<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;">Hi Everyone,<div><br></div><div>Several weeks ago I posted a list of vacant routes that I had for this winter’s Winter Raptor Survey Project sponsored by the East Cascades Bird Alliance (formerly Audubon Society) based in Bend, OR. I did fill some of them but still have a selection of vacant routes to choose from incase you are interested in participating in the project this winter by taking one of these routes. Here is a list of vacant WA routes and their mileage lengths :</div><div><br></div><div>Raymond - Holcomb. 53</div><div>Aberdeen 37</div><div>Castle Rock 52</div><div>Orcas Island 34</div><div>San Juan Island 69</div><div>Moses Lake North 66</div><div>Wapato 67</div><div>Selah 51</div><div>Chatteroy 49</div><div>Kennewick South 79</div><div>Kennewick SW 54</div><div>Prosser West 91</div><div>Touchet 73</div><div>Walla Walla NW 84</div><div>Walla Walla East 53</div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">The fact that we have 181 routes throughout WA and that we only need these 15 routes to fill the entire state for this project says volumes regarding the dedication that WA volunteers in this project put forth :). This will be our 21st survey season and we will have at least 584+ routes in the project this winter covering more that 34,000 miles of transects surveyed by over 470 primary project volunteers, it is a huge citizen science project :)</span><br style="font-family: ArialMT;"></div><div><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">To participate, I ask that our volunteers commit to one survey per month during the primary survey period from December through February. Volunteers can select survey dates each month to dovetail with their own life schedules. November and March are also available for surveying but these are optional months as they do contain migrational activity and this is a wintering project. You should have at least a pair of binoculars to help you find and ID the birds, spotting scopes are encouraged but not mandatory.</span><br style="font-family: ArialMT;"><br style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">If this sounds like something that you would like to do, I encourage you to email me soon so that you can hopefully cover the route(s) of your choice, I will necessarily fill these on a first come first served basis. If you make that decision, I will provide additional information and instruction to get you properly prepared for what you will be doing on these surveys. This is a fun way to enjoy winter birding while at the same time collecting valuable population data for this wonderful family of birds, I hope that you will join us this winter :). Thank you,</span><br style="font-family: ArialMT;"><br style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">Jeff Fleischer</span><br style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">Project Developer / Coordinator</span><br style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">Winter Raptor Survey Project</span><br style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">East Cascades Bird Alliance (formerly Audubon Society)</span><br style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">Bend, OR</span></div></body></html>