Birding In the San Juan Islands
Thousands of people go outdoors every weekend to enjoy our feathered friends. A sojourn through the islands in the shoulder season (September - May) will definitely be worth your while. It is a great way to embrace the cooler weather and experience the northwest at its best. During the shoulder season, many birds are migrating through, so the list below is by no means a full one. The Trumpeter Swans return in the fall and depart early spring. Islanders all search the fields and ponds in the fall to spot their first swan of the season.
Below is a list of birds that you are likely to see in the San Juan Islands fall, winter and spring. Most islanders think San Juan Island, Orcas Island, Lopez Island and Shaw Island as ‘The San Juan Islands’. These are the islands that the following list applies to.
GAME BIRDS
Ring-necked Pheasant
Blue Grouse
Wild Turkey
Northern Bobwhite
California Quail
SHORE BIRDS
Black-Bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Black Oystercatcher
Greater Yellowleg
Black Turnstone
Surfbird
Sanderling
Western Sandpiper
Dunlin
JAEGERS, GULLS, TERNS
Bonaparte’s Gull
Mew Gull
Thayer’s Gull
Glaucous-Winged Gull
LOONS &GREBES
Red-Throated Loon
Pacific Loon
Common Loon
Pied-Billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Red-Necked Grebe
Western Grebe
CORMORANTS
Double-Crested Cormorant
Brant’s Cormorant
Pelagic Cormorant
WADING BIRDS
Great Blue Heron
WATERFOWL
Trumpeter Swan
Canada Goose
Green-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Widgeon
Ring-Necked Duck
Oldsquaw
Black Scoter
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Common Goldeneye
Barrow’s Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-Breasted Merganser
VULTURES, EAGLES, HAWKS &FALCONS
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp Shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Rough-Legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
ALCIDS
Common Murre
Pigeon Guillemot
Marbled Murrelet
Rhinoceros Auket
OWLS
Great Horned Owl
Common Barn Owl
WOODPECKER
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
JAYS, CROWS &RAVENS
Northwest Crow
Common Raven
CHICKADEES, BUSHTITS, NUTHATCHES &CREEPERS
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Red-Breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
WRENS
Bewicks Wren
Winter Wren
DIPPERS
American Dipper
THRUSHES
Golden-Crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Varied Thrush
PIPETS, WAXWINGS, SHRIKES, STARLINGS
European Starling
WARBLERS, SPARROWS
Spotted Towhee
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-Eyed Junco
BLACKBIRDS
Red-Winged Blackbird
Brewers Blackbird
FINCHES
Purple Finch
House Finch
Red Crossbill
Pine Siskin
House Sparrow
KINGFISHER
Kingfisher
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All the following photos are by
Claude Steelman of Wildshots
Photo by Claude Steelman
WILDLIFE VIEWING ETHICS
Maintain a respectful distance while watching or photographing wildlife. Constant flushing of feeding birds, especially migratory species such as swans, can lead to stress-induced disease. Use binoculars or spotting scopes for viewing.
Leave nesting birds alone. Disturbances may result in nesting failures, and approaches to occupied nests may alert predators. Use your car as a blind when possible. Staying inside avoids stressing and scaring wildlife away, as well as ruining the experience for other wildlife watcher. Avoid dangerous traffic situation; pull completely off the road to view wildlife.
Move slowly and quietly around wildlife when hiking. Avoid brightly colored clothes; wear drab greens and browns instead. Mammals are generally color-blind, but birds are not. Camouflage shirts can often be found in thrift shops, and insulated coveralls work well for cool-weather sits. (You’re likely to see more if you stay quietly for time in one place. The optimum times for viewing are dawn and dusk, and the best places are where two or more habitats meet.
Respect private property; don’t trespass through fields, yards, or private beaches, and don’t litter in either private or public areas.
Do not pick wildflowers or trample over their habitats. When picking berries or rose hips, be careful not to break canes. Stay on the trail. Shore side, refill all holes and return and return large rocks to their original positions. Observe limits on the collection of edible species, and forgo the collection of others for souvenirs. Handle tidepool creatures gently and briefly, and return them to their original places.
Educate others about ethical wildlife observation-spread the word.
These guidelines were developed with the help of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife
Please remember when you are in the islands:
Leave only footprints and
Take only memories |
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