PILCHUCK AUDUBON SOCIETY

Serving Snohomish County and Camano Island, Washington

Champion for the Environment

We are a local, grassroots environmental organization with a mission to conserve and restore natural ecosystems focusing on birds and other wildlife.

Become a member

Puget Sound Bird Fest

Poster Art Contest

Now accepting entries through January 31!

2026 Festival Theme:

Every Bird Has A Song

- A $500 prize will be awarded to the winner
- Winner featured as ARTspot’s May Art Walk artist and receives 20% discount at ARTspot for month of May
- The artist will also receive free publicity through Puget Sound Bird Fest marketing
- No photography or digital art will be accepted
- The poster dimensions are 11×17 inches in portrait orientation. To be consistent with the traditional poster design, a vertical art orientation works best
A minimum of four judges - at least one each from Cole Gallery, ARTspot, the Puget Sound Bird Fest Planning Committee, and the Pilchuck Audubon Society - will select the winning artwork.
Suggested donation of $10.
- Entrants must be 18 years or older, limit one entry per person.
- Submit a quality photo/scan of the artwork using this form
- Puget Sound Bird Fest Planning Committee members, employees of the City of Edmonds, Pilchuck Audubon Society, Cole Gallery, ARTspot, and their family members are not eligible.
The artist will keep the copyright of the artwork, but Pilchuck Audubon Society will be allowed to use the artwork for commercial purposes, including but not limited to selling festival posters and other festival merchandise.
The artist will be invited to have a booth at the festival and may sell the original and/or prints of the artwork.
- January 31, 2026 - Deadline for entries to be received
- February 16, 2026 - Winner announced
For questions about the contest, please contact Brian Zinke, director@pilchuckaudubon.org

Submit your artwork

126th Annual Christmas Bird Count

Edmonds CBC: December 20

Everett/Marysville CBC: December 27

Help us close out the year with our traditional Christmas Bird Count! Our chapter sponsors two counts - the Edmonds CBC and the Everett/Marysville CBC. These counts have been done continuously since 1984 and 1974, respectively.

How to participate:

Join a field team:

Go to different locations throughout the day and count birds in small teams. Routes are mostly pre-determined. Field teams gather around dawn and generally bird until late in the afternoon. Birders of all experience levels are welcome. Families with young children are better suited for the feeder watch portion of the CBC. Experienced birders are needed and we will try to place less experienced birders on experienced teams.

Be a feeder/yard counter:

If you prefer to bird from your favorite chair with a cup of hot coffee or tea, do we have a deal for you! If your residence falls within one of the two count circles, you can help by recording and reporting the birds at your feeders, in your yard, or from your balcony/patio. This is a lot of fun if you have young children or grandchildren who want to help. Please contact one of our compilers if you’d like to participate from the warmth of your home. Please note: you do not need a bird feeder to participate!

2023 Edmonds CBC participants by Brian Zinke

Owlers:

Owls are under-reported on our CBCs because they require nocturnal surveys. We would love to get some more folks out pre-dawn or post-sunset to listen for owls. We can direct you to specific locations.

Crow counters (Edmonds CBC):

In partnership with the University of Washington, we have a few stations where crow counters set up for a couple hours to count the crows coming to roost at sunset near the Bothell campus.

Visit our CBC webpage to view the count circle maps: www.pilchuckaudubon.org/christmas-bird-count

To sign up or learn more, contact one of our compilers: