Audubon calendar taps local talent

The Spokane Audubon Society once again is offering monthly reminders that Eastern Washington residents are blessed with a colorful palate of avian residents and visitors.

The 2014 Birds of Eastern Washington calendar is on sale for $10 at the club’s website, spokaneaudubon.org.

The images are donated by chapter members who have the dual qualities of being gifted photographers and ardent birdwatchers who spend a lot of time in the field.

The bird photos gracing each month are the best images submitted to judges who made the final selection, said Kim Thorburn, club member. A wide range of species is featured, but the bird of the month is one that’s most likely to be in this area at that time of year, she said.

“There’s everything from exotic rarities to the mundane,” she said, referring to the 2014 calendar.

Featured this year are the Virginia rail, Ross’s gull, pine grosbeak, black-capped chickadee, white-rumped sandpiper, calliope hummingbird, great gray owl, tree swallows, sora, cedar waxwing, Steller’s jay, California quail, great horned owl and bald eagles.