Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society
LCBAS of south central Washington
Birding
The main motivation most members of LCBAS have for joining the chapter is to watch birds! We provide opportunities for members and the public to enjoy nature, watch birds, and learn more about their biology and identification. In particular, we offer
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First Saturday Bird Walks - info on the right (September - June)
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Christmas Bird Count - in December or early January
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July Birding Challenge - a friendly competition between birders to count birds in summer in Benton and Franklin counties. See the July 2024 results.
Benton & Franklin County
Birding Hotspots
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Find and explore the best birding hotspots in Benton and Franklin Counties. Peruse the geographically grouped sites, choose an area and go birding!
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Links for each site take you to eBird where you will find a treasure trove of details and photos about the birds observed there.
Bird Lists - printable documents
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Small Checklist of the Birds of the Lower Columbia Basin (print two-sided on 8.5"x14" paper and fold into 5ths)
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First Saturday Bird Walks
with Lisa Hill
Bateman Island will no longer be accessible to the public via the causeway as of December 1, 2025.
First Saturday bird walks will be held at several other great birding hotspots on the schedule as follows:
December 6 - Two Rivers County Park, Kennewick
January 3 - W.E. Johnson Park, Richland
February 7 - Two Rivers County Park, Kennewick
March 7 - W.E. Johnson Park, Richland
April 4 - Sacajawea State Park, Franklin Co.
May 2 - W.E. Johnson Park, Richland
June 6 - TBD Full day birding adventure! More info to follow.
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Directions and information about each location:
Two Rivers County Park is along the Columbia River in east Benton County. Meet in the parking lot east of the lagoon and we will begin promptly at 8:00am.
https://ebird.org/hotspot/L835471
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W.E. Johnson Park is located along the Yakima River in Richland. Meet at the south entrance on Tanglewood Dr and we will begin promptly at 8:00am. Parking is along the street.
https://ebird.org/hotspot/L835470
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Sacajawea State Park is located in southeast Franklin County at the confluence of the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Meet in the main parking lot and we will begin promptly at 8:00am. STATE DISCOVER PASS REQUIRED.
https://ebird.org/hotspot/L600472
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with LCBAS Birding Events Chair
Rowan Young-McMurchie
Wood Duck - Larry Umthun
Tentative 2025-26 3rd or 4th Saturday schedule
more details TBA
November 22 - Big Flat Habitat Management Unit
Half-day trip to Big Flat HMU in Franklin County in search of waterfowl and wintering songbirds.
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January 17 - Hood Park & McNary NWR HQ and Quail Trail
Half-day trip to McNary NWR and Hood Park with a focus on waterfowl.
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February 21 - Ice Harbor Dam and Lower Monumental Dam
GULL-a-Palooza! Half-day trip to Snake River dams with a focus on gulls and waterfowl.
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March 28 - Snively Rd & Hanford Rte 10
Half-day trip to Barker Ranch on Snively Rd to observe Sandhill Cranes and waterfowl as well as visit a Ferruginous Hawk nest on Alabama Blvd.​​
4th Saturday Bird Walk!
with LCBAS Birding Events Chair
Rowan Young-McMurchie
Winter Birdwalk at
Big Flat Habitat Management Unit
Saturday, November 22 at 8:25a
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Winter is right around the corner and our cold-weather residents are back! Join us for a morning of birding at the Big Flat Habitat Management Unit looking for winter songbirds and waterfowl on the banks of the Snake River. ​
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Come prepared to walk for a few hours in the cold. All are welcome!
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Where: Carpool/caravan will meet promptly at 7:50am in the Columbia Basin College A-building parking lot. We will travel to Big Flat Habitat Management Unit. From Hwy 12, take the Pasco-Kahlotus Rd, follow to Herman Rd and the parking area. If you don't want to carpool, meet at Big Flat HMU at 8:25am.
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When: Saturday, November 22.
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Questions? Contact lcbasbirdingevents@outlook.com or 509-438-7239
Horned Grebe
Larry Umthun
Fox Sparrow
Larry Umthun
Cedar Waxwings
Larry Umthun
April 18 - Rattlesnake Mt and Prosser, WA​​
Sagebrush & Songbirds! Half-day trip to Thornton Unit on Rothrock Rd to observe breeding songbirds and spring migrants. Includes stops along Old Inland Empire Hwy for Rock Wren, Canyon Wren & Great Horned Owl.
