Birdwatching in Winter

Joe Meche is president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and also serves the chapter as newsletter editor and birding programs coordinator. He has been watching birds for more than 50 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 30 years. He has written more than 100 articles for Whatcom Watch.

Some might consider winter as the time of year to stay close to the hearth and keep the home fires burning. While winter in the Pacific Northwest tends to be moderate compared to other parts of the country, it’s still colder and often wetter than the other three seasons. Regardless of the capricious nature of the season and the sometimes daunting conditions in the field, many consider winter to be the premier season for watching birds in the Fourth Corner.

There can be no argument about the excitement of spring and summer birding, with the variety of colors and birdsong that dominate the rituals of courtship. But during the nesting period, most birds tend to become secretive and find their own quiet and often hidden places to build their nests and raise their young. Except for colonial nesting species, birds often pair with their mates for the season and avoid the crowds. During winter, however, it’s an entirely different story.

Northern Birds Overwinter Here

Birds that have moved to the north and east for the breeding season return to the protected bays and other suitable habitats in winter, and they are anything but alone. The large flocks of birds that winter in the county can be quite impressive, and they tend to stay together. The diverse habitats in the lower elevations are usually ice-free and provide food and shelter for a variety of birds to make it through another cold season; and the sheer numbers of birds utilizing those habitats also provide delightful viewing for the watchers.

If your primary interest is waterfowl, species ranging in size from the large trumpeter swans to the diminutive buffleheads are easy to find and the areas they frequent are quite accessible to everyone. In all the open areas in the county, raptor fans see more eagles, hawks, and falcons during the winter months than at any other time of year. The leafless trees also make it easier to find owls during the day. The smaller passerine species are quite active throughout the winter and are a joy to watch from your home if you maintain well-stocked feeding stations. A good supply of suet will keep woodpeckers around, and Anna’s hummingbirds will entertain you if you keep your feeders from freezing. A good trick is to keep the feeders indoors at night and put them out during the day.

Avian Irruptions

In the world of birds, seasonal movements are like clockwork. North and southbound migrations often herald the changing seasons and humans have observed and often celebrated these movements as good omens. Migrations are normal patterns of behavior for birds that enable them to avoid the stress of harsh winters in their northern ranges. Our spring and summer insect eaters will head south when their food supply diminishes. When conditions become too harsh in higher elevations or farther north, good numbers of seed eaters will move south until they find food. Two notable species for winter viewing are snow buntings and common redpolls.

Several species of raptors that depend more on small mammals will also move farther south until they find sufficient food. When larger than usual numbers of these species encounter harsh weather and population crashes of the primary food sources in their northern haunts, they will take part in large movements known as irruptions. These irruptions are often sources of wonder and excitement for birdwatchers. Birds that we don’t see very often are suddenly everywhere, or so it seems.

As I write this column in early December, the big news for birdwatchers all across the northern tier states is an irruption of snowy owls. The snowy owl is one bird that generates more than a lion’s share of excitement among the bird watching public. Their normal range is well north of most population center and when they come down to spend the winter with us, snowy fever ensues. Numerous sightings have been reported in Washington state and the usual hotspot in the lower mainland of British Columbia has as many as forty individuals even before winter has really arrived. Snowy owls just across the border from here tend to congregate in the low-lying marshy areas outside the dikes on the north shore of Boundary Bay.

The scattered driftwood logs there provide perfect perches for these owls that live most of their lives in the treeless, open areas of the Arctic tundra. Places like the Dungeness Spit on the Olympic Peninsula and the area around Grays Harbor have similar features, but the best and most accessible viewing sites for local bird watchers is less than an hour away from Bellingham.

Boundary Bay, Birdwatchers’ Delight

Keep your passport in order and pack a lunch to spend the entire day at Boundary Bay and experience world-class birding. Along with snowy owls during irruption years, numerous diurnal raptors such as gyrfalcons and bald eagles provide excitement when they scatter large flocks of waterfowl that feed on the edges of the bay. Peregrine falcons and merlins focus their attention on the large flocks of wintering shorebirds such as dunlin, whose spectacular flights are well worth the trip.

Interest in winter birds is not a novel idea. Since 1900, the National Audubon Society has been conducting the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) to keep track of wintering birds. From the original count with 27 participants, the number of counts has grown to over 2,000 with almost 60,000 participants. The Bellingham CBC has been in operation since 1967 and is still going strong. One unique feature of CBCs everywhere is that weather is not a factor, and is often more of a topic of conversation than the birds themselves. The accepted theory is that the birds are out in the elements, so we should be out there as well. It certainly makes for a more efficient count.

With this sometimes-frenzied winter activity happening all around us, it’s no wonder that avid bird watchers tend to be more than ready to trade in the comfort of the hearth for a bit of cold-weather birding. Another plus of birding this time of year is that you don’t have to deal with the crowds of humans that you normally associate with warmer weather. So, batten the hatches and button up your overcoats and get outside to enjoy winter bird watching. It’s a known cure for cabin fever.