Black bears are stirring in their dens, smelt are running on the Columbia and Cowlitz rivers and migrant birds have joined in a chorus of chirps and squawks that can be heard throughout the state.

These are just a few of the signs that spring is near.

For many Northwest birders, nothing signals the change of season like the arrival of rufuous hummingbirds, which have begun to appear in backyard feeders from Camas to Bellingham. In southeast Washington, giant sandhill cranes bring the news. Standing four feet tall, with wingspans of up to seven feet, as many as 15,000 sandhill cranes are expected to stop by the Columbia Basin from mid-March to mid-April en route to their breeding grounds in Canada.

The Othello Sandhill Crane Festival, set for March 18-20, is a great way to take in this spectacle, featuring guided tours and lectures on the cranes and other area wildlife. For more information, see http://www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/ on the Internet or call 1-866-SANDHIL (1-866-726-3445).

For their part, many anglers feel like spring is already here. Although catch rates for steelhead have been high on some Olympic Peninsula rivers, low-water conditions have made fishing more difficult. “With water this low and clear, you can’t just go out there with your 12-pound line and fish and way you do in mid-December,” said Rick Ereth, a fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

On the other hand, blackmouth fishing has been picking up in several marine areas, eastern Washington lakes that opened for trout fishing March 1 are producing good catches and the lingcod fishery is set to open March 12 in three coastal areas.

Anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts are reminded that 2004-05 fishing and hunting licenses, as well as vehicle access permits, expire March 31. New licenses and permits for the 2005-06 season, valid from April 1, 2005 through March 31, 2006, are now available by phone, over the Internet and from hundreds of license dealers.

The rates for annual fishing and hunting licenses remain unchanged from last year. Not counting dealer fees, the resident adult freshwater fishing license is $21.90; saltwater is $19.71; shellfish/seaweed is $10.95; and a combination license is $41.61. A Puget Sound crab endorsement is $3. Resident hunting licenses vary with package options, ranging from a small-game license at $32.85 to a deer/elk/cougar/bear combination license for $72.27.

Annual licenses include a WDFW vehicle-use permit, which gives the bearer access to more than 600 WDFW recreational access sites throughout the state. Sold separately, the annual costs $10.95.

To purchase a license electronically, go to http://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/ on the Internet. Only the license holder's Washington Interactive Licensing Database (WILD) identification number (or name and birthdate) is necessary if the individual is currently licensed in the WILD system. If the recipient is not currently licensed, the purchaser also needs to provide the license holder's address, telephone number, Social Security number, height, weight and eye color.

Licenses can also be purchased by telephone by calling 1-866-246-9453. For those interested in buying a license in person, a list of license vendors is available on the WDFW website or by calling local WDFW offices.

Another option is to enter a friend or family member in WDFW’s quarterly drawings for a lifetime of hunting and fishing privileges. Tickets cost $6.50 for state residents and $12.50 for non-residents. Each ticket is valid 365 days and provides an individual eight opportunities to win a lifetime of hunting and fishing privileges.

See the regional reports below for more information about current outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the state:

