Waterfront and Wildlife

Terence Wahl is a long-time resident of Bellingham, local bird expert and author.

In recent months and years there have been widespread news reports and publicity describing Bellingham’s attraction as a great place to live and enjoy. Recently much emphasis has been placed on the importance of water sports including kayaking and of activities such as recreational boat building which supports boatmakers and sellers, skills teachers, building rentals, fun and, undoubtedly, tax revenues.

I’ve lived in Bellingham for many years. I represent wildlife here, a non-voting, non-taxpaying interest group. Some concerns about wildlife have been expressed in publications I wrote about the status of birds in Whatcom County,1 in Bellingham Bay,2 and as an editor and author of a book about birds in Washington.3 A number of my other publications deal with seabirds of the North Pacific and the Washington outer coast and inland marine waters.

And I was co-principal investigator of a seabird study in the Marine Ecosystems Analysis Program (MESA)4 covering northern inland marine waters by extensive surveys in 1978-79 funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. Data from this now serves as benchmark data used by Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) surveys monitoring marine bird populations today.

In addition to being “memory-disadvantaged” by remembering too much compared to recent newcomers to this area, my experience observing birds on Bellingham Bay for about 60 years including conducting censuses for 40 years on the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) adds further to my personal perspective and concerns.

Before humans “developed” the waterfront, wild birds were common, as typified by reports of flocks of swans using the shoreline where Whatcom Creek entered the bay. The waterfront has gone through an evolution of industry including lumber mills and huge areas of log booms, pulp and paper mill, shipyards in the Fairhaven and Squalicum areas, operation of piers for shipping, for passenger vessels and freight boats, railroad car barges, Pacific American Fisheries (PAF) cannery and shipping dock, pleasure boating, garbage disposal in dumps and in midbay, industrial discharges, sewage outfall and surface water runoff.

The industrial situation has changed greatly, of course, and yet, sadly, from a marine bird standpoint, some aspects of the past were better than those today. Though the environment is undoubtedly cleaner now, extensive log booms provided roosts then.

And a post-World War II concrete barge (“Nix Beeman” to old-timers), used to protect log booms where the Squalicum Marina now exists, served as habitat for the first gull colony. (The removal of the barge apparently encouraged the shift and spread of roosts and nesting areas. Gulls shifted to nest on the G-P lagoon breakwater, roofs of Bellingham Cold Storage buildings, Port of Bellingham warehouses, the cement plant, Morse Steel and places like Lowell School.)

The only other seabird nesting on the developed waterfront was the pigeon guillemot. Several pairs nested under the Taylor Street dock and the PAF pier. Changes there led to the shift of just one or two nest sites now under the disused cement plant pier. A few pairs of Canada geese and mallards, species readily adaptable to humans, also nest at spots along the waterfront.

In the “old days” there was much less impact, probably by orders of magnitude, from recreation activities on nearshore habitats where bird density is highest. Except for western grebe flocks using offshore waters, most common species using Bellingham Bay concentrate in highest numbers in the shallow waters and along the adjacent shorelines. Today there is likely greater potential impact on wildlife on the bay due to recreation than from industrial activities or fishing.

A small example is the off-leash dog run at the lagoon next to the sewage treatment plant. Before dogs came, a flock of wigeon spent the winter foraging along the shoreline and in the grassy upland — there are no wigeon now. This is one of a number of changes that have happened over the 40-year span of the CBC. And the noise and explosions of the Fourth of July scare gulls nesting on buildings along the waterfront (crows and eagles, which are likely to prey on gull eggs and young, fortunately are not out at night).

Today, flocks of hundreds of dunlins (small sandpipers) roost on breakwaters, gulls and terns roost on buildings, goldeneye ducks forage in protected waters of the marina and beneath docks. Small numbers of shorebirds roost in winter on remnant boom-sticks and logs between Bayview Park and the end of Cornwall Avenue. This is essentially the wildlife using the urban waterfront habitats.

Flocks of several diving duck species used to be found along the waterfront from Taylor Street to Cornwall Avenue. These are virtually gone. (The few small beaches remaining on the urban waterfront are leftover spots break-watered or re-created with gravel and sand. They are too small and too vulnerable to disturbance to count for much as far as habitat is concerned.)

