TNT reader Patricia Lewis from the South Hill reported she has been seeing some evening grosbeaks at bird feeder in the evening. She said they have been feeding on sunflower seeds.

Helen Engle with the Tahoma Audubon Society said this is an “excellent sighting.”

“Every year when the bigleaf maple is in bloom the evening grosbeaks show up. They eat the flowers,” Engle told me.

She said the grosbeaks like to nest in big fir trees and described them as “beautiful and noisy and colorful.”

“Everybody should be watching for them now,” she said.

South Sound birders might want to consider making a trip to the Astoria area May 1.

A celebration will be held at Fort Stevens State Park to recognize the recent designation of the Columbia River estuary as one of the Western Hemisphere’s significant sites for wide-ranging shorebirds.

May 1 also happens to be International Migratory Bird Day, which commemorates the annual journey of birds in the Western Hemisphere between their summer and winter homes.

The event, free to the public, starts with a ceremony at 9:30 a.m. at the park near Astoria, followed by three different field trips to observe …

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The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology today launched WeLoveBirds.org, an interactive online community for bird enthusiasts.

Click here to go to the site.

The Web site offers a free and open social network of people who are passionate about birds; access to information on birds and birding from a leading ornithology lab; and an opportunity to make a positive difference for birds and their habitats.

The site will feature information on more than 500 species of birds, bird news, notes on scientific discoveries, and an open platform for bird enthusiasts of all levels …

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The Tahoma Audubon Society is holding an intermediate birding course beginning Feb. 1 at the Tacoma Nature Center.

Fred Matthaei will be teaching this new class. He brings a wealth of knowledge about local birds as well as years of experience birding in the area.

The course is designed for the graduates of the chapter’s beginning birding and basic birding classes. Matthaei will be building on what participants have already learned, as well as introducing students to more birding areas during field trips, and heightening bird identification skills. This course is also for avid backyard birders who wish to expand …

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