February 4-17, 2004

Contact: Margaret Ainscough, (360) 902-2408 or Madonna Luers, (509) 456-4073

Whether they'd rather stay close to home, or take an outing to a destination wildlife festival, birders have lots to keep them busy this month, while anglers have steelhead opportunities from the Olympic coast to the southeast corner of the state.

The seventh annual, nationwide Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) Feb. 13-16 offers bird watchers a chance to share ornithological observations. Bird counts from backyards and local parks contribute data on mid-winter bird movements, indicating population trends and habitat use.

To participate, simply tally birds by species during the count days, and submit the data to the GBBC website at http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc on the Internet. Last year nearly 50,000 birdwatchers reported over four million birds of 573 species during the four-day count.

The GBBC website provides bird identification help for novice watchers and results of past years' efforts, along with Christmas Bird Counts and other bird watching data collection. The GBBC is sponsored by Audubon, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell Information Technologies, Wild Birds Unlimited, and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Birders seeking a destination outing have their choice of two bald eagle festivals in the upper Skagit Valley and Grand Coulee. The Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival runs Feb. 7-8 in Rockport with guided birdwatching and other activities. Details are available on the festival website. The third annual Grand Coulee Balde Eagle Festival is Feb. 13-15, and centers around viewing the 200-plus bald eagles that winter in the area.

There's action on the water, too, as blackmouth fishing resumes in much of Puget Sound and steelheading continues strong on north coast rivers. Snake River tributaries in southeast Washington can be good as fish move with water flow increases.

Razor clam fans should stay tuned for possible digs on three ocean beaches Feb. 19-21, provided marine toxin tests indicate the clams are safe to eat.

Current recreational opportunities around the state include:

North Puget Sound:

• Fishing: Blackmouth fishing has returned to much of the region after a brief midwinter hiatus. Areas that opened Feb. 1 to blackmouth fishing include marine areas 7 (the San Juan Islands), 8-1 (Deception Pass, Skagit Bay and Saratoga Passage) and 9 (Admiralty Inlet), while marine areas 8-2 (Port Susan-Port Gardner) and 11 (Tacoma-Vashon Island) open Feb. 14. All areas have been reporting limited success, including central Puget Sound's Marine Area 10, which has been open to blackmouth fishing since mid-December and closes Feb. 29. Fish checks at boat ramps from Seattle to Bellingham all indicate an average of about one angler in three taking home a blackmouth. Seattle-based anglers might want to try fishing off Blake Island, West Point, or the Kitsap County side of Puget Sound, including Jefferson Head and Kingston. Farther north, try trolling spoons or imitation squid behind a flasher just south of Possession Point (Marine Area 9), but be sure you don't fish "inside" Whidbey Island - that's Marine Area 8-2, and it doesn't open until Feb. 14. Double Bluff, off the southwest shore of Whidbey Island, is another popular spot for winter blackmouth, but it can prove to be tricky fishing in rough weather. Greenbank and Rocky Point, both in Saratoga Passage (Marine Area 8-1), can produce fish as well. This is herring-spawning season in the San Juans, so don't forget the bait when going after blackmouth. Drift mooching or jigging can be effective. Freshwater anglers have additional steelhead-fishing choices now that the Skykomish, Snoqualmie and Wallace rivers, along with Tokul Creek, are once again open to steelhead fishing. WDFW fisheries biologist Chad Jackson said the best bet for anglers might be the Reiter Ponds portion of the Sky. Fishing there can often be good during high-water events, when steelhead can be found fairly close to the shore, he said. That's the good steelhead news. The bad news is the pending closure of the Green River to all fishing because of anticipated low returns of wild steelhead. The closure is expected to effect Feb. 16 and applies to all anglers - even those targeting whitefish. Check the WDFW fishing regulation webpage or call the WDFW regulation hotline at (36) 902-2500 for details. There are still reports trickling in of monster Dolly Varden getting hooked along the middle stretch of the Skagit River, particularly from Hamilton upstream to Rockport. Flyfishers and gear-tossers are both catching fat Dollies, which must be at least 20 inches in length to retain on the Skagit. The daily limit is two fish. Anglers interested in summer salmon fisheries might want to mark March 11 on the calendar. That's when WDFW will host a public meeting at its Mill Creek regional office to discuss Puget Sound salmon-fishing issues as part of the preseason planning process. Check the WDFW website in the coming weeks for more details. Squid-jigging remains productive from downtown Seattle piers. Jigging off the Des Moines, Edmonds or Everett piers can also produce a good number of these tasty mollusks.

