I was blown away this winter by the number of birds that I passed by as I drove all around Skagit Valley, including fields filled with snow geese and eagles in trees being photographed by many birdwatchers. Hooray, I thought, birds are making a comeback!

I checked with my friend Libby Mills who is a leading bird expert and has been teaching people about birds for 50 years or so. Libby is a naturalist who is associated with the Padilla Bay Interpretive Center, the North Cascades Institute and a field trip coordinator for the Skagit Audubon Society.

Sad to say, Libby made it very clear to me...