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May 9 - World Migratory Bird Day - Possible Bird-a-Thon fund-raiser:
Teams or individuals pay a fee to participate, or gather pledges and compete for the largest species day-list in a pre-determined region.
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May 23 - Sunnyside Wildlife Recreation Area & Toppenish NWR
Half-day trip to Sunnyside WRA and Toppenish NWR focusing on shorebirds and wetland birds.
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June 6 - 1st Saturday birding - Cascades Mts
Round out the season's birding trips with a full-day trip to the Cascades foothills in Yakima County.
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Lazuli Bunting - Larry Umthun
6th annual July Challenge
was a great success!
July 2025 Birding Challenge
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July in the Mid-Columbia region is hot and dry; challenging conditions for birds and birders sandwiched between spring and fall migration. Breeding birds are active and fledglings abound, but very few waterfowl or shorebirds are in residence.
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Jason Fidorra, local birding enthusiast and wildlife biologist, started the July Challenge in 2020 to encourage people to count as many species as possible in the region in July.
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Fun and for the birds; a friendly "competition" between Franklin and Benton counties! Participants can align themselves with one county or try to count as many birds as possible in both counties.
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Birders are encouraged to use ebird to tally their birding adventures. A remarkable number of species are in the area during the height of summer.
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Summer... It’s hot, buggy, most migrants have passed, and there’s less motivation to get out birding. So little in fact that July USED TO BE the least birded month in our area. But as we have learned through this challenge, many discoveries await! Data centers like eBird benefit from this information for conservation and science. July is no longer the most data deficient month - but let's keep going!
Join us for the 6th annual July Challenge -- a fun effort to document as many species as we can during July in Franklin and Benton Counties, and maybe beat past county records of 151 species across both counties or highs of 138 in Benton and 130 in Franklin, or take the lead in individual county lists! Regular emails will be sent to participants about species and standings through the month on this friendly “battle of the counties”. Feel free to bird in either or both counties to explore new sites and birds! To join the fun, send an email to JFidorra@gmail.com to be added to the email list.
​Benton Co: 147 species/16 participants
Top three listers in Benton Co:
Jef Blake 125 species
Rowan Young-McMurchie 108 species
Lisa Hill 106 species
Franklin Co: 133 species/11 participants
Top three listers in Franklin Co:
​Jef Blake 106 species
Mark Gerber 78 species
Dana Ward 69 species ​
​Prior July Challenge species totals:
2020
Benton Co: 137
Franklin Co: 123
Combined: 151
2021
Benton Co: 128
Franklin Co: 122
Combined: 144
2022
Benton Co: 124
Franklin Co: 116
Combined: 138
2023
Benton Co: 130
Franklin Co: 126
Combined: 151
2024
Benton Co: 138
Franklin Co: 130
Combined:
July 2025 challenge stats
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New all-around records set!
Combined Benton & Franklin Counties total: 158 species
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W. E. Johnson Park - Richland
Christmas Bird Count - Saturday, Dec 27, 2025
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is the much-anticipated highlight of the winter birding season throughout much of the Americas. With humble beginnings nearly 125 years ago, the CBC is one of the world's largest community science projects, facilitating the gathering and compilation of an immense amount data about hundreds of bird species.
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The Tri-Cities Christmas Bird Count (CBC) regularly has the highest number of species seen inland in Washington thanks to strong community and LCBAS member support.
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It is typically held the first Saturday following Christmas Day.
View from Bateman Island causeway
Bateman Island Bird Walk
Bateman Island is a major birding hotspot in the Mid-Columbia. Located at the confluence of the Yakima and Columbia Rivers, the island and surrounding waters are teeming with a huge variety of birds and other wildlife throughout the year. Over 230 species of waterfowl, songbirds, raptors and shorebirds have been documented in a variety of habitats.
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​​​The island is located in Richland, WA, accessed from Columbia Park Trail.
Belted Kingfisher
Larry Umthun
Bullock's Oriole
Larry Umthun
Common Loon
Larry Umthun
View to the south from Columbia Point over the Yakima R. delta toward Bateman Island
For many years, Bateman Island in Richland was the location of the First Saturday bird walk. In December 2025, the causeway to the island will be removed and ACCESS TO THE ISLAND WILL NO LONGER BE POSSIBLE VIA THE CAUSEWAY.
The island can still be reached via watercraft.
First Saturday bird walks will now be held at other great birding locations!