North Puget Sound

• Fishing: High angler effort hasn’t been matched by high angler success in the ongoing winter blackmouth fishery. Catch samplers stationed at area boat ramps have reported lots of anglers, but not many fish. A few positive reports have trickled in from the Possession Bar and Hat Island areas, where blackmouth have been fooled by trolled herring, green spoons or green imitation squid fished behind a glow-green flasher. Trolling a plug-cut herring has also caught a handful of fish, said Patrick “Slim” Simpson, a veteran Puget Sound catch sampler for WDFW. “I would call this a ‘fair’ season for blackmouth in the region,” he said. The blackmouth fishery ends March 31 in marine areas 7 and 8-1. Marine Area 8-2 is open through April 10 and Marine Area 9 is open through April 15. All areas have a one-fish daily limit and 22-inch minimum length. Central Puget Sound (Marine Area 10) is closed to blackmouth fishing. As a prelude to Puget Sound summer salmon seasons, state fisheries managers have scheduled a public meeting for March 10 in at the WDFW Mill Creek office, 16018 Mill Creek Blvd. The meeting is set for 7-9 p.m. More information on the preseason fisheries planning process is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/northfalcon/ on the Internet. Catch-and-release fishing for big native steelhead is under way in the region, although two rivers are closed to all fishing to protect weak wild stocks. The Skykomish River is closed from the mouth near the Highway 522 Bridge to the Sultan River. The north fork of the Stillaguamish River is closed from the mouth to Swede Heaven Bridge. Although the traditional opening day of trout fishing on western Washington lowland lakes is still more than a month away, three King County lakes that are open to fishing year-round have already been stocked. Seattle’s Green Lake and Lake Meridian in Kent each received about 5,000 trout, while Beaver Lake on the Sammamish Plateau received about 2,000 trout, said Larry Tsunoda, WDFW area fish biologist for King, Snohomish and Island counties. These lakes are scheduled for additional plants of catchable-sized trout leading up to the April 30 general opener. More information on WDFW’s fish-planting schedules is available online at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fish/plants/weekly/ on the Internet. A 2004-05 sport fishing license is valid through March 31.

• Wildlife viewing: A sure sign that spring is right around the corner is the return of colorful rufous hummingbirds to the region. Backyard birders reporting to the Tweeters birding network noticed hummingbirds in Renton, Redmond, Anacortes and Orcas Island. Look for hummingbirds near early blooming native plants such as red-flowering currant, salmonberry and Indian plum. Be sure to give the nectar feeder a thorough cleaning before putting it out. The standard nectar feeder recipe is four parts of water to one part sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it cool to room temperature before filling and hanging the feeder. Tree swallows, another seasonal migrant in western Washington, have been sighted on WDFW’s Skagit Wildlife Area, southwest of Mt. Vernon. With an iridescent blue-green back and a white underbelly, tree swallows are acrobatic flyers that feed on airborne insects and nest in manmade structures or natural tree cavities. Birders riding the ferry from Anacortes to Lopez Island counted roughly 100 rhinoceros auklets – most in breeding plumage. Cinnamon teal and a Virginia rail have been spotted on the WDFW Spencer Wildlife Area near Everett. Suburban Seattle birders have plenty of species to view, including common mergansers performing mating displays on Lake Washington, a Eurasian green-winged teal on a small pond near Bothell, and a geographically challenged mountain chickadee on Seattle’s Beacon Hill. According to the Seattle Audubon Society, mountain chickadees are common year-round in dry forested habitats east of the Cascade Crest, are rarely spotted west of the Cascades. WDFW’s WildWatch webcams are back in business. Webcams are trained on a bald eagle nest in Kent, while three cams are broadcasting real-time images of great blue heron activities from a heronry in Kenmore. The bald eagles have been sprucing up their massive nest with new boughs – a sign that mating and egg-laying activities aren’t too far away. A heron egg is being carefully tended in one of the Kenmore nests. Webcam details are available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildwatch/ on the Internet.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound

