Calendar of events

EXPLORE THE SECRET LIVES OF WOODPECKERS  Join us for an evening with Paul Bannick, award-winning author and photographer   6:00 p.m. | Tuesday, March 24 | Vashon Theatre Woodpeckers are iconic and captivating birds—some of them large and elusive, others bold and noisy—and nearly all of them indicators of ecological health. In fact, several, such as the Pileated Woodpecker, a large woodpecker found on Vashon, are considered keystone species, created nesting cavities for other birds, from Northern Saw-whet Owls, to Wood Ducks, to swallows and chickadees. Paul Bannick, an acclaimed photographer known for his remarkable images of birds, will share stories and images from his new book, Woodpecker: A year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers, at the Vashon Theatre at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 24. In creating the book, Bannick followed the often-secret lives of woodpeckers in several different locales—from Alaska’s boreal forests, to the oak woodlands of the West and Midwest, to the tropical forests of Mexico and the Caribbean—capturing their charismatic behavior, colorful displays, and sensitive habitats. His book explores their courtship behavior and nest selection, their challenges surviving winter, and their conservation outlook for the future. There are 23 woodpecker species in North America, many of them threatened by deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. Sponsored by VBA, the presentation promises to be both inspiring and educational. We hope you can join us. Many thanks to the Vashon Theatre and Island GreenTech for their support. —————————————————————————————— Praise for Woodpecker: A year in the Life of North American Woodpeckers  “Wholly absorbing—a sure-fire way to turn even a casual birder into a woodpecker fanatic.” – Kirkus Reviews Read the full review. Photos: Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Red-Shafted Flicker, by Paul Bannick Learn about our beloved backyard birds 2-3 p.m. | Friday, March 13 | Vashon Library Curious to know more about the birds right in your own backyard? Adria Magrath, a skilled birder and educator, will host her popular presentation, “Most Common Backyard Birds in Winter,” from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday, March 13, at the Vashon Library. The talk will be followed by a short walk outside. Adria will also lead VBA’s monthly bird walk at 8 a.m. on Saturday, March 21, again with an eye towards learning more about our favorite wintertime visitors. Meet at Ober Park. Both events are great for families, people who don’t want to walk long distances, and anyone who wants to know more about some of our most familiar birds. Photo: Chestnut-backed Chickadee, by Stephen Daly Get outside and look for birds!  The Vashon Bird Alliance hosts several bird walks a year—wonderful opportunities to hear, see, and learn more about the birds that call Vashon home (either year-round or seasonally). Join kindred spirits for these fun, informative outings, always led by seasoned birders. All are welcome, even if you are new to birding! Saturday, March 21: Backyard birds. Adria Magrath will lead an outing in search of common winter birds in and around Vashon town. Meet at the Ober Park parking lot at 8 a.m.  Saturday, April 18: Join Bob Keller, a VBA board member, on a walk. Details to come. Photo: Brandt’s Cormorant, by Virginia Lohr Restoring Paradise Valley A hardy crew of VBA volunteers is working to maintain and restore habitat in the Paradise Valley Preserve in partnership with the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. The crew removes invasive plants and installs native trees and shrubs, critical work that addresses climate change (trees store carbon), improves water quality, and provides food and shelter for our resident and migratory birds. With spring coming, this is a wonderful time to get outside and work on behalf of birds! Time: 10 a.m. to noon (Thursdays and second Saturdays) Upcoming dates:Saturday, Feb. 14 Thursday, Feb. 19 Thursday, Feb. 26 Thursday, March 5 Saturday, March 14 Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Parking is along the road. Note: This is not the Kneeshaw Trailhead parking lot, which is further north and on the west side of 111th. If you arrive late, follow the signs to the worksite. Tools needed: Bring your own shovels and loppers, if possible. A few extra tools will be on hand, but bringing your own helps assure we have enough for everybody!   Attire: Please bring your own work gloves. Wear sturdy shoes and dress for the weather!  Questions? Contact Jim Evans at frangula54@gmail.com. The Paradise Valley Preserve is the property of the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. All of the Vashon Bird Alliance’s activities on the preserve are planned out in consultation with land trust stewardship staff and in accordance with the Paradise Valley Preserve management plan.  Volunteer for the fourth-grade bird program If you enjoy children and love birds, consider volunteering for the Chautauqua Elementary School’s Fourth-Grade Birding Program, a rich experience for our island kids. The six-week curriculum integrates reading, writing, science, and art—all focused on local and regional birds—culminating with field trips to Camp Sealth, where students look for the birds they’ve been studying. Volunteers are needed for both classroom activities and field trips. Dates for volunteer activities are March 5, 10, 12, 18, and 19. If you’re interested, please contact Jody Pritchard at 206-920-7833 or jpritchard789@gmail.com. It’s a lot of fun. Photo: Sarah Driggs leads a field trip at Camp Sealth, by Jim Diers We’re looking for website support If you’re skilled at website design and maintenance and would like to support a great cause, please consider becoming VBA’s webmaster. The workload is minimal—10 hours a month, at most—but the need is great. We’d love to find someone who could help us update our website with our latest news, add gorgeous photographs of birds, address any technical issues that come up, and more. If you’re interested, please contact Suzanne Romain, a VBA board member, at sromain@gmail.com. Thank you! CBC reflections: Huge thanks to all who helped January’s Christmas Bird Count was a huge success, thanks in large part to Adria Magrath, this year’s organizer of the count on Vashon. She recruited more than 100 participants who covered a 15-mile radius—all of Vashon and parts of King and Kitsap counties. All told, 116 species were counted, including all three loon species (Common, Pacific, and Red-throated), several owl species (including the Northern Saw-whet, Great Horned Owl, and Barn Owl), Spotted Sandpipers, Western Grebes, several hawks, hundreds of seabirds, and a Western Meadowlark at Matsuda Farm.  Adria has led the count the past two years, taking it over from Ezra Parker, lead organizer for the previous nine years. Ed Swan, a renowned Vashon birder and author who passed away four years ago, also led the effort for a few years. Sue Trevathan started Vashon’s count in 1999, organizing it for more than a dozen years.  The Christmas Bird Count, launched by the National Audubon Society 126 years ago, is the longest-running community science survey of birds in North America, an early-winter census now supported by thousands of volunteers across the U.S. and Canada. The tallies collected are critical, helping researchers, conservation biologists, and others study trends in North American bird populations over time.  Huge thanks to Adria, Ezra, Ed, and Sue for their years of leadership and to everyone who braved the elements on Jan. 4 to log the bird species they spotted or heard. Adria called the day a success, in part because of the many people who turned out to help. “That made all the difference—having a lot of people participating,” she said.  Photo: Sue Trevathan (left) and Adria Magrath, by Jim Diers Science & Art Series: Painting Birds with Britt Freda Sat May 16 2026 Follow this link to Vashon Center for the Art for more information!

