Red Tails March/April 2026
- naomihanvey
- Mar 17
- 4 min read
Click below to download a PDF of the newsletter!
28th Annual Othello Sandhill Crane Festival
by Gayle Talbot, President
The 2026 Sandhill Crane Festival is March 20-22. This year’s theme is “Discover Sandhill Magic.” CBAS has supported this local event from its inception in 1998! The purpose of the festival has been to celebrate the annual return of nearly 35,000 Sandhill Cranes to Othello, Washington, every March as they migrate north to their breeding grounds in Alaska. The festival offers an incredible opportunity to view the cranes up-close, with tours led by local experts. The festival also boasts other specialty tours of the flora, fauna, and geology of the area, as well as many lectures and children’s activities.
If you have not attended before, or if it’s been a few years, there are new things in store for you! On Saturday, CBAS will again man a booth, which this year include Kids’ Pollinator Garden/Backyard Habitat packets plus a home project challenge for kids and their families. Awards are given for completed projects! We will also have our popular peanut butter cup bird feeder kits for free. There is something new for adults too each day of the festival. Registration is via online only at this link and you can follow on Facebook.
Remember to come by our booth on Saturday in the gym and say hi!
Ron Van Nurden Memorial Scholarship
by John R. Moody, Scholarship Chair
Do you know a high school senior who is interested in wildlife and their habitat and/or the environment affecting animals, birds, bees and habitat? We are asking you because this spring, the Central Basin Audubon Society (CBAS) is offering the Ron Van Nurden Memorial Scholarship to at least three graduating high school seniors who are planning a course of study involved with the following: Environmental Education, Environmental Stewardship or Wildlife Conservation, the field of Natural History dealing with wildlife, and/or Wildlife Habitat. These young people are our next generation to help protect our wildlife and their natural habitats. Each scholarship will be for at least $1000, with preference given to those students attending a college or university within the state of Washington. Our objective is to help support students whose goals are to pursue a career in conservation science, fish and wildlife management, habitat restoration and maintenance, enforcement for the protection of wildlife and habitat, or similar. Two examples of college study areas are Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Sciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Additionally, CBAS will award continuing scholarships to several college students continuing their studies towards their degree. In 2025, CBAS provided $16,000 divided among five recipients for their college education.
The scholarship instructions and application forms are available at participating high schools and on our website under the “What We Do” tab.
Valentine's Day Morning
by John Moody, Scholarship Chair
Now that I am living here in the Yuma Valley in southwestern Arizona, I am used to seeing a variety of birds sharing my back yard, including the neighborhood Roadrunner. However, yesterday and this morning, there were no birds visible to me as there are normally. This morning as I sat at my table having breakfast, I watched a Red-Tailed Hawk land on the far side of the lawn, and I wondered what it was having for breakfast. As I rose and stretched to see, I noticed that it was glistening from water droplets on its feathers catching the early morning sun. He was enjoying the shower being provided by the lawn sprinklers. With his chest puffed out and wings taking turns to be rinsed, it was like watching a giant robin in a bird bath, as this hawk washed and preened himself. After the sprinklers shut off, this beautiful Red-Tailed Hawk stood and stretched tall then shook off all excess water before rising up and flying to a neighbor’s tree. If only I could have filmed this event, which was a first for me and most enjoyable to observe. Perhaps he is the reason there were a lot of doves down, gracing a portion of my yard yesterday morning. 🤠
Did You Know?
The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the most common birds of prey in the Columbia Basin. According to AllAboutBirds.org this local raptor has a raspy scream that is often used whenever a raptor appears in a movie. That means the Bald Eagle or Peregrine Falcon shown in a movie likely doesn’t sound quite like you think it does, because movie-makers think the Red-tailed Hawk just has a cry that grabs audiences.
More Sandhill Cranes!
Photos by Paula Zanter-Stout
Thank You So Much!
by Margaret Schiffner, Treasurer
Thank you to Twila Herrin, Moses Lake, WA, and to John Moody, Yuma, AZ, for renewing memberships. Additionally, thank you to our Ron Van Nurden Scholarship Donors: Twila Herrin and Richard & Brenda Teals, Moses Lake, WA; Sheila Moore, Arlington, VA; Doris Clark, Harbeson, DE; Jesse Dunn, Birmingham, AL; Give Lively Foundation, New York, NY; Blackbaud Giving Foundation, Charleston, SC; Renaissance Charitable, Indianapolis, IN; Smart Payables, Englewood, CO.
We also thank everyone who helps us put out a quality newsletter! Thank you John Moody for paying for a year’s worth of hard copy Red Tails Newsletters! Thank you Paula Zanter-Stout for your fabulous photography! And we thank Naomi Hanvey for her graphic design skills and A&H Printers for printing a beautiful newsletter!
Bird Watching!
Photos by Paula Zanter-Stout