• Wildlife viewing: While there have been plenty of bald eagles - and plenty of people watching the big birds along the Skagit River for weeks - the official Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Festival is set for Feb. 7-8 in Rockport. Food, entertainment, guided birdwatching opportunities and many other activities are scheduled for this year's festival. Check out the website on the Internet, or call (360) 853-7283 for more information. There are surprisingly large numbers of eagles along the river for this time of year. Observers on Jan. 28 counted 319 eagles along the river from Sedro-Woolley to Newhalem, with the largest concentration found along the river from Marblemount to Rockport. By comparison, the count conducted Jan. 29, 2003 resulted in 187 birds, while the 2002 count turned up 166 birds. Elsewhere in the region, trumpeter and tundra swans are evident throughout the agricultural lowlands. Birders who recently checked out the Johnson-DeBay Slough Swan Reserve, northeast of Mount Vernon, counted more than 250 tundra swans there, according to a post on the Tweeters birding website. A boater also reporting to Tweeters found himself in the midst of more than 300 feeding long-tailed ducks, as well as western grebes and gulls. Even if you don't have a boat, you can still check out the marine life by hopping aboard a Washington state ferry. A trip through the San Juan Islands, or just a short hop from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend, Edmonds to Kingston, or Seattle to Bainbridge Island can give passengers a look at California sea lions, harbor seals, orcas, and a great variety of seabirds. Check out sailing schedules at the Washington State Ferry's website on the Internet.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound:

• Fishing: Several new fishing opportunities are opening up around the region - although the best prospects will likely come toward the end of the month. Starting Feb. 1, blackmouth fishing in Marine Area 9 (Admiralty Inlet) opened to favorable reviews after a two-month hiatus. "I haven't seen any numbers yet, but I've heard of some good catches from Point No Point to Possession Point," said Chuck Johnson, WDFW blackmouth fishery coordinator. "We have a lot of baitfish - herring and candlefish - in Puget Sound right now, and that should attract and hold blackmouth." That also bodes well for several other areas opening for blackmouth on Feb. 14, including marine areas 6 (Port Angeles), 11 (Tacoma) and 12 (Hood Canal). The daily retention limit in all of those areas is one salmon; chinook must measure at least 22 inches. Meanwhile, anglers fishing for steelhead in the lower Quillayute River the last weekend in January did surprisingly well given the high water conditions on rivers throughout the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula. Creel checks found that 72 anglers on the Quillayute had caught 37 steelhead - all but three of which were wild fish. High flows depressed catch rates and angler effort on the Sol Duc, Calawah and Hoh rivers, but better days may lie ahead. The weather forecast shows dryer conditions during the second week of February, and some rivers are already dropping, said Bill Freymond, WDFW fish biologist. "The fact that anglers did so well on the Quillayute River during high-flow conditions indicates that the fish are on the move," Freymond said. "Once the north coast rivers drop into shape, there should be plenty of wild fish around to provide good fishing through the rest of the season." The same is true farther south on the Wynoochee and Satsop rivers, where boat and bank anglers have been catching some steelhead with jigs and bobbers under less-than-ideal conditions, said Scott Barbour, a WDFW fish biologist based in Montesano. "The rivers are still high, but fishing could improve as early as next (Feb. 7-8) weekend," he said. In the meantime, a number of area anglers have turned their attention to sturgeon fishing in the Chehalis River, said Barbour, who recently counted at least a dozen rods between Montesano and Cosmopolis. Razor clams may also be on the menu later this month. WDFW has announced plans to open three ocean beaches for digging Feb. 19-21 - if marine toxin tests show the clams are safe to eat. Beaches tentatively scheduled to open those dates include Long Beach, Twin Harbors and Kalaloch. No digging will be allowed at any beach before noon. Two ocean beaches that will not be open for razor clam digging in February are Copalis and Mocrocks, where the season's non-tribal catch allocation has already been taken during previous digs, said Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager. Ayres said WDFW expects to make a final decision about whether to proceed with a mid-February razor clam opening by Feb. 18, when the second of two sets of sample clams have been tested for marine toxins by the Washington Department of Health. WDFW will announce its razor clam decision on its website, on the department's Shellfish Hotline (1-866-880-5431) and through statewide media, Ayres said. Looking further down the line, anglers interested in the salmon season ahead may want to make note of the following dates:
  • On March 1, WDFW will sponsor its annual pre-season forecast meeting in Olympia. The meeting, designed as an overview of this year's salmon runs, will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the auditorium of the General Administration Building at 11th Avenue and Columbia Street in Olympia. Work sessions will focus on key issues for Puget Sound, the Columbia River and the Washington coast.
  • On March 9, WDFW will hold one of three public meetings on regional salmon-fishing issues in advance of the North of Falcon season-setting process. That meeting, which will focus on Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay fisheries, will begin at 7-9 p.m. in South Bend at the Willapa Harbor Chamber of Commerce.
  
