A downy woodpecker was the first bird I spotted at Leavenworth’s Waterfront Park. I might have also seen a gray catbird or a pygmy nuthatch, but because they’re both somewhat plain and drab, I didn’t pay too much attention.
I pretty much fall into the beginning birder’s profile of being interested only in something big, colorful or preferably both.
As I wandered between the grassy areas and the river, I kept an eye out for such colorfully named species as the calliope hummingbird, red-eyed vireo and yellow warbler.
Just down the hill from the Bavarian-theme center of Leavenworth, the park was worlds away from the throngs of bratwurst-eating tourists. A short walk down to the riverfront promised immersion in a flurry of bird life. Even the park’s island was called Blackbird Island.
Only it was more like a midday siesta than a hotbed of avian activity. To be honest, it was close to noon, and perhaps the denizens were simply resting.
But I can’t help thinking that the black cat I spotted stalking in the tall grass might have been responsible for the apparent lack of activity that day.
Waterfront Park was only my first stop on an abbreviated tour of the “Great Washington State Birding Trail,” a statewide network of driving routes covering some of Washington’s most important and accessible birding sites.
The project, developed by Audubon Washington with input from all the Audubon chapters, features several maps encompassing dozens of sites throughout the state. Because the “Cascade Loop” alone offers as many as 68 stops, I decided to concentrate on a few that were closest to home.
The Leavenworth park is an “Important Birding Area.” Hilary Hilscher, communications coordinator for Audubon Washington, said this park and the 52 other important birding areas in Washington are considered “important points in a landscape that birds need to develop a healthy population.”
I probably should have read more carefully before planning my trip, because the map clearly stated that “morning birding is best.”
I’d arrived at 11 a.m., still morning to me. But when I asked Jan van Niel, conservation director of the Pilchuck Audubon Society, he said the best time to see birds was 5:15 a.m. That’s morning birding.
No worries, though. My next stop was the Swiftwater Picnic Area west of Leavenworth on U.S. 2.
The osprey nest right across the Wenatchee River was bound to be there no matter what time it was. With binoculars, I could even see a little white head bobbing up and down inside the nest.
A short trail along the shore often affords views of little brown dippers as well.
The lure of raptors took me to Index to see the peregrine falcons that are said to nest among the cliffs. Oh, I only wish I had seen them. Instead, numerous cliff swallows darted in and out among the rock walls, performing their morning ballet, and a tiny Anna’s hummingbird hovered very close, apparently thinking I must be a huge green flower.
Near the river a belted kingfisher flew past making its characteristic staccato rattle. Not bad for a morning walk but no falcons.
Closer to the city I selected three more sites that looked promising: Edmonds Marsh near the Edmonds ferry dock and Spencer Island and Lowell Riverfront Trail, both in Everett.
I recruited a friend to help me in spotting. Our first stop was the Edmonds Marsh. According to the Cascade Loop map, we could expect to see greater and lesser yellowlegs, long-billed and short-billed dowitchers, and rhinoceros auklets. Jeez, this was beginning to sound like a full-on safari.
The reality was disappointing. With a boardwalk jutting into the marsh, the viewing platforms were superb, but the incessant roar of bulldozers on the hillside directly across from us made it hard to concentrate on anything resembling wildlife.
“Several trees have been removed on the south side of the marsh due to a new condo development,” I was told by Pilchuck Audubon’s van Niel.
“Several” was an understatement. The developer has nearly clear-cut the hillside to allow for views of the water. Unfortunately, it’s made for ugly views from the marsh. Van Niel said that removal of the trees has adversely affected the wildlife habitat there.
Maybe that explains why we saw only ravens, swallows and a few red-winged blackbirds. Despite scanning the mudflats and marsh grass with binoculars I couldn’t locate any dowitchers. They’d sounded so darn interesting, too.
