Pilchuck Audubon Society

11/05/2026

🦅 November's birding calendar is here! 🦅

Grab your binoculars — we've got five birding trips lined up this month across several counties!

Free and open to the public — all skill levels welcome, whether you're a lifelong birder or picking up your first field guide.

Full details and sign-ups: 🔗 www.pilchuckaudubon.org/upcoming-trips

See you in the field! 🐦

10/09/2026

Now accepting applications!

Each year, we award multiple grants (up to $500 each) to Snohomish County elementary school teachers to enhance environmental education in their classrooms. Past grant recipients have funded owl pellet dissections, fish hatchery field trips, gardening projects, and more!

Help us help your classroom, apply today!

Learn more & apply at: www.pilchuckaudubon.org/zalesky-classroom-conservation-grants

10/05/2026

Hoots, drumming, and dramatic displays. Meet the grouse. 🪶

Join us this month for "Grouse," a three-part online class with Connie Sidles. We'll explore the fascinating history of the wild members of chicken family and how to identify our local residents.

📅 October 7, 14, & 21, 2026
🕖 7:00 to 8:30pm
💻 Online via Zoom
🎟️ $60 (PAS members get a discount!)

Sign up at: https://www.pilchuckaudubon.org/our-store/p/grouse-2026

Can't make the live class? Registrants will receive access to the recordings until November 11.

3-week class conducted over Zoom October 7, 14, and 21 7:00-8:30pm Instructor: Connie Sidles Cryptically colored but elaborately ornamented, shy but showy, hard to see but easy to hear, bizarrely exotic but common on our menus - the grouse of Washington are a collection of contradictions.

09/25/2026

Stop by our booth at Bothell's Sustainamania tomorrow from 10am-2pm! We'll have information about our programs, a fun activity, and some items for sale, like our Birding in Snohomish County and Camano Island book!

Learn more at: https://bothellwa.gov/Sustainamania

09/12/2026

Can you guess how many swifts will roost in the chimney tonight? Enter your guess here: https://forms.gle/eV7Si7SfbmDLrLKv5

09/11/2026

Live from inside the Monroe chimney at 10:30am this morning!

Join us this Saturday (9/12) for Swifts Night Out at the Wagner Performing Arts Center from 4:30pm-sunset to learn about and watch the spectacular Vaux's Swift migration!

We'll have children's activities, a presentation on swifts at 6pm, the 911 GRUB food truck on site, and wildlife-focused vendors to peruse.

Normally the swifts enter the chimney near sunset, but with rain in the forecast Saturday evening, they may decide to enter a little early. So, we encourage you to arrive early so you don't miss them!

Here are the swift numbers from this past week at the chimney:
9/1 - 5,143
9/2 - 3,235
9/3 - 3,040
9/4 - 2,369
9/5 - 7,560
9/6 - 839
9/7 - 4,282
9/8 - 788
9/9 - 298
9/10 - 868

Hope to see you there!

Learn more about the event: https://www.pilchuckaudubon.org/swifts-night-out

09/08/2026

🎉 IT'S HERE! The brand new Vaux's Happening website has officially launched!

Come see what we've been building:
📹 Watch the swifts on our live camera at the Monroe roost!
📊 Track live count data as it rolls in on our new dashboard
📚 Explore downloadable data, published research, and original field studies

This project is powered by an incredible community of watchers, counters, and swift lovers. This new site is for you. 💙

Check it out: vauxhappening.org

🦅 Bonus: join us THIS SATURDAY, Sept 12, for Swifts Night Out! Come watch the roost in person and celebrate with us. www.pilchuckaudubon.org/swifts-night-out

08/31/2026

‼️Action Alert!‼️
Take Action to Protect Our National Forests!

Some of the nation’s last intact forests, which serve as essential bird habitat, are at risk. For more than 20 years, the Roadless Rule has protected vital wild places, but the U.S. Forest Service just released a proposal that would repeal these protections. In Washington state, two million acres are at risk under the proposed repeal, including habitat for at-risk forest birds ranging from Marbled Murrelet to Sooty Grouse.

👉ACT NOW: Join us to urge the Forest Service to uphold protections for roadless areas. The deadline to add your name to our letter is September 21, 2026.

🔗Visit:

Join us to urge the U.S. Forest Service not to repeal the Roadless Rule. Add your name by September 21.