  For more information on the salmon season-setting process, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/newreal/jan2804a.htm on the WDFW website.

• Wildlife viewing: During a recent day hike around Lake Quinault, a couple spotted three swans, eight bald eagles and a lot of spawned-out fish floating down the Quinault River. But, as they reported on the Tweeters birding website, their most memorable wildlife experience occurred when they let their dog out for some exercise and saw a coyote running toward them at full speed. Although the hikers quickly returned their pet to their vehicle, the coyote continued pacing back and forth just 20 feet away. Donny Martorello, WDFW carnivore specialist, observes: "Coyotes that get used humans can become pretty bold. We haven't received reports of any attacks on humans in Washington, but some coyotes will prey on pets if they get a chance." For more information on coyotes in Washington, see http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/living/coyotes.htm on the WDFW website. For canine encounters of a different kind, seven gray wolves - two parents and their pups - went on public display Jan. 31 a Wolf Haven International in Tenino. Known as the "San Bernadino pack," the seven wolves were recently acquired from a family in Southern California that could not keep them. The new pack joins 28 other gray wolves, two red wolves and two coyotes at Wolf Haven, which serves as a sanctuary for captive-born wolves. Wolf Haven is closed for tours in February, but will be open Saturdays and Sundays in March from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on Wolf Haven, see their website on the Internet or call (360) 264-4695.

Southwest Washington:

• Fishing: Smelt have been reported in the lower Cowlitz, and dippers can get recorded information on the best smelt spots by calling (360) 696-6211 and pressing *1010. Dipping is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a 20-pound daily limit (about two-thirds of a five-gallon bucket). No fishing license is required. Fishers are reminded to respect landowners' property including parking areas. With the first Columbia River spring chinook of the season checked the last week of January in Oregon, anglers are looking forward to what is expected to be the second-biggest springer run on record. Details on seasons will be decided by Washington and Oregon fish managers in a Columbia River Compact meeting Feb. 5. Lots of water and light effort kept steelhead catches low on Columbia River tributaries at the end of January. On the Cowlitz River, 49 bank anglers kept one steelhead and two boat anglers had no catch. Through Jan 24, a total of 1,702 hatchery and 277 wild winter steelhead had returned to the Cowlitz Salmon Hatchery, twice the return through the same time last year. Returns to the Cowlitz Trout Hatchery have been nearly identical to last year, at 1,428 fish. Through Jan. 29, a total of 1,239 hatchery and 143 wild fish had returned to Kalama Falls Hatchery. To date, this year's hatchery run is about third-thirds larger than last year's. On the Lewis River through Jan. 28, a total of 1,773 hatchery and 28 wild fish had returned to the Merwin Dam trap. That's nearly twice the hatchery fish counted by the same time last year. Through Jan. 21, a total of 505 winter steelhead had returned to Skamania Hatchery on the Washougal River, more than double last year's return by the same date. Anglers were catching some steelhead in The Dalles and John Day pools. Sturgeon boat anglers also were catching legal-size fish in The Dalles Pool, while bank anglers were catching some in John Day Pool the last week of January. Sturgeon anglers are reminded that through July 31 retention is allowed only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from the Wauna power lines (near Cathlamet) upstream to Bonneville Dam. Sturgeon may be caught and released on Sundays through Wednesdays. Walleye anglers averaged one fish per boat at John Day Pool recently, including fish released. At Klineline Pond, 27 bank anglers kept 10 rainbow trout and released five. Waters planted with catchable and broodstock rainbow trout or surplus winter steelhead since Jan. 23 include: Kress Lake near Kalama (91 hatchery steelhead averaging 10 pounds each); Kidney Lake near North Bonneville (60 broodstock fish averaging nearly six pounds and 35 fish averaging 10 pounds each); Icehouse Lake near Bridge of the Gods, Little Ash Lake near Stevenson, Northwestern Reservoir near White Salmon, and Tunnel Lake near Bingen (all planted with 45 broodstock fish averaging nearly six pounds and 20 averaging 10 pounds each). Rowland Lake near Lyle recently received 3,300 catchable-size rainbows and Spearfish Lake near Dallesport was recently stocked with 1,100 catchable-size fish; 110 broodstock fish averaging six pounds, and 25 broodstock averaging 10 pounds each. For complete weekly stocking information consult the WDFW website. Drop by the WDFW booth to check out the display, pick up information, ask questions and pick up a free gun lock at the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen's Show Feb. 4-8 at the Portland Expo Center.

