2008 Tour Narrative
In Brief: The inaugural running of the WINGS Pacific Northwest in Winter tour was a great study in contrasts. Despite running into one of the largest snowstorms in recent memory, the tour recorded a respectable 136 species, while exploring some of the most picturesque scenery on the continent. The unquestioned highlight of the tour occurred on the second morning, when the group was enjoying the snowy Coastal Mountains of British Columbia. Likely encouraged downslope by the weather, large numbers of winter finches were flocking to the roadsides of Manning Provincial Park. Crippling and repeated views of stately Pine Grosbeaks, elegant Evening Grosbeaks, stunning White-winged Crossbills, surprising Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches, Cassin’s Finches, and flocks of Pine Siskins and Red Crossbills each took turns vying for our attention as they fed yards ahead of the car. Other vignettes that will undoubtedly stay with this year’s participants included a pair of American Dippers foraging at close range along a babbling stream on Vancouver Island; scope-filling views of a male Red-breasted Sapsucker that remained almost motionless for minutes; the raptor spectacle of the Samish Flats, where numbers of Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers, Short-eared Owls, Bald Eagles, and Peregrine Falcons patrolled the fields; and the sheer number of sea ducks, grebes, and loons that come each year to the Puget Sound for the winter. For our 2009 tour the itinerary has been slightly reworked to maximize time in the field and to provide more time on scenic Vancouver Island.
In Detail: Our first morning in Seattle dawned crisp and cool as we made our way over to the Carnation Valley in search of songbirds. We located a first-winter Harris’s Sparrow in a large flock of Golden-crowned, White-crowned, and Song Sparrows. Flushed with early success, we headed north to the Snohomish Flats, where we were treated to fine studies of Trumpeter Swans and a nice selection of ducks, including side-by-side views of Greater and Lesser Scaup. After lunch north of Snowhomish we ventured to the justifiably famous Skagit Flats area south of Bellingham. Among the vast farm fields, diked wetlands, and small forest patches we located over ten thousand Snow Geese (an isolated breeding population that breeds mainly on Wrangel Island, Siberia) and a wealth of raptors, including a beautiful adult Peregrine Falcon, many Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks and Northern Harriers, more than 50 Bald Eagles, and five foraging Short-eared Owls. A flooded field contained hundreds of feeding Dunlin and a good number of Black-bellied Plovers, and a real treat—a wintering Pacific Golden-Plover! As the sun began to fade we drove north into Canada and then east, up the Fraser River Valley to the small town of Hope, nestled at the base of the mountains.
The morning around Hope was a great success, with a gorgeous flock of about sixty Evening Grosbeaks and no less than five Varied Thrushes vying for our attention in a local yard. Little did we know that this was a mere portent of things to come. We headed up the narrow Highway 3 corridor, flanked by very steep-sided mountains, past spindly conifers and rushing streams, and were amazed at the beauty of the landscape all clad in freshly fallen snow from last week’s storms. We tried to make it up to Manning Park quickly, but were constantly stopping to observe flocks of Pine Siskins and Red Crossbills feeding along the roadside edges. In one of the flocks we found a locally rare Cassin’s Finch, and a little higher up a few Pine Grosbeaks. It had already been an amazing day for winter finches, but Manning Park provided even more excitement, as we soon located groups of White-winged Crossbills and Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches, both quite rare in this corner of the province. Gray Jays, Mountain Chickadees, and a flyover Clark’s Nutcracker rounded out a great morning in the Rockies. After lunch, complete with butter tarts from a diner in Hope, we headed down to the Fraser River Valley and found our way in light snow to the fields north of Boundary Bay. Here we had our first taste of the uncountable numbers of gulls and waterfowl that winter in the Fraser River Delta. The participants were treated to a mini gull workshop, with numbers of Herring, Glaucous-winged, Western, “Olympic,” Thayer’s, Ring-billed, and Mew Gulls available for close comparison. As the day drew to a close we headed to our comfortable hotel in Tsawwassen, B.C.
A cold front on day 4 brought some precipitation. We enjoyed a visit to the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, where the undoubted highlights were point-blank views of roosting Northern Saw-Whet and Great Horned Owls and Black-crowned Night-Herons, along with briefer views of Long-eared Owls and American Bittern. Other prize finds were a fleet of stunning Wood Ducks, very approachable Black-capped Chickadees and Sooty Fox Sparrows, and good views of Purple Finches, the last possible finch species for the tour. In the afternoon we toured the fields of Boundary Bay, where the tens of thousands of gulls and waterfowl were astounding, and the constant presence of dozens of Bald Eagles left an indelible impression.
Day 5 found us waiting in line for the ferry to Vancouver Island. During our wait we enjoyed fresh and creative crepes and fine close views of Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Black Turnstone, and Surfbird. Once we were bound for Victoria, the birding picked up quickly with an astounding number of Pacific Loons in Active Pass and several flyby Brant’s Cormorants and Common Murres. We had great success on the island with no less than 9 Eurasian Skylarks, some giving short bursts of glorious song while skylarking overhead. After our visit with the Skylarks we ventured to an excellent local pub for lunch and visited beautiful Goldstream Provincial Park, where Western Red Cedars, moss-covered forest floor, and rich fern- and lichen-clad logs provided a great backdrop for several wonderful birds. A stunning male Red-breasted Sapsucker competed with many Golden-crowned Kinglets, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, a few cooperative American Dippers, and several Barrow’s Goldeneyes for “bird of the walk.” We closed a most enjoyable birding day with a short tour of Victoria’s waterfront, with its attendant Harlequin Ducks, Black Oystercatchers, Pigeon Guillemots, and more than two dozen Marbled Murrelets. The Laurel Point Inn, near the city’s main harbor, never fails to impress, and dinner at a locally famous seafood restaurant capped a very satisfying day in the field.
The next morning we enjoyed a few minutes at Clover Point, where Black Turnstones and various species of gull huddled nearby in the lee of the point and hordes of birds were feeding out in the whitecaps. We then headed to the University of Victoria, where the forested trails of campus offered great studies of a curious Hutton’s Vireo, several stunning male Anna’s Hummingbirds, and shy Winter and Bewick’s Wrens. Reluctantly pulling ourselves away from the opulent Laurel Point Inn, we spent a short time in downtown Victoria’s shopping district before heading out to the ferry terminal. Flocks of Mew and Bonaparte’s Gulls joined the previous day’s horde of Pacific Loons at Active Pass, and the addition of a few close Brant’s Cormorants and Bald Eagles made the crossing that much more impressive. Boundary Bay held a large flock of mixed shorebirds roosting at high tide, but all too soon we had to journey south to our hotel on Whidbey Island. A short stop along the Blaine Fishing Pier allowed us to enjoy very close views of White-winged Scoter and good views of Barrow’s Goldeneye and Black Scoter amidst several thousand roosting gulls and cormorants.
On our last full day of birding we explored the coastline, deep-water bays, freshwater marshes, and scenic woodlands of Whidbey Island before heading again to the bird-rich agricultural fields of the Samish Flats. On Whidbey we spent some time deciphering the subtle differences between the peeps. Close views of resting Pigeon Guillemots in all iterations of their plumage and a truly impressive congregation of Red-throated Loons in the beautiful Deception Pass were also listed as highlights. The Samish Flats provided a large number of raptors: where else in North America can a group tally 175 birds of prey in a scant two hours? A feeding flock of Tundra Swans accompanied by a seemingly endless group of American Wigeon proved to be the last addition to a much more than respectable list of 136 species. A great concluding dinner at a Seattle tapas restaurant was universally enjoyed.
Gavin Bieber
Updated: February 2008