For bird-watchers, the first two weekends in May offer back-to-back celebrations of Washington's diverse migratory bird populations. For anglers - particularly on the coast - they present a dizzying array of fishing opportunities, from trout and halibut to shrimp and razor clams.

People don't necessarily have to be able to tell a whimbrel from a dunlin to appreciate the spectacle of thousands of shorebirds swirling and diving en masse to escape a falcon, said Joe Buchanan, a wildlife biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and an avid birder.

"This is undoubtedly the most exciting time of the year to see shorebirds," Buchanan said. "Not only do we have high concentrations of a wide variety of birds, but they're in their breeding plumage. The window for this kind of viewing is pretty small, so it tends to generate a fair amount of interest."

This month's celebration kicks off with the 10th Annual Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival, set for May 6-8 in Hoquiam. Drawing birders from throughout the world, the festival features guided field trips, lectures by noted naturalists, a fun fair and one of the highest concentrations of shorebirds on the Pacific coast.

International Migratory Bird Day follows on May 14, with local festivals from Edmonds to Burbank. Check the regional reports that follow for details.

Anglers, meanwhile, face an even greater array of options.

Now that the lowland lakes trout season is off and running, thousands of anglers are expected to hit the water in the coming weeks to fish for triploids, cutthroat and brown trout.

But wait! A razor clam dig has been approved on morning tides May 7-8 on four coastal beaches: Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Copalis and Kalaloch. Then again, the recreational shrimp season also begins May 7 in most areas of Puget Sound, including Hood Canal. Meanwhile, fishing is also in full swing for halibut, lingcod and rockfish on parts of the coast and Puget Sound. In the Columbia Gorge, sturgeon anglers are averaging one legal fish per boat.

For more information on these and other options, see the regional reports below.

North Puget Sound

• Fishing: Cool, wet weather - and plenty of hungry trout - greeted the thousands of anglers who participated in the April 30 lowland lakes fishing season opener. Fishing was hot enough on several lakes throughout the region to make anglers forget about the raindrops. King County's Geneva Lake produced better than four fish per rod, as did Ki Lake in Snohomish County. Anglers on Heart Lake in Skagit County averaged better than four and a half fish per rod on opening day, while Toad Lake in Whatcom County produced more than four and a quarter trout per rod. Anglers reported catching fish with a variety of lures and baits, including flies and small spinners fished near the surface or worms and a marshmallow or a wad of floating bait fished just off the bottom. Biologists say fish that have recently been planted in lakes will likely remain in the upper portion of the water column, and trolling a fly behind light pop gear can produce a lot of action. Anglers who fish with bait must stop after they have landed five keeper-sized trout, even if some or all of those fish were released. WDFW will continue to stock some lakes with trout during the fishing season - check out the catchable plant weekly reports portion of the department's website. Lake fishing for other species, including perch, bass and catfish should continue to improve as water temperatures rise. Saltwater anglers have plenty of reasons to gas up the boat, with halibut, lingcod, rockfish and cabezon fishing all under way. Reports from the first few days of the halibut season indicate good fishing in traditional spots such as Middle Bank and Hein Bank, including a few fish pushing the 60-pound mark. Halibut season runs through June 20 and fishing is open Thursday through Monday of each week. There is no minimum size for halibut. All areas have a one-fish daily limit. Anglers going after lings have found fish in Elliott Bay, off Edmonds and scattered throughout the San Juan Islands. Hook-and-line season for lings runs May 1-June 15 throughout the region. Lings must be between 26 and 40 inches to retain and there is a one-fish daily limit. The rockfish season opened May 1 with a one-fish daily limit and no minimum size. No yelloweye or canary rockfish may be retained. Fishing for rockfish in marine areas 8-1, 8-2 and 10 is allowed only during lingcod or salmon seasons. Cabezon fishing also began May 1 throughout the region, with a daily limit of two fish and no minimum size. The Puget Sound recreational shrimp fishery begins May 7 in marine areas 8, 9, 10 and 11 and will close when the quota is reached, or May 31, whichever comes first. Fishing will be allowed from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and the daily limit is 80 shrimp. Details on shellfish regulations are available on the department's website on the Internet. Shellfish harvesters can also check emergency regulations by calling 1-866-880-5431. There's a new shrimp-fishing opportunity for sport divers this year in Marine Area 8-2. Harvesting shrimp while diving with scuba gear will be allowed from 7 p.m. to midnight (when the fish have moved into shallow waters where divers can access them) on May 7, 11, 14 and 18. Department staff will evaluate the experimental dive fishery after the season, and make recommendations to the Fish and Wildlife Commission regarding modifying the permanent fishing rules in next year's sport fishing rules cycle.