The shoreline, nearshore and intertidal areas from Post Point south and from Little Squalicum Beach to the Portage Island are the undeveloped or natural parts of the bay. The greater Nooksack delta area has gone through many changes over time. These include extensive net-fishing operations, a wharf serving Fort Bellingham in the very early days, massive amounts of Nooksack River sedimentation, operation of a cement-barging operation, activities such as dredge spoil disposal from the Squalicum Creek waterway and nearby creation of the Squalicum Harbor marina, and industrial discharge from Little Squalicum Creek. Nevertheless, the area is essentially natural today.

The delta and shallow waters comprise an important part of the bay and support large numbers of birds and species diversity. For example, in winter as many as 1,000 bottom-feeding birds per km2 may use shallow, soft-sediment bays such as Bellingham Bay in water to about 60 feet depth, the most productive areas for wildlife. Offshore waters from about 60-150 feet depths may support 100s/km2.. Birds there forage in midwater. Deep channels support 10s/km2 particularly at “fronts” or current boundaries where flocks may congregate at fish schools. (For comparison, deep midocean waters may have less than one bird/km2, especially in warm, cruiseship waters.)

A wide range of species depends on Bellingham Bay habitats. These include geese and ducks, cormorants, herons, loons, grebes, shorebirds, gulls, terns and alcids. Many species here in late winter and early spring are “getting in shape” for migration. They are building energy reserves in order to fly, often nonstop, up to several hundred miles north and east inland over mountain ranges and then lay eggs and raise young.

Examples include scoters — three species of big diving ducks — which winter in the area and forage on shellfish, including mussels attached to pilings, and in early spring on herring spawn outside Bellingham Bay. The common surf scoter occurred in very large, widespread flocks in the past, with 20,000 noted off Pt. Whitehorn in 1979. Along with the drastic decline in herring spawn since then, numbers of surf scoters have declined; this is shown by WDFW surveys in recent years.

Several thousand scoters may have shifted to the bay to make up for prey sources lost in Georgia Strait. This may reflect an increase in numbers off the delta, with birds attempting to buildup pre-migration energy reserves. At Post Point, a local flock of about 200 scoters wintered each year until about 10 years ago when they disappeared, as have other flocks regularly found off Boulevard Park and the Squalicum Creek mouth.

Numbers of scaup, another diving duck, have declined almost to disappearance on the bay. Hundreds wintered from the old Squalicum Creek intertidal area west to the cement plant pier prior to the dredging and construction of the marina. Harlequin ducks, winter visitors, occur essentially from Post Point south to Chuckanut in small numbers. They use the nearshore habitat traversed regularly by humans. They are of concern to wildlife management and vulnerable to disturbance.

Western grebe flocks spend the winter (September-May) on the bay, generally in offshore waters over 60 feet deep. These birds do not fly all winter, and swim or dive when disturbed. At one time, counts of western grebes on Bellingham CBCs were larger than on any other CBC in North America. Until about 1980 flocks totaling up to 30,000 birds were readily visible, spread across the bay. Historical data (MESA/WDFW, CBC) show widespread declines in Washington waters and very large declines — up to 80 percent — on Bellingham Bay. Horned and red-necked grebes and loons have also declined there.

Shallow estuary edges are important for numbers and diversity of many bird species that require tidal exposure and foraging opportunities. The Nooksack delta supports several thousand dabbling (non-diving, surface feeding) ducks, geese and swans in winter. The delta shoreline is heavily used in winter by large flocks of dunlins for foraging and roosting and by other shorebirds and resident and migrant gulls and terns in season. Such habitats are critical for many species, which occur in large numbers during migrations between Arctic breeding grounds and wintering areas as far south as South America.

It should be noted that Canada geese, often abundant in flocks along the waterfront are not of a species to be concerned about. Double-crested cormorants (roosting and nesting on the pier off Little Squalicum Beach) and bald eagles have also increased in recent decades due to protection by wildlife management agencies and this is evident on Bellingham Bay. And the large glaucous-winged gulls hanging around waterfront parks do not need feeding.