At the waterfront, we were treated to the sight of quite a number of common gray gulls but no auklets. With the help of binoculars, I did spot a pigeon guillemot feeding beside the ferry lanes, but van Niel thinks that earlier fuel contamination has affected the variety of bird life found at this beach.
Leaving the bulldozers behind, we headed off to Spencer Island, a 412-acre island in north Everett featuring 3.6 miles of trails and a short boardwalk.
Two-hundred-plus species are said to reside there, including blue-winged teal and three species of vireos. Walking along a dike, we were stopped by an employee of the water treatment facility.
“Do you have visitor passes?” he asked.
“No,” I replied. “In fact, I think we’re in the wrong place.”
We were. Instead of the wildlife refuge, we’d inadvertently trespassed on restricted city property. With the roar of I-5 only yards away, it didn’t make for very pleasant viewing anyway.
“The dikes there were made of hog fuel (lumber waste)” van Niel told me, “which have decomposed over time.”
In addition to spontaneously combusting, the dikes have allowed salt water to breach the freshwater ponds.
“The birds are changing as the habitat is changing,” he added.
True, I don’t think many birds would put up with spontaneous combustion of their habitat. We packed up and headed off to the Lowell Waterfront Trail.
Finally, some relative quiet. The paved trail follows the Snohomish River and is lined with cottonwoods, alders and willows. Spotting birds in the trees was difficult, because numerous dark blobs that looked like they might be birds ended up, on closer inspection, to be nests of tent caterpillars.
We did manage to find a brown-headed cowbird and a red-breasted nuthatch, while a couple of red-tailed hawks circled overhead. If it had been winter, we might have also seen yellow-rumped warblers, thus completing the color chart.
Following the birding trail map yielded mixed results, but was, as Hilscher put it, “a good introduction to nature and a way to get away from more urban pursuits.”
I might have seen more if I’d followed the advice of Sally van Niel, Jan’s wife and current president of the Pilchuck Audubon society.
“I recommend going birding with a group, because they know more,” she said.
Pilchuck trips are open to nonmembers, though van Niel said “you can’t bring a dog.”
I guess people have tried.
My lack of success hasn’t discouraged me. On the contrary, it’s turned into a personal challenge. In fact, I’m already planning a trip to Cascade Loop site 17, Wenatchee Confluence State Park. Green herons, cinnamon teal and cedar waxwings are said to commune there.
With camping on-site, maybe I can even manage to get up as early as the other birders.
Lisa Farin is a freelancer writer in Index.
Birding routes
* The Great Washington State Birding Trail consists of three routes. The first two, “The Cascade Loop” and “The Coulee Corridor,” are available as fold-out maps with directions and information about the birds one is likely to see at each site, as well as the amenities available at each site. The third, “The Olympic Peninsula to Mount Rainier,” is on the drawing board. The organization plans three more after that.
* The first two maps are available free from Audubon Washington, 1-866-WA-BIRDS; wa.audubon.org/new/audubon/ as part of a public information project co-sponsored by Puget Sound Energy, The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Washington State Tourism Office.
Birding Resources
Internet:
* Audubon Washington: wa.audubon.org/new/audubon – With links to North Cascades, North Central Washington, Pilchuck and Skagit Audubon Societies.
* BirdWeb: www.birdweb.org – An online guide to birds, sponsored by the Seattle Audubon Society.
* Tweeters: www.scn.org/earth/tweeters – The Burke Museum’s e-mail list on local birds and birding.
Print:
* “A Birder’s Guide to Washington,” co-edited by Andy Stepniewski and Hal Opperman
* “Birds of the Puget Sound Region,” by Bob Morse, Tom Aversa and Hal Opperman (recommended by Hilary Hilscher, Audubon Washington)
* “The Sibley Guide to Birds,” by David Sibley
* “National Geographic Society Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” (both recommended by Sally van Niel, Pilchuck Audubon Society president)
Also helpful:
* Binoculars (van Niel recommends 7×35 or 8×35 power)
* Spotting Scope and Tripod
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
