Birding the Pacific Northwest: Inland Valleys & Lowland Forests

In Part III of our Pacific Northwest adventure, we'll explore the lush, green lowlands between the rugged coast of the Pacific Northwest and the mighty, snow-clad Cascades.  

From prairies and wetlands to riparian and coniferous forests, the Pacific Northwest staggers the mind with its endless kaleidoscope of shades of living green!  Is there anything more lovely than the sun filtering through a lime green leafy canopy of delicate vine maples?  Or a meadow of grasses and daisies shining brightly in a forest clearing?  Or fog-drenched forests clothed in mosses and carpeted with ferns?  I think not! 

Part I: Seabird Colony at Haystack Rock
Part II: Birding the Pacific Northwest Coast
Part IV: Olympic National Park
Part V: North Cascades National Park
Part VI: Mount Rainier National Park
Part VII: Crater Lake National Park

Male Lazuli Bunting at William L. Finley NWR


Traveling from place to place in a state of awe, we visited the Willamette Valley's William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge, near Corvallis, Oregon; northern Washington's gorgeous Skagit River Valley; and the estuary of the Nisqually River at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, near Tacoma, Washington.  We also spent time in some magnificently wooded urban parks, including Seattle's Seward Park and Tacoma's Point Defiance Park, both of which are first-class birding destinations just minutes from the heart of the city, ideal for locals and visiting birders alike!


Habitats represented in the Willamette Valley's William L. Finley NWR include grassland and upland prairie, oak savannahs and Douglas fir forest, as well as wetlands and riparian areas.  We spotted nearly 50 species of birds in the short hours we spent wandering a couple of the refuge's most popular trails, the half-mile Homer Campbell boardwalk and the one-mile Woodpecker Loop trail.

Common Black-capped Chickadees, familiar to so many across the U.S., were a new species for me, which we spotted shortly after our arrival, as a chatty family group foraged and flitted through the leaves.

Black-capped Chickadee


The Homer Campbell boardwalk leads through riparian forest to an observation platform overlooking the wetlands.  Like wetlands here in California's Great Central Valley, those of the Willamette Valley provide a seasonal winter home for migratory waterfowl.  In fact, the William L. Finley NWR was established in order to protect wintering habitat for the dusky subspecies of the Canada Goose, a western subspecies which breeds only in Alaska's Copper River Delta and on islands in the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound, and spend their winters in the Willamette Valley and areas along the lower Columbia River.

But on this June day, there wasn't too much going on out there.  



We did spot a soaring soaring Bald Eagle though!

Bald Eagle


Throughout the forests and riparian areas, we were treated to the continuous songs of Swainson's Thrushes, Song Sparrows, Yellow Warblers and Black-headed Grosbeaks.

Swainson's Thrush


In areas dominated by Douglas fir forest, the soundtrack was comprised of Pacific Slope Flycatchers, Black-throated Gray Warblers, Band-tailed Pigeons, and several species of woodpeckers.

Woodpecker Loop Trail at William L. Finley NWR


In the grasslands we saw Savannah Sparrows, Lazuli Buntings, swallows and soaring raptors.  But by far my favorite was this stunning male Lazuli Bunting!

Lazuli Bunting

 

Farther north, detouring only slightly out of Tacoma, Washington, we paid a visit to the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, to look for Bank Swallows.  Our evening visit was brief, but we were by no means alone; much to our surprise, the refuge was packed with visitors, walking the boardwalk trail through wetlands and riparian forest, out to the wide-open estuary of the Nisqually River.  

Evening at Nisqually NWR


We spotted quite a few of the standard riparian forest birds along the trail (warblers, chickadees, thrushes, sparrows and the like), as well as herons, egrets, and a female Hooded Merganser with several juveniles.

Female Hooded Merganser


But the swallows were what we came to see!  And they were present in huge numbers, clouds of swallows swooping low over the wetlands and estuary.  Barn Swallows were abundant, along with Tree Swallows and Cliff Swallows.  We had a few false alarms with Northern Rough-winged Swallows before we finally picked out a pair of Bank Swallows, which we both saw and heard well several times.  Another new bird for us!