• Fishing: The blackmouth bite is on in Hood Canal! On March 5, the first day of the Geoduck Restaurant Salmon Derby, 56 anglers hauled 29 chinook salmon back to the dock in Seabeck. The next day, 32 anglers brought in 10 more fish. First prize went to Seabeck’s own Lisa Fisher, who landed an 18-pounder under sunny skies. “These are some of the best catch rates we’ve seen anywhere,” said Chuck Johnson, WDFW Puget Sound recreational fishing enhancement coordinator. “It sounds like they really nailed it up there on the canal this year.” Catch rates are also improving in areas ranging from Point No Point to Point Defiance, although “finding the bite” can present a challenge, Johnson said. “The blackmouth are moving around looking for the baitfish, so an area that’s hot today might have cooled down by tomorrow,” he said. “The best advice is to watch the tides and look for the baitfish.” The word at Point No Point is to fish on incoming tides during the afternoon, using green spoons. At Point Defiance, the gear of choice is a flasher with a hoochie or a spinner. For steelhead fishing in area rivers, the lighter the gear, the better, said Rick Ereth, a WDFW fish biologist based in Montesano. “With the water this low and clear, you can’t just go out there with your 12-pound line and fish the way you do in mid-December,” Ereth said. “The fish are spooky, but people who know what they’re doing are catching some.” Ereth was specifically referring to the Chehalis, Wynoochee and other rivers in Grays Harbor County, but the same is true for those on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula, said Mike Gross, another WDFW fish biologist. “Given how low the streams in the Quillayute River system are running, they’re actually producing pretty well,” Gross said. According to WDFW creel checks, 169 anglers caught 58 wild steelhead (49 released) and 15 hatchery fish on the Bogachiel and Quillayute rivers from March 4-6. On the lower Hoh River, 178 anglers caught 49 wild steelhead (44 released) and 26 hatchery fish during the same period. “People are doing pretty well, but it would be nice to get enough rain to move some more fish up the rivers,” Gross said. Saltwater anglers, meanwhile, should be aware that the lingcod season begins March 12 – a week earlier than previously scheduled – off the coast in marine areas 1-3 (mouth of the Columbia River north to Cape Alava). Anglers can keep two lingcod (24-inch minimum) as well as 10 rockfish (except yelloweye or canary rockfish) per day. “The lingcod fishing should be good this year,” said Greg Bargmann, WDFW marine fish manager. “We had a lot of small fish last year, and they’ve had another year to grow. This really marks the beginning of the ocean fishing season – first lingcod, then halibut in May, followed by salmon, then tuna in August.” Postscript: WDFW estimates that 31,800 clam diggers hit coastal beaches for the first day of this month’s three-day razor clam dig, held March 6-8. The coastwide average was 13.8 clams per person, although diggers at Twin Harbors averaged just 8.3 clams each due to a heavy surf. Additional digs are tentatively scheduled for April 9-11 and April 23-25, both on morning tides. As always, final approval for those digs is contingent on the results of marine toxin tests scheduled prior to the planned openings.

• Wildlife viewing: The weather may be usually warm and dry, but most wildlife species appear to be keeping to their regular schedules. Rufous hummingbirds, for example, are arriving in the area just about the same time they always do, according to the Cascadia Hummingbird Report. As of March 6, dozens of feisty hummers had been sighted in Rochester, Tacoma, Gig Harbor and Olympia, among other places. After the 6,000-mile flight from Mexico they’re bound to be hungry, so this is a good time to put out a feeder. Black bears, which will start emerging from their dens by mid-March, are another story. Yes, they’re hungry, too, but feeding them – purposely or otherwise – would be a big mistake, said Dave Ware, WDFW game manager. “Making food available to a bear is about the last thing you’d want to do,” Ware said. “Black bears are especially ornery at this time of year, when they first come out of hibernation. And once they identify you as a food source, there’s a good chance they’ll keep coming back for more.” Bears will usually avoid people, but their size, strength and surprising speed make them a potential danger, Ware said. People living in rural areas should keep pet food and livestock feed indoors. Hikers should keep a clean camp and avoid venturing into bear country on their own, he said. Other tips for avoiding unexpected encounters with bears can be found on WDFW’s website (http://wdfw.wa.gov/wildlife.htm). In other news, a pod of killer whales is still flashing and splashing in Hood Canal near Hoodsport, and a lone gray whale was spotted March 3 off Whiskey Creek Beach, 15 miles west of Port Angeles. Olympia’s celebrated redwing is also still on view, although the Eurasian visitor has proven elusive for some birders. “In the end, I had no confirmed redwing sightings,” one out-of-state birder reported on the Tweeters birding website. “Our highlight was a raccoon walking across the street in the neighborhood.”