Marine mammals that have occurred on the bay in the past decade include harbor seal, California sea lion, gray whale, harbor porpoise, orca and river otter. Frequency and numbers have appeared to decline.

Long term, there have been conflicts since fishing and boat traffic began. Disturbance today from vessels such as fishing vessels, freighters, ferries and larger pleasure boats is unavoidable in most cases. The obvious problem now as far as direct influences on remaining wildlife is especially from small recreation boats, kayaks, canoes and “personal watercraft.”

And locally across the Nooksack delta, disturbance (besides hunting) is frequent when dogs are allowed to run at low tide levels on undeveloped shorelines. And a number of times I have noted a horse and rider galloping with running dog across the area and chasing up birds foraging or roosting birds on the tide flats, shorelines and shallow waters.

Such disturbances of waterbirds cause stress, use extra energy and thus require more food intake. This requires greater consumption of prey species and consequently depletes food species lower on the food web. Four or five years ago, I counted 12,000 scoters west of the cement plant pier at Little Squalicum Beach to the delta, shortly before they were to leave on spring migration. Right then, a single kayaker came from the marina area, passed the pier and soon flushed 7,000 scoters, each of which flew in a circle of about one-half mile. The guy returned later and again 7,000 birds flew.

This single episode caused about 7,000 scoter-miles of flight. How much stress? How many calories? In January 2007 a kayaker put up a local flock of about 20 goldeneyes, which were feeding off Little Squalicum Beach. These birds then flew at least one-quarter mile. This kayak was launched, as are others, from the shallow soft-sediment shoreline.

This wildlife stress results not just from kayaks but also from canoes, rowing shells, wind surfing and similar sports craft, “personal watercraft” and the occasional powerboat speeder/spree-er. And the consistent running of dogs has almost certainly discouraged use of water’s edge habitat in many areas.

The rule is, if it flies or dives, you’re too close. Or, if there are birds ahead, don’t go there. Most recreationists are probably sympathetic toward wildlife but are unaware of their impacts and lack the knowledge needed for preserving wildlife and avoiding disturbance. Though the several hundred cormorants roosting on the cement plant pier are put into flight on occasion by eagles, most kayakers stay far enough away and birds don’t flush.

These same kayakers, however, often put ducks and other nearby birds to flight. And cumulative impacts of apparently minor disturbances by individual recreationists add up significantly — and there are far more individual recreationists than ever. And they are impacting the vulnerable, high-usage areas more than ever.

The problems affecting the greatest number of birds actually occur outside the city of Bellingham. But they are caused to a very large degree by behaviors of city people accessing the water from the city.

Awareness on the part of everyone is necessary, regarding both physical changes and disturbance. Recreation controls should be brought about through education as attempted now through county parks and recreation department classes. This is pertinent to all areas, including the urban waterfront, though the planned development of the central waterfront will have little benefit for wildlife and in fact will worsen things to the point of virtual elimination. (The wildlife usage of the Boulevard Park area is much less than it was before development and intensive human use and the future promises minimum habitat and maximum disturbance north of there.) These changes can’t be undone.

For the bay’s “natural” waterfront, there should be no development within habitat areas and no disturbing recreation on shorelines from water’s edge to offshore from Little Squalicum Beach across the Nooksack delta to Portage Island. There should be no boat/kayak launching facilities within this area. Off-leash dogs should not be permitted.

People selling or promoting recreational equipment or boats, and people teaching classes in water sports (including city and county parks and recreation departments) and public users involved in water recreation have a heavy responsibility for wildlife education. And knowledgeable users need to take responsibility to advise others causing disturbance. And dog owners, breeders and pet promoters need to minimize impacts of dogs on wildlife.

Many wildlife species suffer from problems elsewhere throughout their ranges, including well-publicized factors such as oil spills and as yet little-recognized changes in global climate features. These major factors affecting species are outside Bellingham Bay but we should not make things worse here. Sadly, supposedly “environmentally friendly” recreational activities may be among the final causes of declines. §