It was dark but not very cold at 5:30 a.m. in the Snoqualmie Valley of Washington on December 17. It was Christmas Bird Count (CBC) day and my birding and life partner Carol, and I were out pre-dawn hoping to start the count day with a Great Horned or Barn Owl.

The Eastside Audubon Photo of the Month award for October was presented to four photographers—Mick Thompson, Michael Hoefgen, Sam Wilder, and Amanda Buse.

Leah Turner and Mick Thompson were named co-winners of the Eastside Audubon Photo of the Month award for September. Leah won for her shots of elusive Common Loons at Semiahmoo Spit, south of Vancouver, B.C., while Mick earned recognition for his photos of long-eared owls taken at Boundary Bay in British Columbia.

November is a time of consolidation in the birding year when birds are focused on recovery from the rigors of long-distance flights and raising young birds. They need a safe location where they can regain some of their lost weight and complete a feather molt in time for spring.

A stiff breeze was blowing the already high sea water up onto the boardwalk at Redondo Beach when we arrived. My colleagues and I are a survey team for the monthly Puget Sound Seabird Survey. With the wind blowing we wasted no time setting up our spotting scope for the 30-minute survey period. We were there to count wintering seabirds.

Leah Turner has once again claimed the Eastside Audubon Photo of the Month award for August, marking her fifth win. Leah's winning photograph features the uncommon Williamson's Sapsucker, a bird seldom seen in Washington State.

By September, the birding summer has run its course and birds will use the time in late summer and early fall to rebuild their reserves. For most birds, the individualistic drive for the success of their own nest and young dissipates and they join into flocks for mutual support and safety.

Mick Thompson is the winner of the Eastside Audubon Photography Award for July, honored for his captivating images of tufted puffins captured off Smith Island near Anacortes.

Want more joy with the satisfaction of helping restore habitat, volunteering and/or adding some native plants to your yard?  Here are some opportunities to check out.

Mick Thompson is the Eastside Audubon Photographer of the Month for June. His award-winning photos capture a swallow in flight at Marymoor Park.

By August, most young birds are living on their own. Adult birds have completed their job of raising young as best they could and are now released from parenting obligations. It is time for migrating birds, both young and old, to focus their energy on completing their annual cycle of life and set out on their return migration to the south.

When I shop, I’m conscious of avoiding plastic products, but it’s nearly impossible to eliminate all plastic. That’s where Ridwell steps in to help. Their subscription-based service encourages households to recycle items that would otherwise end up in landfills.