Southwest Washington:

• Fishing: Hatchery spring chinook fishing remains unusually slow, but there’s good news for smelt dippers. After a winter of waiting, dippers should finally be able to find fairly good numbers of smelt in the mainstem Columbia and Cowlitz rivers, reports Patrick Frazier, deputy regional fisheries manager. Warming water temperatures and the arrival of smelt on the scene should make for better sturgeon angling as well. “Warmer water should benefit all the fisheries, and sturgeon prospects should improve as smelt move up the river,” Frazier noted. In the pools, sturgeon fishers are already finding their fish, with 52 Bonneville Pool boat anglers keeping 11 sturgeon, and 82 bank anglers keeping two fish during a recent check. In John Day Pool, 43 boat anglers kept one sturgeon. Walleye fishers were doing well in John Day Pool, too, with 113 boat anglers keeping 23 fish and releasing six others. In The Dalles Pool, two bank anglers kept one walleye. And bass fishers also are finding some action in John Day Pool, where four anglers recently kept one fish and released 17 more.

• Wildlife viewing: Expect hummingbirds to bring a splash of color to backyards throughout the region in the coming days and weeks. A few male rufous hummers have already been spotted in west Lewis County, and there’s no doubt that more of the tiny migrants are on their way. A birder reporting to the Tweeters website recently saw a red-shouldered hawk near Kalama. It is believed that the red-shouldered hawk is expanding northward from Oregon. One birder counted 17 trumpeter swans on Black Lake near Ilwaco, while another birder near Willapa Bay counted three Eurasian wigeon and 11 greater yellowlegs. Numbers of sandhill cranes are increasing on the Shillapoo Wildlife Area near Vancouver as birds arrive from their southern wintering grounds.

Eastern Washington:

• Fishing: As temperatures rise, more fishers are hitting the rainbow trout lakes that opened March 1, all of which were stocked well enough to support increasing pressure. The Tucannon River impoundments in the southeast’s Columbia County are all ice-free now and producing nice catches of pan-sized trout for anglers of all ages. Beaver, Big Four, Blue, Deer, Rainbow, Spring and Watson lakes will all continue to be stocked with 8-10-inch hatchery trout throughout the spring. Fishhook Park Pond in Walla Walla County and Pampa Pond in Whitman County also opened on the first and will continue to receive fish, including some “jumbos” weighing up to a pound. Many year-round waters in the southeast were also recently stocked and are providing decent catches. They include West Evans and Golf Course ponds in Asotin County, Dam and Orchard ponds in Columbia County, Quarry Pond in Walla Walla County and Riparia Pond in Whitman County. Catch-and-release fishing at southwest Spokane County’s Amber Lake has never been better, according to local fly fishers who have been plying those waters since the March 1 opener. Amber Lake shifts to a limited harvest season April 30, so now’s the time for fly casters to enjoy this productive fishery. Lincoln County’s Coffeepot Lake was icy in spots when it opened March 1, but it’s pretty much thawed out now. However, low water levels at Coffeepot are testing boaters’ skills, and bank fishing may be as productive for the lake’s big rainbows, bass and crappie. WDFW district fish biologist Chris Donley reminds Coffeepot fans to comply with the catch restrictions to help maintain the high-quality fishery there. Donley notes that rainbow and brown trout fishing continues to be good at Rock Lake in Whitman County. Lake Roosevelt bank fishing for big rainbows is better than boat trolling now, since the fish are moving into the back bays. Walleye are moving into the Spokane River arm of Lake Roosevelt, staging for later spawning, Donley reports. “If it stays warm,” he said, “look for them further up river.” Walleye fishing is reportedly decent at Sprague Lake now, too. Pre-spawn yellow perch and crappie are likely moving into the shallows of Bonnie and Silver lakes, both year-round fishing waters in Spokane County. Now may also be the time to fish Rock and Crab creeks, Donley said, because drought conditions could actually leave those waters dry later this year. WDFW fish biologist Travis Young reports steelhead fishers on the Grande Ronde River in southeast Washington have been averaging about five hours of effort per fish from the Oregon line north to Rattlesnake Grade area. The Ronde has been running somewhat clear and low water, “less than optimal for steelheading,” he said. “The large wave of steelhead returning on a rain freshet has not yet materialized.” A place to gear up for fishing and enjoy a little of the outdoors indoors is the 45th annual Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds, March 17-20. Sponsored by the non-profit Inland Northwest Wildlife Council as a fund-raiser for fish and wildlife enhancement projects, the show includes a kids’ fishing pond, fishing seminars, and lots of fishing gear and trip vendors. WDFW staff will be on hand to talk fishing and sell 2005-06 fishing licenses, which will be required as of April 1. See http://www.wildlifecouncil.com/. for more details about show hours and admission.

