Community Science is about learning, empowerment, and building a constituency, as people count birds for conservation. Audubon’s vision is to engage communities in asking questions about their environment and to help them gather information to answer questions that they and professional biologists are asking. By being part of the process, it is our vision that a growing number of people will become empowered to take action on behalf of places important to them and important to wildlife, giving birth to a new culture of conservation. – National Audubon Society
If you would like to volunteer or would like more information on any of these projects, please contact Richard Scranton, NCWAS Chair: rscran4350@yahoo.com.
1) National Audubon Climate Watch: According to Audubon’s 2019 climate change report, ‘Survival By Degrees,’ up to two-thirds of North American birds are vulnerable to extinction due to climate change. The good news is that there are opportunities to protect birds from this existential threat. Climate Watch aims to document species’ responses to climate change and test Audubon’s climate models by having volunteers in the field look for birds where Audubon’s climate models predict them to be in the 2020s.
Our chapter is involved with Climate Watch and as of the spring of 2022, we have 9 survey sites with each one consisting of between 10 and 12 survey points. We hope to add many more sites in the years to come.
2) East Foster Creek Surveys: Foster Creek Conservation District has installed beaver dam analogs along deeply incised segments of East Foster Creek in Douglas County southeast of Bridgeport. NCW Audubon has set up eight point count surveys to be completed three times each spring. These surveys will help us understand how the bird community is responding to a rising water table and corresponding riparian habitat. No experience is necessary to participate in these surveys. Surveys are conducted along Highway 17. Please contact Joe Veverka joe_veverka@yahoo.com if you are interested in helping.
3) Kestrel Nest Box Monitoring Program: This project is a cooperative effort to maintain a network of nesting boxes for American Kestrels in North Central Washington and monitor those boxes annually in a standard manner. We hope to learn and document enough about the kestrels using the boxes installed to establish baseline data on productivity and population trends to aid future kestrel conservation work.
Our 3 goals are to 1) contribute to the productivity of kestrels in North Central Washington in hopes that the population in the area stabilizes over time; 2) Engage volunteers in gathering information useful to science and sharing that data, and 3) Engage researchers in a cooperative study of this population of American kestrels.
Over the next several years we plan to put up approximately 250 Kestrel boxes primarily in the Waterville Plateau area which should help boost population numbers. As of October 2023, with the help of dozens of volunteers, we monitor over 180 boxes.
4) Beebe Springs Natural Area Bird Survey: The Beebe Springs Natural Area is a 200-acre former orchard along the Columbia River. For over ten years, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has been restoring Beebe Creek and its surrounding riparian and shrub-steppe habitat to improve salmon and steelhead spawning grounds. In the process, beavers have moved in, birds have returned, and river otters frequent the area.
For the past nine years, Virginia Palumbo has been conducting twice-monthly community science bird surveys at Beebe. This data is then shared with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife which oversees Beebe Springs. The data is used to assess the increase and diversification of species. 163 bird species have been seen to date. If you would like to participate in this survey on the first and third Wednesday of each month, please contact Virginia at vwpalumbo@gmail.com
5) Wednesday Wenatchee Birding: These walks are now hosted by the Wenatchee River Institute (WRI). Wednesday Wenatchee Birding trips are led by knowledgeable WRI staff on the last Wednesday of each month. The trips are free and open to anyone. You can find more details about these walks by clicking here.
6) Spiva Butte Bird Survey:
The Chelan-Douglas Land Trust (CDLT) has protected over 26,600 acres of land in central
Washington focusing on lands of high conservation value. CDLT along with partner organizations National Resources Conservation Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, North Central Washington and Spokane Audubon Societies, and Washington Native Plant Society began restoration efforts on CDLT’s 1,396-acre Spiva Butte Nature Preserve (SBNP) immediately following devastating wildfires that swept through central Washington in September 2020. The 2020 fires burned much of the remaining Greater Sage-grouse and Sharp-tailed Grouse shrub-steppe habitats in Washington state including CDLT’s SBNP.
