Yakima - August 27-29, 1999

Four field trips were held each day.

Saturday: Brian Bell and Chris Chappell led the trip to Toppenish NWR and Fort Simcoe.  Bruce Labar led the Vantage Migrant Traps trip.  Denny Granstrand and Marcus Roening led the trip to the Moxee Valley and the Grandview Lagoons.  And Hal Opperman and Tom Schooley led the trip to Yakima Canyon.

Sunday: Scott Downes led the Toppenish NWR / Fort Simcoe trip.  Bruce Labar and Bill Tweit led the trip to Vantage and other areas on the Columbia River.  Tom Schooley and Hal Opperman led a trip to the Wenas Creek valley.  Andy Stepniewski, Denny Granstrand, and Brian Bell led a trip up to Bethel Ridge.

TALKS AND PAPERS

Friday Talk:

Dr. Dan Stephens, Professor of Biology at Wenatchee Valley College gave a slide presentation introducing the birds of eastern Washington.  His talk was organized around the different habitats of the area. 

Saturday Paper Presentations:

Herbert A. Brown, Professor of Biology at Western Washington University in Bellingham, spoke on "Nesting habits of the common bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) at the Sehome Hill Arboretum on the campus of Western Washington University: 25 years of observations".

Susanne Bard, with the Animal Behavior Program, Department of Psychology at the University of Washington gave a talk on "Song learning in Song Sparrows in the Lab and Field".

Jennifer Seavey, with Michael Williams Consulting, Seattle, presented "Natural History and Habitat Selection of Ash-throated Flycatcher in Western Washington".

Ken Bevis, Habitat Biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in Yakima gave the talk "Spotted Owls and the 1994 fires on the Yakama Reservation".

Dr. Dan Stephens, Professor of Biology at Wenatchee Valley College, presented "MAPS - Monitoring Avian Production and Survivorship - Seven Years of Banding at Douglas Creek".

Saturday Keynote Speech:

Ken Bevis, Habitat Biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife gave a talk entitled "Birds in Washington: So What?"

Birds of Yakima County by Andy Stepniewski

Andy's new book, unveiled at the conference,  is available for $21.95 (+ $3.50 shipping) from:

Yakima Valley Audubon Society
P.O. Box 2823
Yakima WA 98907

The book is in a generous 8.5 by 11 inch format, with 284 pages, three color maps, and numerous pen-and-ink drawings by Debra Davis.  Annotated accounts of the 302 species recorded for the county comprise the bulk of the book, preceded by several introductory chapters including  a detailed one on "Vegetation Zones and the Effects of Mankind."  Bar graphs show the month-by-month status of each species in the county.  Of interest to birders is a generous chapter on birdfinding in Yakima County (creeping into Kittitas County in a few key places