• Wildlife viewing: WDFW district wildlife biologist Steve Zender of Chewelah said spring migration for tundra swans and other waterfowl has reached its peak along the Pend Oreille, Colville and Columbia rivers. “Calispell Lake in Pend Oreille County usually has the most spectacular concentration of swans now,” Zender said. “Several thousand are usually there in mid-March, although I'm not sure what this mild and dry weather will do to migration stopovers. Certainly there will be less standing water in fields, so birds will likely be found on lakes and rivers more than we're used to in a normal spring.” WDFW wildlife biologist Dana Base of Colville reports signs of spring in the behavior of the northeast’s wild turkeys that are currently being surveyed. “Turkey flocks break up and redistribute more evenly across the landscape as winter transitions into spring,” he explained. “That, and increasing displays by tom turkeys, now are sure signs of spring.” Migrating birds have also arrived in the Colville area, Dana said, noting such species as Say's phoebe, western meadowlark, western bluebird, and violet-green swallow. WDFW biologists are surveying golden eagle nests this spring and recently noted two in the China Bend area of Lake Roosevelt. That area, including the mouth of Flat Creek, is excellent for raptor watching in general, with recent observations of bald eagles, red-tailed hawks and other birds of prey. A mating pair of golden eagles was also recently spotted in the Palouse River Canyon of Whitman County. WDFW’s Eastern regional office in Spokane (N. 8702 Division St.) has a limited supply of free bird nest boxes and bat roosting boxes, available on a first-come, first-served basis. A place to gather ideas for wildlife viewing opportunities and enjoy a little of the outdoors indoors is the 45th annual Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds, March 17-20. Sponsored by the non-profit Inland Northwest Wildlife Council as a fund-raiser for fish and wildlife enhancement projects, the show includes booths from such resource-management agencies as the U.S. Forest Service and WDFW, along with wildlife-art vendors. At the WDFW booth, staff will sell those wildlife area access permits that need to be renewed before April 1. See http://www.wildlifecouncil.com for more details about show hours and admission.

North Central Washington:

• Fishing: The Columbia Basin’s many March 1-opening rainbow trout waters are drawing lots of fishers and producing lots of five-fish-daily catch limits. WDFW district fish biologist Jeff Korth of Moses Lake reports that Upper Caliche Lake in Grant County saw anglers averaging 4.8 fish in just over an hour of fishing on the opener. Martha Lake produced a little over four fish per angler in a couple of hours of fishing. Those catches were mostly 11- to 15-inch yearling rainbows, Korth said, with a few 17-18-inch winter carryover fish. “At this rate these small lakes could be fished out by April,” Korth said. Quincy and Burke lakes have received a little less pressure since opening weekend, so they will likely providing good fishing into May. Opening-day creel checks showed an averaged of 4.3 fish per angler in a little over an hour of fishing at Quincy, and 4.3 fish per angler in a couple of hours at Burke. Those rainbows generally ranged from 8 to 13 inches. Waters that opened March 1 with selective gear rules and one-fish daily catch limits saw significantly less pressure and slower fishing, Korth reported. But the action at those “quality waters” – including Dusty, Lenice, Lenore, and Nunnally lakes – is now picking up with air and water temperatures rising. The rainbows there run up to 20 inches. Lots of other smaller March 1-opening waters are available for get-away-from-the-crowd fishing, too, including several small Quincy Wildlife Area walk-in lakes that provide rainbows from 12 to 18 inches. In the north end of the region, Spectacle Lake in Okanogan County has also been open since March 1st and has been giving up winter carryover rainbows averaging 13 inches. As the water warms up at Spectacle, fishing will pick up, said WDFW district fish biologist Bob Jateff of Omak. He noted that steelhead fishing on the Methow River is picking up, too. The season is scheduled to run until March 31, but Jateff guesses that a closure will occur before then. “Our federal permit for this fishery, where there are ESA-listed fish, only allows us to impact so many wild fish,” he said, “so anglers should check our website (https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/index.jsp) to see if any closures have been put into effect.” He added that the Okanogan and Similkameen rivers should be open through March.

