Thousands of migratory birds of the Pacific Flyway pass through northwest Washington to rest, eat and breed. A great place to see them is at Larrabee State Park, a 2,748-acre waterfront park located on Samish Bay.
According to Cascade Loop — a publication that tracks 225 of Washington’s 346 annually recorded bird species — birdwatchers exploring Larrabee State Park’s lakes, forests, saltwater coves and rocky tidepools can spot:
Harlequin Ducks
These ducks migrate in small flocks and are found in mountain streams in the summer and coastal waters in the winter. They eat mollusks, crustaceans and insects.
(song and call)
Double-Crested Cormorants
It’s common to find these birds nesting in trees near water and on sea cliffs. To forage, they dive from the surface and swim underwater.
(song and call)
Pelagic Cormorants
These birds nest in colonies on cliffs with vertical slopes and narrow ledges. They eat sculpin, herrings, greenlings, sand lance, crabs and shrimps.
(song and call)
Glaucous-Winged Gulls
You will find these birds across pacific coast bays, estuaries, beaches and rocky shorelines during the winter. They are known to break open clam and crab shells by dropping them through the air in mid-flight.
(song and call)
Great Blue Herons
These birds like to forage in calm waters, slow-moving rivers or in shallow bays. Some do not migrate and make the pacific coast their permanent home.
(song and call)
Bald Eagles
A spectacular site to see, these birds are known to eat herring, salmon, carp, catfish, ducks, coots, auklets, jackrabbits, muskrats and other mammals.
(song and call)
Common Loons
Known for their yodeled “oo-AH-ho,” these birds forage by diving and swimming underwater.
(song and call)
Mew Gulls
These birds concentrate around river mouths, lagoons and freshwater ponds near the shore in the winter. They spend their summers in Alaska and northwestern Canada.
(song and call)
Great Horned Owl
At night and at dusk these birds hunt for mammals and birds. They eat rats, mice, and rabbits, squirrels, opossums, skunks and birds the size of geese, ducks, hawks and smaller owls.
(song and call)
Northern Pygmy Owl
These owls are often found in forested areas, including open oak groves, sycamores in canyons, pine-oak woodland, coniferous forest and high mountains.
(song and call)
Barred Owls
Male and females bob and bow their heads, raise their wings and call while perched close together in order to court one another.
(song and call)
Don’t forget to pack your binoculars! To learn more about birds of the Pacific Flyway, visit www.audubon.org.