Winter Washington & British Columbia Jan 31—Feb 07, 2009
Posted by Bob Sundstrom
Bob Sundstrom
Bob Sundstrom has led VENT tours since 1989 to destinations including Hawaii, Mexico, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago, Iceland, Papua New Guinea, the Southwest Pacific islands,...Related Trips
Some of North America's most exceptional winter birding—great variety, spectacular numbers, and rarities—can be found each year in northwestern Washington and nearby British Columbia. The climate is mild for the latitude, and food resources for birds of prey, diving birds, and waterfowl are rich. Our tour ranged from Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula, then north to British Columbia, and then south again before returning to Seattle. The best birding is along the edges of marine bays, along forest edges, among vast, diked fields of delta flats, from the bows of ferries, and in some bird-filled refuges. With sparkling Mt. Baker (nearly 11,000 feet) to the east and the saw-toothed, snow-capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains to the west, each day's birding has a majestic backdrop.
Our 2009 tour began with crisp morning views of Varied Thrushes, Evening Grosbeaks, Purple Finches, Fox and Golden-crowned sparrows, and Chestnut-backed Chickadees. We soon headed west to Willapa Bay in search of a pair of rare Emperor Geese. Despite finding thousands of geese—Cackling, Greater White-fronted, and migratory Canadas—the Emperor Geese didn't show. But another rare sighting balanced the day: just after dark we had a good view of an American marten, a secretive and elusive forest mammal.
With two nights at Port Angeles, wedged between the foot of the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, both waterbirds and forest edge birds were plentiful. Beautiful Harlequin Ducks swam near finely-patterned Barrow's Goldeneyes, and Long-tailed Ducks and all three scoters dove in deeper water. The forest edge yielded wonderful looks at Winter Wren, Northern Pygmy-Owl, and more lovely Varied Thrushes. At Port Townsend we watched a large flock of Brant, close enough to see the fine details of their "lace collars," and tracked many Pacific and Red-throated loons as they flew close by a sea watch point. Birding from the bow of a foot-passenger ferry across Admiralty Inlet where we stood perhaps six feet above the smooth water, we pushed directly through several flocks of Ancient Murrelets and more than a hundred calling pairs of Marbled Murrelets.
With two days to explore north of the Canadian border, the tour ranged from Boundary Bay to downtown Vancouver. In Canada we had great views of five more owl species—Northern Saw-whet, Long-eared, Short-eared, Barn, and Barred—all seen during the day! The tiny Saw-whet Owl perched on the branch of a conifer, at eye level and at arm's-length. Equally memorable was the detailed spotting scope study of an adult Northern Goshawk, which perched in a bare tree as we admired the hawk's intense red eyes, finely marked underparts, and silver-gray back. Finally, we had to just walk away from the perched goshawk. This was really the view of a lifetime of a scarce and enigmatic bird that rarely perches in the open for long.
We covered repeatedly the area used by a roving Gyrfalcon, but were unable to catch up to it. In the process we saw numerous Peregrine Falcons and had great looks at Merlins. The open country on both sides of the border produced nice views of Northern Shrikes, dozens of handsome Rough-legged Hawks and, as a rough estimate, at least 500 Bald Eagles. In some places, more than a dozen Bald Eagles perched in the same bare trees. On the Boundary Bay tide flats, one could count 50 or more eagles from one spot.
The Boundary Bay waterfront produced dozens of Eurasian Wigeons and, as we re-crossed the border to the U.S., we saw both Tufted Duck and Common Teal, good rarities for North America. By the end of the tour we had seen 34 species of swans, geese, and ducks. And it was Snow Geese that left us with the most stirring experience of the entire trip: as we sat in the van alongside a massive goose flock grazing in a field, the entire flock—perhaps 25,000 Snow Geese—took flight. The deafening flock flew for minutes, back and forth across the road, in a low, tight, swirling curtain, nearly blotting out the reddening sunset, in a spectacle that left us speechless.
It was a great tour, with scarcely a drop of rain, more than its fair share of rarities and spectacle, and terrific Pacific Northwest seafood.