Artfully designed signs urge protection of
Quartermaster Harbor

Two richly detailed signs depict the disappearance of Western Grebes from Quartermaster Harbor—triggered by the loss of herring, a staple in the bird’s diet—and urge residents in the bay’s large watershed to take steps to protect it.

Copy for the signs was written by Rayna Holtz, a Vashon naturalist and former VBA board president, and designed by Sandra Noel, a well-known nature illustrator. Sue Trevathan, also a former VBA board president and long-time coordinator of the region’s Christmas Bird Count, and Steve Hunter, VBA’s current president, worked with Rayna and Sandra to bring the two signs to completion.

The two signs—recently erected at Dockton Park and Jensen Point—were created with funds from VBA and the Vashon Beach Naturalists program. Public agencies contributed support as well, including King County and the state Department of Natural Resources.

The grebes’ decline was precipitous. In 2001, Vashon’s wintering Western Grebes numbered between 1,500 and 2,000, making the bay such a critical stronghold in Puget Sound that the National Audubon Society named Quartermaster Harbor an Important Bird Area. But as herring declined, so did the grebes. During the 2007 Christmas Bird Count, birders counted 366 grebes, the next year a mere 17. Since 2012, Sue said, no one in the Christmas Bird Count has counted a Western Grebe on Quartermaster Harbor.

The state lists the Western Grebe, one of six grebe species in Washington, as a “species of greatest conservation need,” with a moderate-to-high sensitivity to climate change. Researchers have detected a southern shift of the birds during the winter months; they now overwinter in California, according to WDFW.

The bird—heavily dependent on fish for its diet—faces numerous threats, WDFW says, from water drawdowns for agriculture to boater activity that destroys nests. Plus this, according to a WDFW webpage devoted to the bird: “Prey base appears to have declined in the Salish Sea.”

An article in this week’s Beachcomber tells more about the effort to create these two signs. An image of the sign, as well as a long bibliography in support of the team’s research, can be found on VBA’s website.

Above – Sue Trevathan and Steve Hunter at the Dockton Park site
Inset – Rayna Holtz at the Jensen Point site