped back to the car, getting better looks at some of the birds listed above, and enjoying the lovely weather. It was a very comfortable temperature (mid 70s) with sun – perfect! As we walked back to the car, I tallied up the list for the morning. We had seen a very good diversity of birds for the morning, but still I was shocked to find that the total for the morning was 99 species by the time we made it back to the car! This was the most I have seen in a morning at Cassimer, but it wouldn’t be good enough until we reached 100! We searched frantically for a little while, and were eventually able to turn up a Vesper Sparrow along the access road to hit the century mark. What a morning! Below is a link to the eBird list.

Afterwards, half of the group split off while the other half of us went to the Douglas county side of the river to scan a huge flock of over 2000 birds. One of the first birds I put my scope on was an adult male White-winged Scoter – sweet! It was very evasive, but I believe all three of us got looks at it eventually. Also in the flock were a few Redheads, which we missed at Cassimer Bar. Calling from around where we were scoping was another White-breasted Nuthatch, a Canyon Wren, Mountain Chickadee, Hairy Woodpecker, and a Townsend’s Warbler, most of them new for the day.

https://ebird.org/checklist/S148661705

We ended the trip with 108 species for the day – not too shabby for ending before 3pm in August! It was a great time, and I hope that all of the participants were inspired to bird Cassimer Bar some more.

On my way home to Yakima, I stopped at Getty’s Cove in Kittitas county and managed to pish in a Northern Waterthrush, a very nice bird for the county. Also present were a good diversity of flycatchers, including Gray, Dusky, Hammond’s and Western Flycatcher, Say’s Phoebe, and Western Wood-Pewee. It was a good day for migrants, and clearly it is a good time to be looking for vagrants! Get out there and see what you can find.

Good birding,

Eric Heisey

The following report and photos are provided by Eric Heisey (trip leader)

On Saturday November 26th, I had the pleasure of leading a group of 12 NCWAS birders on a field trip to Cassimer Bar Wildlife Area and a couple of other surrounding hotspots. The weather was chilly for much of the day, with a brisk wind and 4-6 inches of snow lingering from an early-season storm a couple of weeks prior. I think the early season snow really impacted our ability to find songbirds, as we really struggled to find even a couple of sparrows throughout the day. All the same, we managed to find a number of exciting birds, and had fun exploring this excellent area along the Columbia River.

We met in Pateros at 7:30 am, and after fueling up at the bakery, we consolidated ourselves into a few cars and headed toward Cassimer Bar. We parked at the southern access area off of the Cassimer Bar Access Rd (note: the western end of this road still has a number of trees down across the road from the storm earlier in November). We walked south across a snowy field and into the russian olives around the south tip, where we began to encounter some birds. The wind was biting and the snow crunched loudly below our feet, making songbirds difficult to observe. All the same, we managed to locate some Spotted Towhees, Cedar Waxwings, Northern Flickers, and American Robins feeding on this invasive species of tree. Not much more presented itself to us until we made it out to the river. Unfortunately, a low fog hung over the water, making it impossible to look out far on the river. However, we were able to make out a number of species closer to shore, and we all got solid looks at Gadwall, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Horned Grebe, Herring Gull, and of course, American Coot.

Activity remained rather slow until we made it to the base of the causeway. Here the sun came out, and the birds seemed to respond to the warmth. A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds flew overhead and chickadees called in a large stand of silver poplars. We were able to call in the chickadee flock, and were pleased to notice that one of the chickadees was different, a hybrid Mountain x Black-capped Chickadee! We observed this bird at close range, and were able to see the thin white eyebrow, grayer mantle, and white-edged wing feathers well while obtaining some photos. Two Ruby-crowned Kinglets foraged low to the ground with the chickadees, allowing good looks. As we continued to watch this small flock, I noticed a blackbird fly up into a snag behind the flock. Noticing that this was indeed a strange blackbird, I alerted the group to a possible Rusty Blackbird. We all got good looks at the bird, but I wanted to make sure to get good documentation before making a firm call that this was indeed such a rare bird. The lighting was very strong, which made my colorblind self a bit uncertain of whether or not the strong rusty color I was seeing was indeed rusty enough for a Rusty Blackbird and not just an artifact of the lighting. Luckily, I was able to obtain and review many photos of this rather cooperative bird while it fed side-by-side with a female Brewer’s Blackbird, allowing me to confirm its identity as a Rusty Blackbird and making for an excellent comparison. We all got good looks through the scope and our bins over the course of 10-15 minutes. Certainly, this was the excitement of the trip!

We continued down the causeway and found a large flock of diving ducks and coots. They were rather skittish as many ducks are during hunting season, but all the same, we were able to pick out a few more interesting diving waterfowl, Canvasback, Redhead, Common Loon, and Western Grebe, while obtaining better looks at some of the species we had observed earlier. A Northern Harrier flew by closely while Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks flew about as we watched the ducks. We finished circling back to the cars by way of the western section of the access road, still struggling to find any songbirds as we walked. We made it back to the cars and after a quick snack, decided to go look for swans and Saw-whet Owls next. On the way out, a Townsend’s Solitaire flew in front of my car, uncommon along this stretch of the Columbia in winter.

At the junction of Highway 17 and 97, we stopped to look for swans. Both Trumpeter and Tundra Swans were present (around 40 in total, most being Trumpeter), and though they were a bit distant, we all got good looks at the key field marks of both species. We continued to Bridgeport State Park after this brief stop, where we tried and failed to find the Saw-whet Owls who roost there in the winter. There was very little scat in general, making me wonder if they simply aren’t roosting regularly yet. We did hear a Great Horned Owl loudly hooting above our heads, and spotted a Golden Eagle soaring out far to the north of us. On the way towards our last stop, Bridgeport Bar Wildlife Area, we spotted two Snow Geese foraging on a soccer field below Chief Joseph Dam. After getting solid looks at these white geese, we drove across the bridge and noticed a couple of late American White Pelicans roosting on the rocks along the waterfront of Bridgeport. Cool!

Our last stop at Bridgeport Bar was disappointingly birdless in comparison to this time last year. A year before I had witnessed over a thousand sparrows feeding on intentionally planted wheat, kasha and corn at this location (https://ebird.org/checklist/S98430823), and was hoping for a similar spectacle on this trip. Alas, we struggled to find even 1/20th the number of songbirds I had found in the previous year, as it seems the wheat and kasha that were present last year were not grown this year. Coupled with the early snow, passerine numbers were quite paltry. Still, we managed to find some interesting birds, as we watched Steller’s Jays chasing around a Great Horned Owl, and later found the owl sitting right out in the open where we all had fantastic looks at this stunning large raptor. Our last highlight of the day was a female Merlin, which cruised low over our heads and allowed the entire group excellent looks. A great end to the day!

Overall, we managed to find 62 species of birds on the day (https://ebird.org/tripreport/86942). This is not lucrative, but given the late November conditions I think we did pretty well, and even managed to find a couple of rare species. The Rusty Blackbird was of only a handful of records of this species for Okanogan county, and the chickadee hybrid was only the second record in eBird for the county (the first also from Cassimer Bar earlier this fall, and perhaps the same individual). It was a great day with excellent company. I sure had a great time, and I hope that the participants did as well!

Until next time.

Eric Heisey