• Wildlife viewing: The bald eagle family featured on WDFW's WildWatch Eaglecam has doubled in size after eggs hatched April 24 and 27. These mark the 12th and 13th successful hatchings in the dozen years that the Kent-area nest has been occupied. All the action can be seen at on WDFW's website. Other WildWatch cams give viewers close-up views of great blue heron and barn owl chicks. Guided walks, bird-viewing stations, workshops and a variety of activities for children and adults are just a few of the features at this year's Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds on May 14. The festival, which runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., coincides with International Migratory Bird Day and will highlight many species of birds that pass through central Puget Sound every year. More information is available at http://www.ci.edmonds.wa.us. The Seattle Aquarium, on the downtown Seattle waterfront, hosts its own celebration in honor of International Migratory Bird Day on May 14. Events include special talks, hands-on activities and demonstrations as well as raptor demonstrations from the Sarvey Wildlife Center, a local rehabilitation facility. More information is available at (206) 386-4339. Groups of local birders staged "birdathons" recently on Whidbey Island and in King County, as reported on the Tweeters birding website. A four-member Whidbey Island group tallied 111 species, including eight turkey vultures kettling over Crockett Lake and a beautifully voiced varied thrush. The King County-based birders nudged past the Whidbey Island group by exactly one bird, totaling 112 species, including warbling vireo, black-headed grosbeak and a yellow warbler, all at Marymoor Park. Purple martins are returning to nesting areas. North America's largest swallow, martins have a burbling song as they swoop over waterways in search of insects. Eleven purple martin nesting boxes at the San Juans ferry dock in Anacortes appear to be occupied, according to a Tweeters correspondent. Want a super-sized wildlife-viewing opportunity? Check out the gray whales as they continue to feed and rest in Puget Sound. The eastern shore of Whidbey Island has been a good bet for whale watching as the giant mammals dredge the seafloor for food. Boaters who might be out on the water on a fishing or sightseeing trip should follow a few important rules when whales and other marine mammals are nearby: Remain at least 100 yards from marine mammals; Limit time spent observing individual animals to 30 minutes; Don't encircle or trap whales between boats, or boats and shore; If approached by a whale, put the engine in neutral and allow the whale to pass; Don't attempt to feed any marine mammal.