Audubon/CDLT performed surveys in 2023 but due to staff limitations may suspend operations in 2024. We need volunteers. To help with this project please contact Joe Veverka joe_veverka@yahoo.com
7) Winter Raptor Survey: This is a winter raptor survey coordinated through the Bend OR Audubon chapter.
The Winter Raptor Survey [WRS] project, established in the winter of 2004-05, is designed to determine wintering populations of the various species of birds of prey throughout the state of Oregon, and parts of California, Idaho, and Washington. Through a collection of pre-approved survey routes, volunteers completing the once-a-month surveys from December through February will count the various species that they find and report their findings to the project coordinator.
Over a dozen volunteers within our chapter boundaries help with this project. Participants average 4.5 hours and 60+ miles each month logging the raptors seen along designated routes. If you would like to participate, please contact Jeff Fleischer at raptorrunner97321@yahoo.com.
8) Nason Ridge Community Forest Survey: This survey, begun in the Fall of 2022, is being conducted to provide information on bird species to the Chelan County Natural Resources Department. This 3,714-acre Community Forest is a mosaic of well-managed forest land and industrial logging that is now entrusted to Chelan County to care for into the future. The goal of this monthly survey will be to determine baseline bird data and ongoing changes in bird use within identified areas of the Community Forest. This information will help Chelan County in making resource management decisions and assist with the determination of future efforts based on past results. Going forward the results of this survey may be used to inform decisions prioritizing areas best suited for improved habitat and wildlife conservation.
There are seven survey sites that characterize the varied habitats of this once-industrial forest land. The surveys are conducted in the first week of every month year-round.
New Project for 2024:
1) Horse Lake Bluebird Trail
Chelan-Douglas Land Trust volunteer Paul Rachey built and donated 20 bluebird boxes to be placed at Horse Lake Reserve. The boxes Have been installed this fall along Fairview Ridge.
2) TNC Projects for 2024 (these will be managed by NCWA)
a) Chelan-Douglas Land Trust volunteer Paul Rachey built and donated 20 bluebird boxes to be placed on TNC land in Moses Coulee. Joe Veverka will install the boxes
b) The Kestrel project will begin a route on TNC land starting with 4 boxes in 2024
c) Will add 2 Climate Watch squares in the coulee. (potential for two more)
d) Will start monitoring raptor nesting on the Coulee walls.
Maybe for 2025:
-Nightjar Survey route in the Coulee
-Some form of acoustic monitoring. Joe will check on TNC resources/equipment
-Installing Western Screech Owl nest boxes
Finished Projects as of the end of 2023:
1) Stemilt Basin and Beehive Reservoir Surveys: We ran the Stemilt Basin survey for 2 years (2021-2022) and the Beehive Reservoir survey will conclude at the end of this year (2022-2023). The Chelan County Natural Resources Department requested our Audubon chapter to do this work as they are looking to restore this high-elevation forested watershed and could use bird data to help with their decision-making. We surveyed 9 sites in the Stemilt Basin area and 6 sites in the Beehive area. At the end of this year, we will put together a summary of these 2 surveys and post them on our website.
2) North Central Washington Hummingbird Project:
This is a Community Science Study Project started in December 2021 designed to be conducted four times per year at solstices and equinoxes. Among other things, we hope to answer questions about Anna’s Hummingbirds in North Central Washington: Is there a persistent breeding population in North Central Washington? What nectar sources (feeders and/or plants) are utilized? Are the Anna’s hummingbirds we see in winter the same as the Anna’s that are here in the summer? This project ended after the September 2023 survey. The results of the surveys are being summarized.
3) Rock Island Ponds Survey (2020-2022): The goal of this survey was to determine bird use among the ponds in the city of Rock Island. The surveys helped determine which ponds are most valuable to various bird species. The results of this survey have been used to inform the city’s decisions in prioritizing areas best suited for wildlife conservation. We conducted surveys monthly and have seen 100+ bird species. We summarized the work last year and the results are posted on this website under Conservation. Click here to view a copy of the final report.