• Wildlife viewing Local bird-watchers spotted the first dozen sandhill cranes earlier this month, feeding in cornfields near Basin City and just south of Othello – early arrivals for the eighth annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival, March 18-20. This event celebrates one of eastern Washington’s greatest spring wildlife spectacles – the return of up to 15,000 sandhill cranes to the Columbia Basin. These 4-foot-tall, prehistoric-looking birds with 7-foot wingspans are a popular roadside attraction in the farm fields around the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge south of Moses Lake in Grant, Adams and Franklin counties. The area serves as a feeding and resting stopover from mid-March to mid-April for cranes migrating from wintering grounds to the south and headed for breeding grounds in Canada. The festival features guided tours to see the cranes and lots of other wildlife, including waterfowl, burrowing owls and sharp-tailed and sage grouse. There are also children’s activities, displays and informational booths, and short lectures on wetlands habitat, the Missoula Floods and Channeled Scablands, shrub-steppe habitat, farming and the environment, bats, butterflies, hawks, songbirds, and more. Featured speakers include Estella Leopold, a paleobotanist from the University of Washington Biology Department and daughter of Aldo Leopold of “Sand County Almanac” fame. She will speak on how cranes have changed and enriched lives throughout history, while Sergei Smirenski, a Russian advocate for sustainable land use, will discuss the wonders of cranes and importance of maintaining their habitat. WDFW’s own research scientist Michael Schroeder, a world-renowned expert on grouse, is the keynote speaker at the festival banquet, providing an historical look at grouse in Washington and the West from the days of Lewis and Clark to the present. Pre-registration for many popular festival events is recommended and available at http://www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/, 1-866-SANDHIL (1-866-726-3445), or 509-488-2802 Ext. 100. If you miss the festival, stop in at the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge office in Othello for maps and directions for seeing cranes in the area on your own over the next month.

South Central Washington:

• Fishing: WDFW habitat biologist Jonathan Kohr reports great fishing for kids in year-round waters in the Yakima area that were recently stocked with one-third-pound to one-pound “jumbo” rainbow trout. “With the warm weather and abundance of big fish, it’s a great time to take a kid fishing,” Kohr said. Myron and Rotary lakes have been producing catch limits, including some two- to three-pound triploid trout. All the region’s lakes that have been stocked are listed on the WDFW website under the South Central Regional page at http://wdfw.wa.gov/reg/region3.htm; look for the "South Central Washington 2005 Catchable Trout Plants."

• Wildlife viewing: Elk and bighorn sheep winter feeding is over at WDFW’s Oak Creek Wildlife Area, although some animals can still be seen on the greening hillsides above the headquarters. Much of the area is closed at this time to leave animals undisturbed while they forage in preparation for calving and lambing later this spring. Tieton River trails on the south side of Highway 12 are also closed at this time to protect golden eagle nesting. Waterfowl are concentrated in spring migrating groups at waterways throughout the region. Birdwatchers at Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge recently reported a variety of species on the ponds – visible from Highway 97 and the refuge’s observation platform – including mallard, northern pintail, green-winged teal and wigeon. The Mosebar Pond unit of WDFW’s Sunnyside Wildlife Area near Mabton is full of tundra swans, Canada geese, and even some greater white-fronted geese. Returning migrant songbirds – including yellow-rumped warblers, red-winged blackbirds, and western meadowlarks – have been reported throughout the region.