Olympic Peninsula/South Sound

• Fishing: If opening day was any indication, anglers can look forward to some terrific trout fishing this summer in lakes throughout the region. Pattison Lake in Thurston County was a standout, yielding 4.7 fish per angler. Many of those fish were rainbows and brown trout up to 17 inches, according to WDFW creel checks. Anderson Lake in Jefferson County also came on strong giving up 4.5 fish per rod, while one young angler pulled a 10-pound rainbow out of Aberdeen Lake in Grays Harbor County. But those eager to follow up with another day on area lakes might first want to consider some other options. Halibut fishing got off to a quick start May 1 on the south coast (marine areas 1 and 2), "with limits all 'round," said Greg Bargmann, WDFW marine fish manager. "At Westport, most charter boats have been pulling in to the dock with limits by 1:30 p.m.," Bargmann said. The biggest fish so far weighed in at 75 pounds. Marine areas 3 (La Push) and 4 (Neah Bay) open May 10 for halibut fishing, while the lingcod fishery is already producing limits coastwide. Prefer shellfish? A two-day razor clam opening - likely the last dig of the season - has been approved for May 7-8 on morning tides at four ocean beaches. Twin Harbors, Mocrocks, Copalis and Kalaloch beaches will all be open for digging between midnight and noon those days. Long Beach, however, will remain closed due to elevated levels of domoic acid in clams tested by the Washington Department of Health. Diggers must carry a valid 2005-06 fishing license to dig clams at the other four beaches, notes Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager. For best results, Ayres recommends that clammers start digging at least one hour before low tide. The morning low tide for Saturday, May 7 is at 6:34 a.m. (-1.0 feet); for Sunday, May 8 the morning low tide is at 7:17 a.m. (-1.3 feet). May 7 also marks the start of the recreational shrimp season for most of Puget Sound, including Hood Canal. Shrimp fishing on the Canal will be permitted May 7, 11, 14 and 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on a Wednesday-and-Saturday schedule. "The Hood Canal fishery is opening earlier this year than in past years in an effort to help distribute fishing effort throughout Puget Sound," said Dave Sterritt, WDFW shellfish biologist. Even so, Sterritt anticipates seeing 1,900 boats on the 60-mile-long fjord on opening day. Shrimp districts in Port Angeles and Discovery Bay, as well as marine areas 8, 9, 10 and 11, will also open May 7 on a Wednesday-and-Saturday schedule - but from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. - until quotas for those areas are reached. (The Port Townsend Shrimp District will open on the same schedule, although the fishery for spot shrimp in that area will remain closed due to extremely low catches in the pre-season test fishery.) Marine areas 4 (east of the Bonilla Line), 5, 6, 7 and 13 will be open daily starting May 7 with standard fishing hours; pots can be checked only from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. In establishing this year's recreational shrimp season, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission also adopted several new fishing rules, including one that requires the use of a 7/8-inch mesh on all pots fished during May anywhere in Puget Sound. For a summary of new shrimping rules, call the Shellfish Hotline at 866-880-5431 or see http://wdfw.wa.gov/do/feb05/feb1705b.htm on the WDFW website. Still focused on trout? Anglers planning their next trip might want to consider a few more findings from WDFW creel checks conducted on opening day. In Grays Harbor County, anglers caught an average of 2.7 trout at Failor Lake, including a number of 15-inch triploids and 18-inch jumbos. In Jefferson County, Tarboo Lake yielded 1.7 fish per angler, while anglers averaged 3.1 trout at Mission Lake in Kitsap County. Benson Lake, Haven Lake and Phillips Lake in Mason County all had good catch rates, with high numbers of carry-overs ranging from 18 to 20 inches. In Pierce County, Spanaway Lake and Clear Lake both had catch rates of more than three trout per rod, including 16-inch jumbos at the former and some kokanee at the latter.

• Wildlife viewing: Every spring, hundreds of thousands of western sandpipers, dunlins and other shorebirds stop to rest and feed in the Grays Harbor estuary on their annual migration to the Arctic. Occasionally, thousands at a time will rise from the mudflats, swirling and diving en masse to escape peregrine falcons, merlins and other predators looking for a meal. This natural spectacle occupies the main stage of the Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival, set for May 6-8 this year in Hoquiam. Now in its 10th year, the festival features guided field trips, lectures by noted naturalists, a fun fair for kids and a chance to flock together with fellow birders. Keynote speaker Dennis Paulson, author of the just-published "Shorebirds of North America: The Photographic Guide," will talk about the biology and behavior of shorebirds. Some lectures and events are already sold out, but plenty of activities - birdwatching, in particular - are available to anyone who makes the trip. "The best time to see birds is two hours before and after high tide," said Sheila McCartan, outdoor recreation planner for the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge. "The birds follow the water's edge. At low tide, more mudflats are exposed and they're spread out all over the harbor." The festival headquarters is at Central Elementary School in Hoquiam, a good place to find event schedules and other information. That information can also available on the festival's website (http://www.shorebirdfestival.com) or by calling 800-303-8498 or 800-321-1924. As spectacular as thousands of shorebirds flying in formation can be, few things compare to what a Dabob Bay man said he saw the last week of April in Hood Canal. Out on the water, he reports seeing several killer whales thrashing around and bumping into each other in a kind of frenzy. "They were fighting something," he told a reporter for The Sun newspaper in Bremerton. "I have never seen such a show in my life." The next morning, he noticed three bald eagles crowded together on the beach pecking at something that turned out to be a dead octopus with tentacles nearly six feet long. "I guess one of the whales went down and grabbed him, and maybe he attached to one of them," the man told The Sun. While his story drew some skepticism, the manager of a local marina confirmed his report of a fresh octopus on the beach, measuring 10 to 12 feet across with its tentacles outstretched. And no one is contesting the fact that six transient killer whales - known for eating marine mammals - have been feeding in Hood Canal for more than two months. If one or more tried octopus instead, it apparently wasn't a big hit: All eight tentacles were found intact.

