Fall 2003

Table of Contents

The Great Washington State Birding Trail

The first map of the Great Washington Birding Trail, the Cascade Loop, rolled off the presses last fall. The full-color, foldout map features original artwork of birds and descriptions of 68 sites from Edmonds to the Skagit, up to the Canadian border, across the mountains to Lake Chelan and back through Leavenworth. The first of six planned routes, the Cascades Loop features 225 of Washington’s 365 bird species.

Birding Trail maps are actually driving trips with stops at special places where birds are most likely to be seen. Each stop describes the habitat, what birds are there in what season, where to look, and how to get from a main road to the location.

With 71 million people in America describing themselves as interested in bird watching, Birding Trails in other states have become big business. The Trails and their birds attract visitors to primarily rural locations, which spurs economic development and gives local residents increased incentive to safeguard the natural areas around their communities and region.

The Coulee Corridor route is under development, and following that, a loop around the Olympic Peninsula is planned. You can order over the phone by calling 1-866-WA-BIRDS (1-866-922-4737) or you can order the map at:
http://wa.audubon.org/