READER REQUEST: Special reason to watch for neighborhood birds this holiday weekend
Those nine birds are featured in West Seattle writer Lori Kothe‘s book “Birds Near My Home in the City by the Sea” (and have been featured many times in photos here on WSB). Any sightings this weekend carry extra importance. Lori explains in this request she asked us to share with you:
I have an ask of everyone in West Seattle now through midnight Feb 16: Download the Merlin Bird ID app and participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count (birdcount.org) for at least 15 minutes. See if you can find all nine birds featured in my picture book! The GBBC is a global citizen science annual event currently taking place (Feb 13-16, 2026) where people report birds they notice near them, and their data highlights in real time on a map.
As the author/illustrator of Birds Near My Home in the City by the Sea, this year, I am challenging all of West Seattle to participate to discover our bird neighbors and show the world what birds live here, and have added a virtual event to the map at bird count.org. It is super easy to use the app and honestly has opened my eyes and ears to all the birds around us. When I wrote the book, I pretty much only knew nine birds. Now I have 27 on my lifer list. Merlin enables someone to just tap the record button, and in real time it “hears a bird” and suggests what bird it is with photos and info, and the prompt to say “that’s my bird” and add it to your lifer list. That’s all you need to do to have your bird data added during the count!
And… Saturday, Feb 14 (today) from (now until) 2 pm, the Environmental Science Center’s Bird Fest is taking place at the Burien Community Center. I’ll be there with my book set up in the park as a story walk to play Bird Bingo and Trivia, and offering a bird suncatcher art activity. There will be live raptors and loads of info and activities for families. It’s a free event.
You can participate in the Bird Count without downloading an app, by the way – this page explains how. Lori adds, “I would love if people would send you their bird sightings from the weekend and any stories about birds so readers could share and compare lists of all the birds spotted near our home.” (Comments are great too.)
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