Washington: September Migration in the Pacific Northwest

September in the Pacific Northwest offers some of the finest migration birding in North America. This exclusive Cornell Lab Golden-wing Society tour brings participants into the heart of this seasonal spectacle, exploring a combination of coastal shorelines, mountain forests, river valleys, and a full day at sea on a private pelagic charter. Guided by Kevin Burke of VENT and hosted by Cornell Lab staff including Erin Pierce, the tour blends expert interpretation with relaxed camaraderie, excellent scenery, and rich natural history learning.

Beginning in Seattle, early outings focus on Puget Sound’s lowland forests and wetlands, where Red-breasted Sapsucker, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, “Sooty” Fox Sparrow, and Hutton’s Vireo spend late summer in mixed flocks. The group then travels to Washington’s outer coast, where Chateau Westport provides a comfortable base for exploring rocky shorelines, tidal flats, and coastal bays. This region is ideal for spotting Wandering Tattler, Surfbird, Black Turnstone, and migrants such as Pacific Golden-Plover, Ruff, or Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.

A highlight of the tour is the private pelagic trip offshore, where nutrient-rich waters fuel enormous seabird concentrations. Black-footed Albatross, South Polar Skua, Sabine’s Gull, Buller’s Shearwater, Pink-footed Shearwater, storm-petrels, fulmars, jaegers, and auklets offer spectacular viewing opportunities among rolling swells and open ocean light.

The final portion of the tour brings the group to the Olympic Peninsula and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The region’s deep forests, river valleys, and coastal headlands host Sooty Grouse, Varied Thrush, Red Crossbill, Harlequin Duck, Red-necked Grebe, scoters, and loons returning from Arctic breeding grounds. Throughout, evenings provide time for socializing, Cornell Lab updates, and reflection on the day’s species and scenery. With very good accommodations, beautiful landscapes, and expert guidance, this early-fall journey showcases the Pacific Northwest at its migratory peak.

Western Washington in September is a mosaic of marine coastlines, evergreen forests, tidal estuaries, and high mountain foothills. Along the Pacific shore, rocky headlands, sandy beaches, kelp beds, and shallow bays create habitat for shorebirds, loons, cormorants, and post-breeding Harlequin Ducks. Puget Sound’s lowlands blend Douglas-fir forests with wetlands, hedgerows, and meadows, supporting sapsuckers, chickadees, vireos, and migrant songbirds. The Olympic Peninsula rises into deep, moss-laden forests with cool canyons, cascading rivers, and subalpine ridges where thrushes, owls, and crossbills thrive. Offshore, cold-water upwellings fuel some of North America’s most productive pelagic ecosystems, drawing albatrosses, shearwaters, jaegers, and storm-petrels in dramatic numbers.