Thursday, October 1, 2026
This week’s Thurston's Birds is devoted to updates about previous column topics.
Hot, dry weather has persisted in Western Washington so I’m going to repeat my advice from last month about bird baths. In this weather, we should think of them as bird drinking fountains. Birds are very cautious when approaching something new. So, your offering of a new watering hole might not be accepted at first. Give it time.
I have included a photograph of my home bird bath, not because it is perfect and beautiful, but because birds like it. It’s wide and shallow, probably no greater than 1 to 1.5 inches deep. If yours is deeper, you can add gravel in the deeper parts. Second, it has sloped sides. This allows birds of various sizes to enter safely.
Also, a bird bath’s surface should be rough so that birds can grip the edge, using their toenail for security. I’m skeptical about the slick-looking ceramic finish found on some commercial bird baths; birds might find that too slippery.
On hot days you will want to replenish the bath frequently as it becomes too shallow. Also, it’s a good idea to fill the bath in the late evening so that it’s full during the early morning hours when birds are active and you may not be.
Finally, as to location, having nearby bushes will give birds escape routes if they are startled or scared, unless there are cats around. Those predators can use bushes to stage ambushes.
If there is even a possibility of cat attacks, a bird bath should be out in the open and off the ground. Or, perhaps to be safe, resist the “get a bird bath” impulse altogether.
As described in The Daily JOLT on July 31 and Aug. 7, a few migrating shorebirds are now being found in Thurston County. The black-bellied plovers seen so far are adults that still have some of their breeding plumage, a dressy speckled black, white and gold back, and basic black on the breast. Look for them on the edge of grassy areas near the water, fresh or saltwater.
A few long-billed curlews also have been spotted. You cannot mistake this bird. It is large (crow-sized) with long legs and a very long curved bill that it uses to probe for deep burrowing prey, such as marine worms, shrimp and small crabs. A few of these birds spend the winter on the Washington coast, but this month they are stopping at various estuary feeding locations here in our county.
Two dowitcher species are also around now, one long-billed and the other short-billed. The two species breed in different parts of northern North America, but during migration, either might be encountered here. They are robin-sized and have long bills that they use to probe mud or sand with an up and down motion like the needle on a sewing machine.
The birds we see in August are adults that may still have cinnamon wash on their feathers. The most obvious distinction between the two species is overall body shape — the short-bills are chunky and have a short neck and shorter bill. They are more likely to be encountered in saltwater areas than the long-bills.
On July 31, I wrote about the Salish Sea School offering marine tours to visit Smith Island to see puffins. I have decided to take my own advice, so I signed up for the tour on Sunday, Aug. 31. I will be joined by Jill Severn, the writer of that wonderful garden column in The Daily JOLT.
If you would like to join us, there are still places available on the large 40-passenger tour boat. It’s an early evening tour, right in the middle of Labor Day weekend, leaving Port Townsend at 4 p.m. We will be spending about three hours on the water, which is plenty for me. If you would like to join us, contact the school at the above website to sign up. And, if you do register, let me know at the email address at the end of this column.
In early August, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued an update for the H5N1 Bird Flu. (See The JOLT, Dec. 26, 2024, for a lengthy description of the disease). It is still being found in wild birds, especially waterfowl, and is still occasionally spreading to domestic poultry and dairy cattle. To date, only 70 people nationwide have been diagnosed with this disease, suggesting the virus is not easily jumping to humans.
In Washington, the situation is not critical but there is still reason to be cautious. In February, bird flu was detected in a small domestic duck flock in Mason County. But this summer, in contrast to the previous two years, there have been no reported outbreaks in breeding colonies of wild birds in Washington.
The recommended precautions are unchanged. If you encounter very sick or dead birds, do not handle them or, if you must, wear gloves and then discard the gloves. If you have a chicken flock, keep them sheltered from contact with wild birds.
If you encounter multiple sick or dying birds, either wild or in your domestic flock, immediately contact the Washington Department of Health hotline at 1-800-606-3056. For more information locally, click here.
George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department: he also has a 45+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com.
Photos for this column are provided by Liam Hutcheson, an 18-year-old Olympia area birder and avid photographer.
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Georgewalter
Very important correction regarding the puffin tour. The Salish Sea School, and therefore the start of their puffin tours, are in Anacortes, not Port Townsend.
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