I’m delighted to share a new series I’m contributing to a worthy awareness campaign right here on my home turf of Skagit Valley, Washington state: Be Bird Wise is a communication program of Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland, an organization comprised of agricultural, commercial, conservation, government and public members working together to preserve a farming landscape in Skagit Valley.
First in the series is photographer Kersti Muul of Seattle, who’s visited Skagit Valley for decades to photograph the wild birds like owls and shorebirds that gather and pass through.
Skagit Valley is a world-class birding destination year round, especially in the fall and winter months when swans and geese from the Arctic congregate in the thousands on the fields across the area. These birds bring more than just an photo-ready appearance of snow on the fields—they bring complex issues like crop destruction and increased traffic to the region for the people who come to see them.
Muul weighs in from the perspective of an ethical wildlife photographer observing the increase in visitors and the changes to the landscape that both industry and the birds bring. Please read her observations at Be Bird Wise, and check back for more input with users like a birder, a dairy farmer and a hunter—all forthcoming. This should be an engaging series informing birders of the impact we have on the places we visit to see birds.
Short-eared owl in Skagit Valley. Image by Kersti Muul.