Southwest Washington:

• Fishing: With the mainstem Columbia closed to salmon and steelheed fishing, and sturgeon fishing slow, anglers are targeting tributaries for hatchery spring chinook and hatchery steelhead, with good success. Summer steelhead are beginning to show in lower Columbia River tributaries. Good numbers of spring chinook are moving into lower Columbia River tributaries, while passage over Bonneville Dam remains slow and steady at 2,000 to 4,000 fish per day, reports Pat Frazier, deputy regional fisheries manager. During the last week of April, 192 Cowlitz River bank anglers were checked with six hatchery chinook adults and six hatchery steelhead, while 131 boat anglers there kept nine adult hatchery chinook and two hatchery steelhead. On the Kalama River, 82 bank anglers kept four hatchery chinook and three hatchery steelhead; 71 boat anglers kept 25 hatchery chinook and one hatchery steelhead. On the Lewis River, 110 bank anglers kept 18 hatchery chinook and one hatchery steelhead; 193 boat anglers kept 45 hatchery chinook and two hatchery steelhead. Fishing for hatchery spring chinook reopens May 5 on the Deep River below the Highway 4 bridge. Fishing on both the Wind River and Drano Lake has also been picking up; on the Wind 17 bank anglers kept two chinook and 292 boat anglers kept 78 chinook. Drano Lake offered 40 bank anglers two chinook, and 26 chinook for 152 boat anglers. As of May 1, the upper Wind River is open for chinook and hatchery steelhead from Shipherd Falls to the Carson National Fish Hatchery; check the WDFW fishing regulation pamphlet for details. Meanwhile, the south bank of the Cowlitz River near the barrier dam is closed May 1-June 15, due to snagging problems in previous years. Summer-run hatchery steelhead fishing opened May 1 on the East Fork Lewis up to Lewisville Park under selective gear rules. The lower Washougal River up to Mount Norway Bridge also is open under selective gear rules. Sturgeon fishing in the Gorge is improving, with catch rates during the last week of April averaging nearly one legal fish per boat angler above Washougal, and one legal kept for every five bank rods. The area from Beacon Rock upstream to Bonneville Dam is closed to all sturgeon fishing May 1 through July 31. The lower Columbia from the Wauna power lines downstream to the river mouth is closed for sturgeon retention May 1 through 13, then re-opens seven days a week beginning May 14 for retention of sturgeon 45 to 60 inches long. Sturgeon angling in the pools was slow, as of the last week of April. Walleye fishing in Bonneville and The Dalles pools was light with no catch; in John Day Pool 34 boat anglers kept 11 walleye and released four fish. Bass fishing in the pools was good; in Bonneville Pool 18 boat anglers released 36 bass and kept seven fish; in The Dalles Pool four boat anglers released 65 fish; in John Day Pool, 21 boat anglers released 140 fish and kept one. Meanwhile, good weather resulted in a memorable lowland lakes season opener for trout fishers. Stacie Kelsey, in the WDFW Southwest Regional Fish Program, reports that summer-like weather boosted the spirits of Vancouver area anglers. At Battleground Lake (Clark County), 23 anglers were checked with an average catch of 3.22 fish per rod; at Kress Lake, 38 anglers averaged 2.47 fish per rod, with a third of the catch large triploid trout; in Lewis County, Mineral Lake was the top producer, with 49 anglers checked with an average catch of 2.45 trout per person; on Klickitat County's Rowland Lake, 33 boat anglers averaged 4.03 trout per rod, while in Skamania County, Kidney Lake offered 44 anglers catches averaging 2.91 fish per rod.

