Seasonal Changes

Joe Meche is a past president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and is still active in chapter affairs.He has been watching birds for more than 60 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 40 years. He has written more than 140 articles for Whatcom Watch.

Since this month’s Whatcom Watch is a double issue covering October and November, we’ll be beyond summer and well into fall by the time you read this. If we hadn’t been watching the calendar and noticed all the kids going back to school, we had a reminder on the second Wednesday in September that fall is indeed upon us. A planned morning of kayaking at Semiahmoo was postponed when I arrived and saw the whitecaps on Drayton Harbor. Strong gusts of wind were forcing most birds to lay low in protected areas while nature had its way. My driveway was a carpet of leaves by the time I returned home and there was no doubt that fall had arrived.

This noticeable change in the weather foretold the transition from summer into fall, so bird watching now takes on a new look for the rest of this year and on into the next. The most important issue to address when the weather changes is clothing and I’m always reluctant to put away my shorts and pull out my big boy pants, but recent early morning outings in Whatcom Falls Park and at Semiahmoo convinced me that it was already time to start thinking about adding layers. No matter the time of year or where you’re looking for birds, personal comfort should always be the main concern. Being cold and wet will certainly ruin an otherwise good day of birding.

With predictable cooler and wetter weather on the way — please don’t shoot the messenger — take a little time to do a quick check of all your foul weather gear, from boots to bonnets. Set aside a special place to keep your gear ready because the season ahead always has potential to be the most exciting time of the year, for bird watching and for weather watching. Birding in open areas can be brutal when the northeast winds rake through the county, so be prepared.

This is also the time to clean your optics of the dust and grime that has surely accumulated during the busy spring and summer. Many of us were in the field as often as possible and busy with all the breeding activity of our resident and migratory species. Think of all the sunscreen and bug spray that might have worked their way into all the hard-to-reach places on your binoculars and scopes. If you use a scope, make sure to check your tripod as well. Few things are more exasperating in the field than equipment that doesn’t perform, especially because of improper maintenance.

With all your clothing and gear squared away, you’re ready to go birding! From early fall and into winter, birding in Whatcom County is quite possibly as good as it gets. With all of the Neotropical migrants well on their way south, our winter residents are set to share space for the next few months with visitors from the north. Some of the visitors, like black-bellied plovers, Bonaparte’s gulls and common terns, stopped by for a while on their way farther south. Other species are beginning to arrive with plans to stay throughout the winter.

On a visit to Blaine and Semiahmoo in mid-September, I observed common loons, small rafts of horned grebes, and more than one thousand scoters. Surf scoters were the more numerous in the large rafts, but good numbers of their white-winged cousins were also on hand. For some reason, it seemed to be a little early to see that many scoters in local waters near the end of summer. Many natural systems are showing a variety of effects from climate change, so I’m always alert to small clues like this. Birds are often the best indicators of problems, much like the old canary in the coal mine.

Whenever I’m asked to make recommendations about the best places to find birds between October and April, I always lean toward the highly accessible Whatcom County shoreline. From the Peace Arch at Blaine to the Skagit County line, tens of thousands of birds of numerous species flock here to enjoy the moderate maritime climate. Bays, inlets, and estuaries provide protection and food in habitats which are usually ice-free throughout the coldest months of winter. If you’d like to do a variation of a birder’s Big Day without leaving the county, you can build an impressive list of species by following the county shoreline from top to bottom.

If you want to spend the day in one place instead of inside the cramped confines of your vehicle, there is one best place in the county to see more birds. The expansive Drayton Harbor-Semiahmoo Bay area is one of the premier winter birding locations in the entire Pacific Northwest. Drive up the Interstate to the last Blaine exit and start your day by walking the entire Blaine waterfront, beginning and ending at the first shelter at Marine Park. The vast tide flats of Semiahmoo Bay can be viewed from a variety of locations, including four covered shelters. Be sure to pack your scope for maximum coverage and start early in the day, especially when the shorter days will limit your time afield.

Follow the trail along the water and walk to the end of Marine Drive for close-up views of all the diving birds you can handle. The channel between Blaine harbor and Semiahmoo is one of the best places anywhere to see a much-coveted Arctic bird, the long-tailed duck. Depending on conditions in their normal winter ranges, long-tail numbers can be impressive down here, and their distinctive calls leave no doubt as to what you’re hearing. Along with the long-tails will be loons, mergansers, scoters, cormorants, goldeneyes and more. Numerous shorebirds will probe the flats depending on the tide, and the boat launch area is a shorebird magnet.

After a thorough search for birds at the Blaine waterfront, drive along the water around the perimeter of Drayton Harbor to the Semiahmoo Spit. There are numerous opportunities for more species as you cross the estuaries of Dakota and California Creeks. The southern expanse of Drayton Harbor often hosts incredible numbers of American wigeons, green-winged teal and northern pintails. Pintail and wigeon numbers can exceed ten thousand individuals in this sheltered habitat. These impressive gatherings of waterfowl played a big role for this area to gain recognition as one of Washington’s Important Bird Areas.

I’ve often said that I could easily spend entire days on the Semiahmoo Spit and never want for more. From the accessibility standpoint to the variety and number of birds you will see, there’s no other place that compares. Plan to take your lunch break here and walk the entire spit for the best results. There are times when the sheer number of birds on both sides of the spit will leave you in awe. The stunning vistas of the Northwest are always on full display with the Canadian Coastal Range and the North Cascades in full view. There is no other place that combines natural beauty and birds as well as the Semiahmoo Spit.

I plan to lead several field trips to this area throughout the winter for the North Cascades Audubon Society and the Washington Ornithological Society. Consult the respective web sites of these organizations for more info, and consider joining me for some of the finest winter birding the Northwest has to offer. Just remember to take your scope and your layers and I’ll see you there.