[Tweeters] Reserves Along the Columbia

[Wilson Cady]

Kim, I would recommend checking the Birder's Guide to Washington for information on the many National Wildlife Refuges along the Columbia River in that state. https://wabirdguide.org/ Yes, they are productive for wildlife since that is what they were established and now managed for, each refuge was established for a purpose and often a species or group of species. I bird several of the Columbia Gorge NWRs on a regular basis, and they can be very seasonal, if they were established for wintering waterfowl, they may be very slow in the summer. Not all of the Columbia Gorge NWRs are open to the public, the Pierce NWR is closed to the public and the Franz Lake NWR can only be viewed from the observation platform along Highway 14. The tide affects the Columbia River all of the way to Bonneville Dam, above the dam the water level is affected by power demand and forecast snow melt. On weekends the dams hold back water to be released with increased power demands on the weekdays, hot weather increases energy consumption for air conditioning and there are required river flows for salmon passage. Birding here is affected more by the wind than tide, shorebirds are a rarity in Skamania County, Here in the Columbia River Gorge there are no barriers between the eastern and western sides of the Cascade Mountains with the highest point on Highway 14 being at Cape Horn in Skamania County at about 700'. When driving from Vancouver to eastern Washington from this spot 10 miles east of Washougal it is downhill all the rest of the way. The crest of the Cascades is just east of Home Valley in Skamania County where the Douglas Fir trees are replaced by Ponderosa Pine.  Wilson Cady
Columbia River Gorge, WA

---------- Original Message ----------
From: jimbetz at jimbetz.com
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] Reserves Along the Columbia
Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2023 14:55:17 -0700

Tweet!

   I was chasing a link earlier today that took me to google maps
for a small section of the Columbia River.  Expanding and
exploring I found that there are NWRs all up and down the river
and on both sides.  I'm not surprised by this - but didn't know
about it.

   My questions are:

   1) If you bird one/some of these do you find them "productive"?
   2) References?
   3) Are there specific seasons of the year when they are more
      productive than other times?
   4) Is there a time of day that you prefer/find more productive?
   5) Is the state of the tide important in the lower Columbia?  I'm
      guessing it is - so please add in what stage of the tide seems
      to be better.  And also how far up the Columbia is the tide
      important to the birding?
                                          - Jim in Burlington

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