Whidbey Audubon Society
Our Mission & History
Since 1982, we have advocated for birds and protection of their environments on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound, Washington State.
Our Mission Statement
Whidbey Audubon Society is dedicated to the understanding, appreciation and protection of birds and other wildlife species and their habitats on Whidbey Island and in surrounding waters.
Our accomplishments and our methods
Advocacy, conservation and preservation: Across the Island we have had impacts that protect birds and their habitats. See our Advocacy page for what we’ve done and how.
Education: The more we learn, the more we care, and the more we can accomplish. We offer a variety of educational programs that are available to members and nonmembers interested in discovering more about the world of birds. Please explore these in our Events and Education tabs.
Tailored group presentations
School groups and classroom programs
“Birds of Whidbey” class
The Bird in Hand Festival
Monthly Programs
Field Trips
Scholarships: Whidbey Audubon Society Renee Smith Scholarship for Environmental Studies awarded to exceptional graduating Whidbey high school seniors going on to pursue degrees in environmental programs
Building community: All of our activities seek to build a community invested in the protection of birds. But this is not stern-faced work; our goal is to have fun while making a difference. Investigate our website to see what we do. You may want to become a member with us!
Outreach and volunteering: We conducted a survey of our members in the spring of 2024, see the results here. We also began to identify volunteer tasks, see Volunteer Opportunities.
Whidbey Audubon History
1981
October 13: Initial organizing meeting. Nineteen members of the Seattle Audubon Society living on Whidbey Island met at the home of Horace and Mary Bradt. Present were Richard Martyr of the Northwest Regional Office of Audubon and Hazel Wolf, Secretary of the Seattle chapter. Minutes of the meeting.
The board decided to base the chapter's logo on the Great Blue Heron because of the large number of them on the island.
1982
January 14: First membership meeting. Members viewed a film titled Wild America, Who Needs It? and discussed field trips and programs. Marv Seeyle and Rick Nash reviewed logo designs and selected one designed by Herbert Parsons of Anacortes, an art instructor at Skagit Valley College.
February 11: Second membership meeting. Merle Segault read a letter from the Audubon regional representative Daniel Taylor enclosed with the chapter's provisional charter. The permanent charter would go into effect in one year. At the same meeting, the members approved Parson's logo. The first elected board consisted of the following:
President Vince Hagel, VP Dorothea Jones, Secretary Merle Segault, Treasurer Connie Allin, Conservation Roger Allin, Education Mark Guidry, Field Trips KC Jones, Membership Lois Beaubien, Newsletter Nancy Arnold, Programs Hank Hansen, Publicity Charlene Arnold, and Historian Judy MacDonald
Shortly after, Jack McPherson suggested ShoreLines as the name for the newsletter.
Crockett Lake Drainage
When Whidbey Audubon was founded, the Crockett Lake controversy was ongoing. At some point in the island's history, a drainage district was created to allow the ground to be used for farming. In the 1970’s developers sought to repair the tide gates to make the property buildable and a court order gave them permission to do so. But a local organization called Save Whidbey Island for Tomorrow (SWIFT) successfully sued in Washington State's Supreme Court to preserve the lake as an important wildlife habitat.
But in 1982 SWIFT noted that the lake's level was falling and pressured the state Department of Ecology to stop the drainage. Whidbey Audubon assisted in this campaign.
Al and Nancy Arnold, Hank Hansen, and Roger Allin represented the conservationist viewpoint during the long hours of hearings that went into Island County's Comprehensive Plan.
Whidbey Audubon began participating in the annual national Christmas Bird Count.
1983
Al Arnold presented Audubon's position regarding the Shoreline Master Program to the county government.
1984
On December 21, a ship leaked 5000 gallons of number 6 fuel oil in Admiralty Inlet, 1500 of which washed onto Whidbey beaches. Members helped rescue birds and contributed to the Whidbey Wildlife Clinic.
2002
Frances Wood began a long-term study of pigeon guillemots. Trained volunteers monitor twenty nesting colonies, supported by the Island County Marine Resources Committee.
2008
On the evening of April 10, Whidbey Audubon celebrated its 25th anniversary.
