Bird Fest Recon Trip at Stormy Preserve

Join Cascadia Conservation District’s Mark Ingman and Chelan-Douglas Land Trust’s Susan Ballinger to explore a variety of Entiat watershed bird habitats including recently restored riverside forests and shrubby creeks. We’ll walk off-trail for ½-mile along the Entiat River where over 60 species of birds use the riverside forest habitat during May. We hope to see resident American dipper, belted kingfisher, common merganser, and dozens of just-arrived migrant songbirds, especially flycatchers, warblers, and vireos. We will then drive a few miles on a dirt USFS road to explore Potato Creek that experienced the 2018 Cougar Creek Fire. The fire moved through the Entiat watershed in 33 days burning over 135,000 acres and 20% of the Potato Creek watershed. The mid-high severity fire left behind a charred landscape but also many snags for bird habitat. Now five years later, through a large investment from area restoration partners such as the USFS, Cascadia CD, Trout Unlimited and Cascade Fisheries, Potato Creek is vibrant and green—replete with birds, wildlife, and even more water! Come learn more about how beaver dams are accelerating the rate of post fire recovery and how they help form a containment line to future fires. 

Contact Susan Ballinger if you have any questions. [email protected].