• Hunting: Spring turkey season, which continues through May 15, is in full swing on the Klickitat Wildlife Area. WDFW staff report the birds are sounding off and the weather has been cooperative. Mild temperatures have been mild making for great camping weather on the area.

• Wildlife viewing: A correspondent from White Salmon for the Tweeters website reports good fortune in the form of a flock of red-crossbills sighted landing in a Douglas fir tree, where they could be heard clicking as they extracted seeds from the cones. Another Tweeters contributor spent a day checking the sightings from the Dike Access Road outside of Woodland and the River S Unit at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge recently. There were a few blue-winged teals and healthy numbers of cinnamon teals to be seen at River S. Yellow-rumped warblers (mostly Audubon's and a few Myrtles) were plentiful and there were consistent sightings of common yellowthoats. Barn swallows were trying to nest in the blind at Rest Lake.

Eastern Washington:

• Fishing: The lowland lakes fishing season that opened April 30 is huge in this region of many well-stocked rainbow and cutthroat trout lakes, says WDFW regional fish program manager John Whalen, who notes that opening-day catch rates could continue through the month at some of the best lakes. In the central district, Williams Lake in southwest Spokane County was "red hot," according to WDFW Enforcement Sergeant Dan Rahn. "Most fishermen leaving through our access area in mid-afternoon had limits," he said. "The fish were very nice, with several over two pounds, and lots of fishermen told me this was one of the best openers on Williams Lake in years." Rahn said nearby Badger Lake was also very good, producing several limits. WDFW central district fish biologist Chris Donley coordinated creel checks on those and other lakes and verified the rave reviews. Williams was the region's top producer, with lots of five-trout limits including rainbows running 10 to 24 inches and cutthroat at 10 to 15 inches. West Medical and Fish lakes were just as good, both with statistical averages of 4.9 trout per angler on the opener. Lots of 17 to 24 inch triploid and broodstock rainbows came out of West Medical, and Fish Lake produced 10 to 22-inch tiger trout, 17 to 21-inch brown trout, and 9 to 12-inch brook trout. Badger Lake measured a 4.6 fish per angler average with rainbows 10 to 17 inches and cutthroat 10 to 15 inches. Clear Lake saw a respectable 3.2 fish per angler catch rate, including 10 to 24-inch rainbows and 10 to 21-inch browns. On the Lincoln-Spokane county line, ever-popular Fishtrap Lake did not disappoint crowds with a 4.8 fish per angler average, including triploids in the 24-inch range. The bad news? "With this drought, most of these lakes have low water levels," Donley noted, "some down three to four feet from normal. So we had more than the usual share of difficult boat launchings and retrievals on the opener, and it isn't going to get better as the season goes on." In the north end of the region, Stevens County's Starvation Lake was the top-performing water with an average catch of 4.1 fish per angler. Rainbows there were running 11 to 16 inches. WDFW district fish biologist Curt Vail also noted good fishing at Deep and Cedar lakes, where anglers averaged about 3.5 fish per angler. Cedar's rainbows ran up to a little over 17 inches while Deep's trout averaged 12 inches. Fishing at Rocky Lake and Ellen Lake was much slower, but they were just rehabilitated last fall and were stocked with catchable-size rainbows and brood stock for the opener. Vail said rainbow trout fry plants will resume at those two lakes later this spring. Most of the region's lakes that opened April 30 remain open through September or October, but anglers should check the fishing regulations pamphlet for specific details.

