Birding in Neighborhoods - North Report

By Denise Marion

In spite of the cold and windy weather, eight birders joined the BINN outing on March 12. We visited three marine environments and were rewarded by seeing a variety of species.
 
Our first stop was Mueller Beach Access on Madrona Way to see what birds were sheltering in Penn Cove. There we found numerous Common Goldeneye and a few Barrow’s Goldeneye, Scaup and Bufflehead. In the shallows at the west end of the cove were Pintail, Killdeer and Greater Yellowlegs.
 
Next we drove the short distance to Libby Beach Park on the west side of Whidbey Island. This is a great spot overlooking the Smith and Minor Islands Aquatic Reserve. The large kelp bed protected by the reserve provides good habitat. A surprising number of birds accustomed to the open waters of Admiralty Inlet were feeding there, including Common Loons, Surf Scoters, Pigeon Guillemots and Horned Grebes. Our special treat for the day was spotting the white head of a Long-tailed Duck, a first for many of us. We were also delighted to see a diving Brandt’s Cormorant, Harlequin Ducks, a flock of Oystercatchers in flight, and a Red-breasted Merganser doing extensive feather cleansing.
 
The tide was receding, so we returned to Grasser’s Lagoon in Penn Cove in hopes of seeing more shorebirds. We had an excellent view of a group of Hooded Mergansers and spotted the resident Belted Kingfisher. We were met by a stiff wind, however, so we called it a day. Twenty-nine species were spotted in all.

See upcoming field trips, including BIN outings, on our events calendar.