Welcome to our blog where we will offer commentary and reviews on various topics related to conservation, sustainability, and whatever else we think our members might “give a hoot” about!
Brian Miller, who served on the Spokane Audubon Society (SAS) board and in other leadership roles in past decades, died December 14 after battling cancer for years.
So today I want to talk about birds and fireworks. Its almost new years eve. We need to keep birds happy.
Spokane Audubon has lost a revered elder. Jan Reynolds died in fall 2025. She and her husband Ed were among early members of the society, including service on the board where Ed served as secretary. Jan’s contributions to Spokane Audubon and our birding community leave a wonderful legacy.
This term has been around for a long time. It is a common phrase used in some parts of the country. When my wife and I moved to “this neck of the wood” ten years ago my fellow birders gave me strange looks when I used this term.
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend Ben and I were visiting his sister in rural Eastern Washington. Her home lies in a mixed landscape where open fields and pasture lands rest scattered around stands of forest. It is a beautiful place. But our mission for the day was not to relax under the Ponderosa Pines, listen for the calls of the wild birds, or hike to explore the area. The purpose of the trip was to install two toilets.
If you are feeding birds out of a feeder, make sure to clean it to help keep birds healthy.
Why do birds migrate in the Fall?
They migrate primarily to find food, especially when their aquatic habitats freeze over in colder months. Migrating is a great way to escape harsh weather and find more temperate climates where the waterways remain open and the days are longer.
I was out to Turnbull one lovely blue sky day in mid-October in hopes of seeing how the two Trumpeter Swan families were doing.
On a cool, partly sunny day in September, over 60 volunteers gathered on private land adjacent to the Little Spokane River to plant 351 native shrubs and trees on approximately 3 acres of land, install deer exclusion fencing, and Feather Friendly window strike deterrents to vulnerable windows.
One of Spokane Audubon Society chapter founding members Jan Reynolds passed away September 27 at the age of 84. At the time of this writing, no memorial services were planned. We remember Jan -- the educator, naturalist and artist who designed our Pygmy Owl logo – with the following member profile of her and her husband and fellow chapter founder Ed that ran in the December 2019 Pygmy Owl newsletter edition.
Please consider our flying friends when you decorate for the holidays you love.
It was a perfect day in late July for a couple of self-proclaimed naturalists to be out in the field.
"We had so much fun and good work was done! Thank you!"
Donations are urgently needed to help repair damage to the Birds of Prey Northwest bird sanctuary. A late December windstorm caused extensive damage to this vital raptor rehabilitation center.