• Hunting: These are the final weeks of the spring wild turkey hunting season, which closes May 15. WDFW enforcement officers have been busy on cases of turkey hunters trespassing on private land, using bait to draw turkeys and hunting without valid licenses and tags. The abundance of the big birds throughout the region draws all kinds, they say, noting that there are also many hunters afield complying with the rules. Those who harvest a turkey must file a hunting activity report within 10 days of the kill. Unsuccessful hunters also need to report their activity before purchasing licenses for future seasons. Hunting activity reports can be made by toll-free phone at 1-877-945-3492 or on the Internet.

• Wildlife viewing: Spokane's High Bridge Park peregrine falcons are back at their traditional nest site on the underside of the Sunset Highway bridge over Latah Creek, just west of downtown. WDFW district wildlife biologist Howard Ferguson observed the female falcon, which has been returning to that site for over 10 years now, breeding with a male. Another returning peregrine falcon pair in Clarkston was just observed by WDFW wildlife biologist Paul Wik. That pair is much further along in their reproductive schedule than the Spokane birds; Wik watched what appeared to be one bringing food to the other on a nest. Last year the Clarkston Peregrines hatched out young on May 8. The Spokane birds usually hatch in early June. Wik also reported two golden eagle chicks in a nest tended by at least one adult bird in the Rattlesnake Grade area near Anatone. Another traditional golden eagle nest in the vicinity has not been occupied for about five years. Clarkston-Lewiston area birdwatchers can celebrate International Migratory Bird Day on May 14 at the Lewiston Center Mall across the Snake River in Lewiston, Idaho. Informational displays about local bird conservation activities and bird ecology will be available for viewing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with free posters, stickers, coloring pages, and "bird bingo" with prizes for both kids and adults. Live birds of prey from the Washington State University Raptor Rehabilitation Club will be shown 1-3 p.m. For more information about the event, call 208-843-7372 or e-mail angelas@nezperrce.org. WDFW wildlife biologist Dana Base of Colville reports a host of recently-arrived spring migrant birds to northeast Washington including osprey, western kingbird, cliff swallow, rough-winged swallow, house wren, yellow-rumped warbler, orange-crowned warbler, Nashville warbler, chipping sparrow, vesper sparrow, savannah sparrow, Cassin's vireo, and brown-headed cowbird. "This time of year new species are arriving weekly, if not daily," Base said, "so keep your eyes and ears open."

North Central Washington:

• Fishing: The mecca of Washington's inland fishing - the Columbia Basin - saw excellent fishing over the April 30 season-opening weekend. That's the word from WDFW district fish biologist Jeff Korth of Moses Lake, who reported "the great majority of anglers were very satisfied with the numbers and size of the fish they caught." Grant County's Deep Lake was one of the top producers statewide with an average of 4.7 fish per angler on opening day. The rainbow trout landed there averaged 13 inches. Vic Meyers Lake was also good with an average 3.87 fish per angler catch rate, including some tiger trout. Warden Lake, which mostly produced 10- to 11-inch rainbows, measured 3.65 fish per angler. Park Lake produced a respectable 3.5 fish per angler average and Korth reported that yearling trout there were better than expected at 14 inches, with some carry-overs to 17 inches. Blue Lake's yearlings also looked better than expected and anglers there averaged almost three fish each on the opener. Douglas County's Jameson Lake failed to produce as predicted because of an algae bloom that reduced catches to an average of just over two fish apiece. WDFW district fish biologist Bob Jateff of Omak reported excellent fishing at several Okanogan County lakes. Anglers at Fish, Long and Pearrygin lakes averaged five-trout limits on the opener. Pearrygin was extremely busy with carryover rainbows up to 17 inches. WDFW enforcement sergeant Jim Brown of Okanogan reminds anglers to comply with requirements for personal safety devices (PFDs) in fishing boats, noting that seven citations were written for no PFDs among 30 boats checked on Pearrygin alone. Fish Lake was rehabilitated last fall so most of the catch there was 11-inch rainbows. Long Lake's fish are plentiful but small. The water levels are down at Conconully Lake and Reservoir, but there were good catches - over four per angler average - with 22 percent in rainbow carry-overs 13 to 17 inches. Round Lake was also very good with over four fish per angler average and carryovers to 16 inches. Alta Lake averaged almost four fish per angler with 16 percent of the catch in carryovers from 13 to 17 inches. Big Twin Lake was excellent for triploid rainbows, which made up much of the opening day catch. Anglers there averaged 3.63 fish each. Wannacut Lake averaged 3.36 fish per angler on the opener, primarily in rainbow yearlings. Wenatchee Fly Club members who camped at Blue Lake in the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area reported excellent fishing on rainbows up to 20 inches. Blue Lake has selective gear rules, with a daily catch limit of one trout. WDFW district fish biologist Art Viola of Cashmere reported traditional levels of fishing at Chelan County's Wapato and Beehive Lakes on opening weekend when anglers averaged between three and four fish apiece. Viola saw 11 rainbows caught that measured between 15 and 19 inches and weighed two to four pounds. WDFW habitat biologist Jonathan Kohr said he and his seven-year-old daughter tried year-round Roses Lake. "She fished off the boat launch dock and sang 'Here fishy, fishy, come and eat fishy, fishy'. That worked so well that I had no time or chance to rig up my own line. She limited out on some nice rainbows in less than an hour. She also caught a small largemouth bass, and a few sunfish."

