It’s a treat to bird with someone who has a lot of experience in a particular geographical area, as well as an expertise in identifying raptors.
Friends invited me for an outing on the Samish Flats. In less than two hours of zigging and zagging through miles of farmland, tidelands and wetlands, we spotted northern harriers, red-tails, ruff-legged, peregrines, shrikes, snow geese, trumpeter swans, great blue herons, flickers, bald eagles and ducks, leaving time for a quick walk through the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Sometimes we’d go to an area where they had consistently seen a specific species, and there it was, perched on a tree, or a pole or a wire.
A good website that focuses on the winter birds of the Skagit Valley is www.birdsofwinter.org. It features six clusters and more than 20 birding sites. There’s also a page with easy trails that includes wheelchair-accessible ones.
I also recommend going to www.visitskagitvalley.com/birding-skagit for information on birding the Skagit Valley, including the Skagit Flats, Samish Flats, Anacortes area, Butler Flats, Rockport to Marblemount.
Another way to keep in touch with birds is by attending “White Birds of Winter” at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Northwest Stream Center (600 128th St. SE, Everett) at McCollum Park.
Swan expert Martha Jordan will combine words and spectacular images of trumpeter and tundra swans and snow geese that migrate from Alaska and Canada to feed in the farm fields.
Jordan is the executive director of the Northwest Swan Conservation Association and a passionate advocate for swans, especially when it comes to lead poisoning. Now and then she even plays mom to baby trumpeters.
The show is geared for middle-school students to adults. It will include myths and facts, swan and snow goose history and biology, and some identification trips.
Registration is required. Call 425-316-8592. Cost is $5 for Adopt-a-Stream members; $7 for non-members.
Warning: Next paragraph mentions dead swans.
If you see a dead, sick or injured swan, call the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife 24-hour hotline, 360-466-4345, ext. 266. Do not handle the bird. Leave a short, detailed message with your name and phone number plus the location and condition of the swan(s). WDFW collects information to assess the impact of lead poisoning and power line collisions, the main causes of accidental swan deaths.
Birding-related opportunities coming up are:
The 11th Arlington-Stillaguamish Eagle Festival (www.arlingtonwa.gov) will run Feb. 2-3. Events include a trip to the Port Susan Bay Nature Conservancy, a nature walk at Country Charm Park, exhibits, up-close encounters with birds of prey, and the Western Wildlife’s Large Carnivore Education Trailer
The La Conner Birding Showcase at Maple Hall (104 Douglas St.) is Jan. 27-28. Keynote speaker is Paul Bannick, award-winning author and photographer, who has video, sounds and photographs relating to his book, “Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls.”
Other events include Martha Jordan’s presentation on swans and snow geese, birding question-and-answer time with Bob Hamblin, a demonstration on binoculars and birding scopes, and several displays, including prints and cards by Whidbey Island’s Pamela Davis Headridge.
Admission is $5, $10 if attending Bannick’s lecture, free to children under 10. For information, go to www.lovelaconner.com and search for birding showcase.
The 13th Port Susan Snow Goose & Birding Festival is being organized for Feb. 24-25. Check out www.snowgoosefest.org later for details.
And if you want a winter vacation, go to the Winter Wings Festival Feb. 15-18 in the Klamath Basin of Oregon. Information: www.winterwingsfest.org.
On the bookshelf. If you like owls, check out Leigh Calvez’s “The Hidden Lives of Owls: The Science and Spirit of Nature’s Most Elusive Birds” (Sasquatch). It’s a winning combination of anecdotes and expertise by a Washington state writer.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or songandword@rockisland.com.
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