• Wildlife viewing: Raptors, sandhill cranes and river otters are putting on quite a show in Southwest Washington, according to correspondents on the Tweeters website. One Tweeters contributor reports seeing six kites from a single scoping position Jan. 31 at Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge. Nutria and four groups of river otters were also visible.On the same weekend at Stan Edwall Park in the Chehalis area a recently flooded field contained a few notable gull species; five herring gulls, three Thayer's gulls and two western gulls were spotted amongst a flock of glaucous-winged gulls. The Dike Access Road complex near Woodland offered views of more than 400 sandhill cranes, two great egrets, an adult Cooper's hawk, an adult rough-legged hawk, seven American kestrels, and one herring gull a single American tree sparrow, one adult white-throated sparrow and good numbers of wintering Savannah sparrows. Three river otters were seen at Fort Borst Park in Centralia and two river otters at Kress Lake north of Kalama.

Eastern Washington:

• Fishing: As winter conditions wax and wane in eastern Washington, river flows fluctuate and steelhead start moving again. Southeast Washington's Snake River tributaries can provide excellent fishing on steelhead that have been holed up for the past couple of months. These big fish are moving upstream toward spawning areas and the bite could be on in the Grand Ronde and Tucannon rivers. Rainbow trout and other species fishing on year-round or winter-only waters throughout the region can be good if anglers can safely reach them. Thawing and re-freezing water in many lakes has left unsafe ice, and there's just enough to make access from shore or boat difficult at best. Lake Roosevelt remains the bright spot in these inland waters, with continued catches of net pen-reared rainbows.

• Wildlife viewing: New snowfalls continue to make wildlife tracking a fun way to see whether moose, elk, cougar, coyote, rabbit or other creatures have passed by. Pack a field guide to animal tracks when heading out on a snow-shoeing or cross-country skiing adventure. Deer in lowlands near roads continue to be a hazard for drivers; slow down, be alert, and remember that where there's one deer there are likely others. Road-killed deer throughout the region are attracting bald eagles, which scavenge the carcasses near roadsides. Backyard bird feeding stations continue to be visited regularly by quail, juncos, chickadees, nuthatches and other birds. These concentrations of seed and suet eaters are also attracting predator species like sharp-shinned and Cooper's hawks, northern pygmy owls, and loggerhead shrikes, so watch for some food chain dynamics at feeders, too. Coyotes are very watchable now, throughout the region's open snow-covered landscapes, as they pair up to start families. It's also mating season for many species of eagles, owls and hawks, and other large birds like ravens and magpies. Watch or listen for pairs in aerial or treetop mating rituals, including nest preparations. Wherever or however you view birds, consider contributing your observations to science through the seventh annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) Feb. 13-16. Participation in this nationwide count, which provides needed information about bird population and habitat use trends, is simple: count birds by species in your backyard or local park or natural area, and submit your data via the Internet on the GBBC website.

