Birding the Pacific Northwest Coast

Brooding seas, turquoise waves, dark spruces, raindrops on maple leaves, dripping ferns, and incredible ancient rainforests filled with more birds and unique shades of green than even seem possible...  

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest!  

Join us for the second part in a series on our recent adventures in Oregon and Washington!

Part I: Seabird Colony at Haystack Rock
Part III: Inland Valleys & Lowland Forests
Part IV: Olympic National Park
Part V: North Cascades National Park
Part VI: Mount Rainier National Park
Part VII: Crater Lake National Park



After our puffin triumph at Cannon Beach, we headed north up the coast to the mouth of the Columbia River to explore the region made famous by the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-06.  For birds, nature and hiking (as well as history), I recommend visiting Fort Clatsop and Fort Stevens, south of the Columbia River, and Cape Disappointment on the north side.  (The Lewis and Clark interpretive center at Cape Disappointment is excellent - and a great place to take refuge on a stormy morning.)  

Common Loon


At Fort Stevens, we watched the river mouth for a while (during intermittent showers).  While Pelagic Cormorants were the most abundant species nesting at Haystack Rock, in the brackish water of the river mouth, Double-crested Cormorants were more common.  We also spotted a few Common Loons and Caspian Terns.  And, of course, plenty of gulls.

Caspian Tern

After leaving the Columbia River and Cape Disappointment, (in a torrential downpour) we followed highway 101 up the coast of Washington to Olympic National Park.  This was my third trip to Olympic National Park, which is quite possibly my favorite of all the national parks I've visited.  

Olympic National Park


We made a stop along the coast near Olympic National Park's Kalaloch campground to search for the "mythical" Northwestern Crow.  This bird is essentially identical in appearance to the American Crow, but differs in voice, habitat and feeding habits, preferring to forage along beaches and in tide pools.  We found a crow matching this description, and it went down in the books as a Northwestern Crow, which eBird still accepts as a distinct species.  Last year, however, it was demoted to merely a subspecies of the American Crow by the American Ornithological Society. 

My presumed Northwestern Crow (which I guess is not even technically a species anymore...)  It went on eBird as a NOCR, because of its behavior foraging along the beach, in the swash zone and tide pools.  Pretty weak evidence, I guess, but there it is! 


We had another round of successful seabirding in Port Angeles, Washington, where we ventured out onto a man-made spit of land, known as the Ediz Hook, which protects the harbor.  Any means of getting closer to seabirds without actually boarding a boat and leaving dry land is a win in my book!  

We were afforded excellent looks at a flock of Harlequin Ducks - mostly males in their brilliant plumage.

Harlequin Duck


Their gentle appearance belies the rough-and-tumble lifestyle of these hardy sea ducks, which spend most of their lives on whitewater rivers and wave-dashed coasts.  Doubtless these ducks are able to exploit otherwise underutilized habitat edges, but their chosen niche is not without its dangers.  According to Cornell's All About Birds, Harlequin Ducks sustain more broken bones than any other bird species, and x-rays of live birds and museum specimens have revealed that most adults live out their lives with multiple healed fractures.

We first encountered these magnificent ducks bobbing in the surf and loafing on the rocks at the base of Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, Oregon.  I was delighted to see a flock floating along near shore on the placid water of the Port Angeles harbor.

Harlequin Ducks!


Farther out in the harbor, beyond the ducks, I spotted another curious bird: the Rhinoceros Auklet!  While these nifty relatives of puffins are regularly spotted closer to home off the coast at Point Pinos in Monterey, this was my first look at this seabird.  Like others of its tribe, the Rhinoceros Auklet spends its life at sea, coming to shore only to nest.

Rhinoceros Auklet


Later in the day, while on a ferry to Whidbey Island, we spotted a large flock of Rhinos paddling on the Puget Sound.

Flock of Rhinoceros Auklets


Also from the Ediz Hook, I spotted another target bird for the area, Marbled Murrelets!  These amazing little auks spend their lives off shore on cold northern seas, coming to land only to nest.  And they nest and raise their young in a rather unlikely spot.  

Marbled Murrelet


Unlike other alcids, which nest largely in burrows and on rocky sea cliffs, Marbled Murrelets nest high on the mossy branches of coastal conifers, like spruce and, in California, Coast Redwoods.  So peculiar is this nesting habit for a member of this family, the first Marbled Murrelet nest wasn't discovered until the 1970's!



A quick word about gulls...

Along the Oregon coast, black-winged, dark-mantled Western Gulls are the most common species encountered.


Farther north, in Washington, the most common species at this time of year is the Glaucous-winged Gull.  


Port Angeles harbor, from the Ediz Hook

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