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Highlights

Bellingham City Bird Winner: The Great Blue Heron!

North Cascades 51������� Society invited the Bellingham community to nominate an “Official Bird of Bellingham,” gathering nominations through September and putting ten finalists to a public vote during Bellingham Bird Week. On October 9, Mayor Kim Lund announced the winner from the Bellingham Cruise Terminal Dome Room: the Great Blue Heron.

Alan McCoy wins the Helen Engle Volunteer of the Year Award

Alan McCoy, president of Spokane 51�������, received the Helen Engle Volunteer of the Year Award, along with Helen Engle’s famous TOWHEE license plate.

Helen Engle (1926–2019) was a fourth-generation Washingtonian and one of the most consequential figures in the state’s conservation movement. She co-founded Tahoma 51������� (now Tahoma Bird Alliance) in 1969 with Thelma Gilmur, helped save what is now the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, and served two decades on the National 51������� board after her election in 1980. Helen Engle also had a hand in starting the majority of 51������� chapters in the state.  

Alan McCoy has been an 51������� member since the early 1980's and Spokane 51�������’s president since 2019. Alan has led the chapter to conserve and restore hundreds of acres of bird habitat across eastern Washington. This year alone he guided the chapter through its first strategic plan, its first paid staff hire, and a three-year grant to reduce lead in local watersheds.

What We Did in Bellingham

October 5–11 | Bellingham Bird Week 

Hosted by North Cascades 51������� Society, Bellingham Bird week featured sold out bird walks, community events, educational programs, and celebrations across the city. Bellingham Bird Week was designed to welcome both longtime birders and people who are just discovering birds and conservation. Some of the activities throughout the week, included a Lights Out Documentary and Panel Discussion. We met for a special documentary screening followed by an expert panel. Discussion focused on how we can reduce or control light emissions and take other measures that result in reduced building collisions. 

October 9 | WSACC Meeting & Public Keynote

The Washington State 51������� Conservation Committee (WSACC) met to discuss statewide conservation priorities and advocacy efforts.

Why Birds Matter: Celebrating Migratory Bird Day
This public keynote celebrated World Migratory Bird Day with Dr. Jill Deppe, 51������� senior director of the Migratory Bird Initiative. Through the story of bird migration, the audience explored why birds matter, the challenges they face, and how local communities can make a difference. 

October 10 | ACOW 2026

The Saturday program featured collaborative discussions, strategic breakout sessions, chapter recognition, and opportunities to shape the future of 51�������'s conservation work in Washington.

Flight Plan: A Stopover
As 51������� passes the midpoint of its strategic plan Flight Plan, Kim Brand, 51������� managing director for community building, shared a look at what we've done, and what's next. We explored how chapters across Washington are advancing 51�������'s strategic goals, and how each of us can help carry Flight Plan forward.

October 11 | Field Trips

Registered participants explored the birds, habitats, and conservation stories of northwest Washington through a variety of optional field trips hosted by local experts and partners.

Drayton Harbor/Semiahmoo is the only designated Important Bird Area in Whatcom County. The sheltered nature of Drayton Harbor, with its proximity to food sources both within the Harbor and Semiahmoo Bay, make it a major wintering and migration staging area for aquatic birds. The extensive intertidal mudflats and shallow waters provide foraging habitat for large numbers of shorebirds and dabbling ducks. Participants saw gulls, cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, loons and grebes, shorebirds, songbirds, Surf Scoters, and Harlequin Ducks.

Fir Island Farm (Hayton) and Wylie Slough are two of Skagit 51������� members' favorite birding locations. On Fir Island near Conway, two units of Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Skagit Wildlife Area offer excellent birding near the mouth of the Skagit River. In addition to supporting young salmon, restored tidal wetlands at Fir Island Farms (aka Hayton) and Wylie Slough host a variety of migrating and wintering shorebirds and waterfowl. Mid-October isn’t peak season, but participants saw sandpipers, dowitchers, yellowlegs, killdeer, and plover.

Photos and Slideshows