1889 AugSept 2017

what i’m working on
Chasing Birds in Washington
Alex Patia is Washington’s top birder
interview by Nick Engelfried
photography by Alex Patia
FOR ALEX PATIA, birding isn’t just a hobby—it’s a way of life. On
any given weekend, he’s likely to be driving hundreds of miles to
sites across Washington, searching for the rarest, newest and
most elusive birds spotted in the state. So far this year he has
seen 297 bird species in Washington, earning the title of state’s
“top birder” from the widely used website eBird. Patia’s goal is to
see more than 350 Washington birds by year’s end, a personal
record. He’s closing in on it fast.
How did you become a serious birder?
My very first memory is being in my
aunt and uncle’s backyard in California,
and them having me hold out a peanut
so a jay would come take it from my
hand. I’ve always been fascinated by
birds, but I didn’t get really serious until
2013. I was visiting my folks in Illinois
and saw thousands of snow geese on a
nearby lake. I wasn’t used to seeing these
spectacular birds there and realized
there are so many birds I just hadn’t
been noticing. I started using eBird to
track sightings of rare birds. I saw an
alert for a sage thrasher, a species you’d
hardly ever see in Illinois. I went looking
and found it in the middle of an RV park.
That gave me the bug to start finding
odd birds, chasing down rarities and
keeping my own “life list.”
What motivates you to spend your free
time traveling and looking for birds?
I am motivated by finding new birds for
the year, and every once in a while a lifer
I’ve never seen before. Four times this
year I drove to Mansfield hoping to see
sage grouse. Three times I struck out.
The fourth time I finally got to see this
elusive, endangered bird in Washington,
and that made it all worth it. The other
thing that keeps me motivated is
meeting other birders. There’s a whole
community of people you run into
again and again, showing up where rare
birds have been reported on opposite
ends of Washington.
What’s your most exciting bird
sighting this year?
The coolest for me personally was an
American bittern in Skagit Flats. It’s a
small wading bird that blends in almost
perfectly with vegetation and is very
difficult to spot. I was watching the
cattails, and suddenly they seemed to
come to life. A bird’s head poked out
of the leaves and it started strutting
through the marsh.
How does birding affect the way you
see the world?
I’m never not birding—which can be a
problem when I’m talking with friends
and coworkers. I’ll be focused on the
conversation but also notice a really
cool bird flying overhead. Once you’ve
honed in and begun noticing what’s
around you, it’s hard to turn that off. It
opens your eyes to a world you didn’t
realize was there all along.
What’s your advice for people who
want to get into birding?
First, buy a good field guide—I
personally like the one by David Allen
Sibley. Look through it, get
comfortable with
what the birds look like, and you’ll start
realizing you’ve seen lots of them. It’s a
great feeling when a picture from a book
becomes a real, tangible thing. Next,
get a pair of binoculars and start using
them. Beyond that, spend time outside.
You’ll start recognizing the common
birds and when rarer species show up,
they’ll stand out. If you don’t have time
to go birding regularly, get a bird feeder
and hang it outside your window. The
birds will come to you.
What’s next for you?
I’m planning my biggest birding trip yet
for the year. It’ll take me to the east side
of the Cascades, down to Walla Walla,
out through the Columbia Gorge to the
coast. One great thing about birding in
Washington is there’s an incredible array
of habitats on public lands, so seeing lots
of very diverse birds is inevitable. Even on
a bad birding day you’ll see interesting,
cool things. Almost every day birding, I
see something new and unexpected.
Sage thrasher
AUGUST | SEPTEMBER 2017 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 47