To record this episode of The Bird Banter Podcast I had the privilege of spending the day birding in Wahkiakum County, WA with my guest Andrew Emlen. Andrew is the top eBird lister in Wahkiakum County, is a very good birder, and a super nice guy. In addition he lives on and owns the Alcyon Farm, a fabulous Creekside property with a large area of restored riparian habitat and is a proprietor of Columbia River Kayaking.

On our day in Wahkiakum Andrew took Marian and me birding on his farm, and in local areas before we sat in the shade in the early afternoon at one of his Kayak put-in spots to talk about his birding story and his esperiences birding, kayaking and living in the area.

Many of Andrews Kayak trips are for Road Scholars, the over-55 experience based learning network. He leads 5-day kayak and nature courses in the lower Columbia River area, as well as some trips to the Sea of Cortez, in California Baja.
Andrew talks briefly about Steamboat Slough. Here is an article about the history of the steamboats of the Columbia.
Andrew is also the base violin player for the Skamakowa Swamp Opera band. You can find them on Facebook here. If you like music by birders, check out The Bird Banter Podcast Episode #52 with Stephanie Seymore.
Andrew’s farm is called Alcyon Farm, derived from the generic name for kingfishers, Halcyon, and for the myth of Halcyon. Read about it here.

Andrew’s Alcyon Farm has made use of the USDA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to restore the Creekside riparian corridor at his farm.

The Baja kayak trips that Andrew leads are through Sea Kayak Baja Mexico. Check it out on their web site here.
The Julia Butler Hansen Preserve in Wahkiakum County is well knows for its birding, as well as for the Columbia race of White-tailed Deer.

 

If you enjoyed the music of the Skamakowa  Swamp Opera you can buy their last album on Amazon.