Winter Washington & British Columbia Feb 04—11, 2006
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
Our 2006 Winter Washington and British Columbia tour took place during a week of almost spring-like weather, amid sunny days, blue skies, and temperatures reaching into the 50s. Our tour route ran from Seattle to the Olympic Peninsula to Vancouver Island, and then on to mainland British Columbia before returning to the North Puget Sound region. Birding extensively along the edges of marine bays and straits, along forest edges, among vast, diked fields of delta flats, and from the bows of ferries, we had many terrific birding experiences. Together with wonderful food, very nice lodging, and great company, it was a week to remember.
Quite likely the bird of the tour, for just about everybody, was the Snowy Owl—and we saw at least 19 different Snowies! The first was an extremely white individual, scoped nicely along Port Susan Bay on our first day of birding. But along Boundary Bay in British Columbia, we truly soaked up the Snowies. One late afternoon we counted ten at one spot, as we saw Snowy Owls on driftwood, on grassy mounds, and atop small trees. On two occasions we had superb morning light views of Snowies, in one instance of two heavily marked immatures at Point Brunswick that sat so close by you could see every feather. We also had wonderful views of Short-eared Owls flying moth-like across the Flats, as well as superb views of birds sitting on the ground or in a bare tree, showing their tiny, "short ears." And it was our good fortune to see not one, but three different tiny Northern Saw-whet Owls on day roosts, with each view a bit better than the last.
Perhaps the most impressive wildlife spectacles of the entire tour were the immense flocks of Snow Geese numbering in the tens of thousands. Bald Eagles sat on the ground like sentries around the flock edges. On the Skagit Flats, we watched thousands of Snow Geese rise together, all giving voice at once, as a Bald Eagle winged toward the flock. The final morning of the tour, the Snow Geese were shoulder to shoulder, right up to the edge of the road—close enough to reveal the diminutive Cackling Goose weaving through the massive flock of white geese. Near the mouth of the Dungeness River, we scoped a flock of at least 100 "Black" Brant at the tidal edge, close enough to see nicely the Brant's white, lace-like collar.
Swans were truly plentiful. With both Tundras and Trumpeters in the same swan flocks, we could make direct comparisons of their field marks, while also seeing the size difference between the species. Huge Trumpeter Swans were seen every day of the trip, with some flocks numbering in the hundreds.
There were many, many Northern Pintail to admire, often at close range, and with the winter sun lighting up every detail of their elegant plumage. Handsome Eurasian Wigeon drakes were spotted at several locations, and we had close studies of stunning male Harlequin Ducks. All three scoter species and both Barrow's and Common goldeneyes were seen in excellent light, and we scoped several immaculate Long-tailed Duck drakes, their sharply pointed tails angling backward, as they floated on the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There were memorable views of Hooded, Red-breasted, and Common mergansers, all at the seasonal peak of beauty. For the tour, we logged 32 species of waterfowl!
Bald Eagles of all age categories were a daily sight, often surprisingly conspicuous and numerous. At one spot along Boundary Bay in Canada, we counted 86 from one viewpoint. Red-tailed Hawks were ubiquitous throughout the tour, but an afternoon on the Samish Flats topped the viewing: we saw all three color morphs of the Western Red-tailed Hawk subspecies, including chestnut-breasted intermediate morphs, an all-chocolate-brown dark morph, and numerous light morphs, plus an adult Harlan's Red-tail which perched openly for careful study. Peregrine Falcons were seen every day of the tour; the most memorable were the two that simultaneously stooped on a flock of Dunlin, chasing the fleeing shorebirds for several minutes.
The aerobatic flocks of thousands of Dunlin were among the highlights of our trip, as they whirled in a variety of flock shapes and alternately showed their dark backs and then their reflective white undersides, which shone brightly in the winter sun.
On the ferry crossing to Victoria, British Columbia, a flock of Ancient Murrelets flew up right in front of the ferry, and then kept pace with the ferry for a moment or two—showing gray backs and black heads—before diving underwater directly from flight. Near Victoria, our experience with Sky Larks was superb. Even as we arrived at the site, Sky Larks were singing loudly overhead. Walking just a short distance along a path in the field, we flushed more Sky Larks at close range, then watched as others hovered low and high nearby, singing and fluttering their wings—a very satisfying encounter, both in sight and sound. Varied Thrushes provided another tour highlight, as we watched two beautifully marked males feeding at close range on a roadside on the Olympic Peninsula.
Other birds seen included hundreds of loons, grebes, and cormorants, Marbled Murrelet, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Thayer's Gull, Virginia Rail, Winter Wren, Marsh Wren, "Sooty" Fox Sparrow, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Northwestern Crow, Hutton's Vireo, and Golden-crowned Sparrow, among others.