• Wildlife viewing Birdwatchers won't want to miss the third-annual Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest, May 6-8. Although scheduled a weekend ahead of the official International Migratory Bird Day, this event celebrates those migratory species like calliope hummingbirds and western tanagers, as well as rare residents like white-headed woodpeckers. Organized by the North Central Washington Audubon Society in cooperation with the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce, birding is the heart of the weekend activities. But there's also field trips and lectures on geology, wildflowers, and other local natural resources. Highlights of this year's festival include a presentation by the Falcon Research Group, a barred owl telemetry demonstration, an exploration of sagebrush wildflowers at the Jacobson Preserve, a native fish passages tour of the Wenatchee Basin, a nighttime search for bats, frogs and nocturnal birds and a "songbird concert" with local musicians. For more information see the website for the Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest on the Internet or e-mail birdfest@earthlink.net.

South Central Washington:

• Fishing: Lowland lakes in this region are open to trout fishing year-round, and they continue to produce a good number of stocked rainbows from 8 to 18 inches, said WDFW fish biologist Jim Cummins. However, the action will likely slow once the summer heat wave hits, he said. Smallmouth bass fishing is also very good on the lower Yakima River right now and channel catfish should also be hitting soon, he said. Although rivers and streams are generally closed to fishing until June 1, throughout the region, the upper Yakima catch-and-release trout fishery is a notable exception. "It can be a real 'blue-ribbon' experience," he said. Those who venture out to the upper Naches Riverand tributaries (American, Little Naches and Bumping) could have a rare opportunity to see steelhead spawning. "They're difficult to find," he said, "but it's worth the searching. Two pairs of steelhead were recently observed spawning in the upper America River."

• Wildlife viewing: The region has two International Migratory Bird Day events - one on the official day and one the weekend before. "Get Intimate with the Shrub-Steppe" is the theme of a May 7 event at the Umtanum Recreation Area near Ellensburg, sponsored by the Kittitas Environmental Education Network. Field trips focus on birdlife in the area, but also include "snake sneaks," plants, geology, geography, and Native American and homesteader uses of the natural resources of the area. Check the website for the full schedule of events at http://www.kittitasEE.net, or e-mail keen@kittitasEE.net or call 509-962-1520. On International Migratory Bird Day, May 14, the McNary National Wildlife Refuge Education Center near Burbank is hosting programs and activities for kids and adults from 9 a.m. to noon. You can join a guided tour to a birdwatching blind, see slide presentations on birds from around the world, make paper masks of your favorite birds, or just take a walk around the refuge's education center to discover new migratory bird arrivals. Call 509-543-8322, see http://www.nwr.mcnary.wa.us , or e-mail nsherer@att.net for more information.