Calendar of events

STORIES FROM THE FIELD Kathryn True and Maria Dolan will discuss Seattle’s natural wonders and their experiences crafting a new guidebook  ~~~ 7 to 8 p.m. | Wednesday, May 6 | Land Trust Building Kathryn True and Maria Dolan have just published a beautifully crafted guidebook about the hidden wonders of the thriving metropolis a ferry-ride away. Called Seattle Field Guide: Explore Nature in the City, this well-researched compendium provides a look at 38 outings in Seattle, with notes on the birdlife, plantlife, sealife, and more each place offers – an intimate look at the hidden beauty of a big city that only two seasoned naturalists could write.  Kathryn and Maria will discuss their book—and their experiences writing about Seattle’s flora and fauna—at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6, at the Land Trust Building.  Kathryn is a well-known naturalist and writer on Vashon, as well as a former Vashon Bird Alliance board member. Maria, who lives in Seattle, is also a naturalist and writer. Both women have published widely over the years about the natural world, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Their book is also rich in photos, most of them taken by Kathryn, plus many by Jim Diers, a beloved Vashon photographer. The event is sponsored by VBA. Books will be available for purchase. Kathryn and Maria will sign them after their talk. Read more about Seattle Field Guide, published by Mountaineers Books, here.  Join us for bird walks and bird art We have several programs in April and May for those interested in learning more about birds. This is such a wonderful time to get out into nature and look and listen. Our neotropical migrants are returning, filling our forests and neighborhoods with song as they begin the work of establishing territories, finding mates, and raising chicks. Warblers, vireos, swallows, and more are all beginning to arrive. It’s a delightful time to be a birder! Here’s what’s in store: Bird Walk: 9 a.m. Saturday, April 18 Join VBA Board Member Bob Keller for a walk at Pacific Crest Farm, where you’ll explore the farm and adjacent forest in search of both migratory and resident birds. It’s a fantastic spot. Meet at the farm stand, located at 23720 Dockton Rd S.W. Bird Walk: 7:30 a.m. Saturday, May 9 Sue Trevathan and Margie Morgan will lead a birding-by-ear expedition in celebration of World Migratory Bird Day (read more about WMBD below). Meet at the Judd Creek Preserve parking lot on 111th Avenue S.W. just south of S.W. 204th Street (also called the Kneeshaw Trail parking lot). You’ll head up 204th towards Old Mill Road S.W., walking all told about two miles. Science & Art Series: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday May 16 VBA and Vashon Center for the Arts have teamed up to create a special day of birding and art. Start the morning with naturalist Brendan McGarry for birding in the Heron Meadow, then head to the Blue Heron Education Center for a different perspective on our feathered friends. After refueling with bagels and coffee, Britt Freda, a talented artist who created the fantastic Heron Meadow bird mural, will lead a four-hour acrylic and graphite painting workshop. Bring your favorite bird photos and/or a camera to photograph source material images during the morning bird walk. Acrylic paints and brushes will be provided. Participants with previous painting experience are welcome to bring their own materials. Tuition is $130. Financial aid is available. Visit Vashon Center for the Art’s website to learn more and to register for this special class.  Above: A Red-breasted Nuthatch from the Heron Meadow bird mural (left); Britt Freda at work. Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day on Saturday, May 9! We’ll be at the Vashon Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, sharing information about the amazing avian migrants who wing their way here each spring, some of them traveling thousands of miles from their wintertime homes in Central America. From the tiny Rufous Hummingbird to the fish-hunting Osprey, dozens of species arrive on our shores each spring to begin the hard work of raising a family. It’s a remarkable feat of nature, worthy of celebration! World Migratory Bird Day (formerly called International Migratory Bird Day) began in 1993 to highlight the importance of migratory bird conservation. Each year, organizers develop a theme to focus the campaign. This year’s theme—”Every Bird Counts – Your Observations Matter—brings attention to the critical role community science plays in bird conservation. Learn more here.   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 the arrival of spring, this is a wonderful time to get outside, learn about native plants, and work on behalf of birds! During nesting season, the crew meets every other week.  Time: 10 a.m. to noon (Thursdays and second Saturdays) Upcoming dates:Saturday, April 11 Thursday, April 16 Thursday, April 30 Saturday, May 9: Instead of a restoration party, join us at the World Migratory Bird Day booth at the Vashon Farmers Market! Thursday, May 14 Thursday, May 28 Meeting place: Judd Creek Loop Trail trailhead, on the east side of 111th Ave. S.W. in Paradise Valley. Look for the sandwich board sign. 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.  Above: The crew at Paradise Valley, by Leslie Brown 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! 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