North Central Washington:

• Fishing: WDFW Fish Biologist Jeff Korth says this is a good time of year to be fishing Rocky Ford Creek. "This fly-fishing-only water is home to many rainbow trout in the two to five pound class," he said, "plus some true monsters. It's all shoreline fishing, no wading or tubes allowed, and catch-and-release only. And generally, small flies are better at Rocky Ford, like size 16 and up." Korth also notes that ice on the area lakes is all "very iffy after the last big wind, and I do not recommend venturing out on it." Other WDFW staff report anglers catching yellow perch from the Interstate 90 bridge over Moses Lake. Perch are also coming out of Long Lake on the Seeps Lakes Wildlife Area below Potholes Reservoir. Fish Lake, near Lake Chelan in Chelan County, is also producing perch, along with rainbow and brown trout. With ice clearing out of the Wenatchee River, whitefish fishing is picking up.

• Wildlife viewing: "The Nature of Winter" ski and snowshoe winter ecology and wildlife tracking tours in Okanogan County's Methow Valley are guided trips running weekends and holidays through February. Participation requires a Methow Valley Ski Trail Association pass, but the tours are free. Details can be found at (509) 996-4036 or on the Internet at http://www.mvsta.com via the "snowshoe" tab. The third annual Grand Coulee Balde Eagle Festival, Feb. 13-15, centers around viewing the 200-plus bald eagles that winter in the area. But the family-oriented festival also features eagle natural history displays, eagle art, photo and poetry contests, eagle and other wildlife-themed quilt displays and other activities. This year the Sardis Raptor Center from Ferndale will present an educational program "Hunters of the Sky" featuring tame eagles and other birds of prey. The town's Grand Gallery of Arts Theater, 204 Main St., is the center of activity where eagle-viewing shuttle bus tours depart regularly from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each of the three days of the festival. The eagles mostly concentrate in a night roosting area in Northrup Canyon, part of Steamboat Rock State Park, off state highway 155 just seven miles south of Grand Coulee, where WDFW and the parks department have teamed up to develop an eagle-viewing site, trails, and parking lots. The eagles can usually be seen from 2 p.m. until dusk in the pine and fir trees along the south wall of the canyon. Bring a good pair of binoculars or a spotting scope and dress for the cold. For more information on the festival, which is named for the original spelling of bald eagle when it was named our national bird, see the Internet website Grand Coulee Balde Eagle Festival. The festival or other bald eagle viewing sites (Banks Lake from Coulee City to Soap Lake, below Grand Coulee Dam along the Columbia River) are great places to join in the seventh annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) Feb. 13-16. Participation in this nationwide count, which provides needed information about bird population and habitat use trends, is simple: count birds by species in your backyard or local park or natural area, and submit your "data" via the Internet on the GBBC website.

South Central Washington:

• Fishing: WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins of Yakima reports that no actual creel census data is available now, but fishing is active. "I can't say how the catching is going," Cummins said, "other than one angler who said he and his friend did very well on the lower Naches River. But people are out fishing so there must be some catching." Ice along the rivers has more or less melted and rainbow trout fly fishermen are fishing the catch-and-release section of the Yakima River. There are also anglers out after whitefish. There is still ice on area lakes, although its safety for traversing is questionable.

• Wildlife viewing: WDFW Oak Creek Wildlife Area manager John McGowan reports feeding about 4,000 elk daily at the area's sites southwest of Yakima. About 1,600 elk are at the headquarters site just off Hwy. 12 and feeding time there is 1:30 p.m. Truck tours through the feeding site are available by pre-registration only and donations are encouraged to cover costs of the volunteer service. Call (509) 453-7503 for more information and registration. McGowan also notes that a concentration of wintering bald and golden eagles can be observed in and around the Oak Creek headquarters site and along the nearby rock cliffs. The eagles are feeding on winter-killed elk and deer carcasses. Elk and deer will begin shedding antlers at the end of February, McGowan said, and that signals the start of "treasure hunting season" for shed antler collectors. "Just remember that large areas of the range above our elk winter feeding sites are closed to public entry during March and April to protect these concentrated elk as they transition their diet to early spring grasses," McGowan said. "Disturbance during this critical time can be extremely stressful, even fatal to animals weakened from the long winter." The areas will open to public access May 1. Birdwatchers can contribute observations to science through the seventh annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) Feb. 13-16. Participation in this nationwide count, which provides needed information about bird population and habitat use trends, is simple: count birds by species in your backyard or local park or natural area, and submit your "data" via the Internet on the GBBC website.