Not a Bank Swallow, but an obliging Barn Swallow.


In both Tacoma's Point Defiance Park and Seattle's Seward Park, we were absolutely delighted by what we found: miles of beautifully forested walking paths winding quietly through densely wooded lowlands along the Puget Sound (in Tacoma) and Lake Washington (in Seattle).  We are unashamedly envious of those of you who live within walking distance of such incredible recreational opportunities! 

The forest at Point Defiance Park


And the birding here, of course, is top-notch!  Point Defiance Park preserves acres of virgin forest, and the quality of habitat is reflected in the birdlife.  Birds found here are typical of those of coniferous forests, including many species found at higher elevations as well.  

Dark-eyed Juncos and American Robins were extremely abundant, and the woods echoed with the calls of Swainson's Thrushes and a host of different warbler species (nearly a dozen in all!)   

Dark-eyed Junco


Woodpecker activity is also high in these damp forests, with Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers being the most common.  Believe it or not, I photographed this bold Pileated Woodpecker chowing down on the berries of an Oregon grape shrub just outside the Audubon center at Seward Park on a bustling Saturday afternoon!  (The parking lot is literally right behind this bird!)

Pileated Woodpecker


When we visited Seward Park in June, Bald Eagles, Cooper's Hawks and Barn Owls were reported to be nesting in the area.  We spotted Osprey fishing on Lake Washington, so I'm sure they were nesting nearby as well!

Bald Eagle nest


While many of us tend to gravitate to the Pacific Northwest's rugged coast or magnificent mountains (with good reason!), don't pass up the opportunity to spend some time savoring the quiet, low-lying areas in between as well!

Daisies - quite possibly my favorite flower - grow wild in fields and along roadsides
throughout the Pacific Northwest!


Comments

Post a Comment

You Might Also Like:

Birds of the Desert: Residents & Spring Migrants

Image
Nearly everyone knows the desert as a barren, desolate land of extremes: high heat, low precipitation; little available food and water; prickly, spiny, unfriendly plants growing in a sea of rocks and sand as far as the eye can see.  But for those who stop and look closer, the desert reveals itself as the beautiful, incredible, mesmerizing place it truly is, teeming with unexpected life. Juvenile male Costa's Hummingbird visiting chuparosa blooms next to our campsite in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I particularly love the desert in the spring, when the annual wildflowers, cacti, flowering trees and shrubs are all in bloom.  (I've experienced the desert in the searing 120 degree heat of summer, and the rainy, even snowy cold of winter... and spring wins every time!)  Eric and I just returned from a week in the Colorado desert, exploring the imperiled, accidental Salton Sea (more on that coming soon), the vital wetlands of the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refu
Read more

A Shorebird Primer: Godwits, Curlews, Willets and Whimbrels

Image
For those of us living in the Great Central Valley, autumn is the time to head to the coast.  Of course, there is no bad time to visit California's magnificent coastline.  But as the heat and haze of summer drag on in the Valley, the sea becomes increasingly tantalizing: September and the onset of autumn bring sunny weather and an abundance of migratory seabirds and shorebirds to our coast. A new birder visiting California's Central Coast will undoubtedly be met with a splendid array of very confusing birds.  Among these are small shorebirds like  "peeps" (sandpipers), Sanderlings and various  plovers .  But the larger birds can be just as confusing, until you learn a few distinguishing features.  Four large shorebirds that are commonly seen (and commonly confused) along California's Central Coast are Godwits, Curlews, Willets and Whimbrels. Marbled Godwit (upper left), Whimbrel (upper right), Long-billed Curlew (center front) The distinguishing featu
Read more

Birding in Adverse Weather Conditions: Wind and Rain

Image
Though I often extol the virtues and merits of winter in the Central Valley , especially when it comes to birding, the whole truth is that we experience "bad" weather also, just like anywhere else.  But even when the winter weather rolls in, the birds are still out there!  And sometimes, despite our best planning efforts, a birding day happens to coincide with crummy weather.   In that case, what's a birder to do?  Usually, we go birding anyway!   Birders far more intrepid than I regularly brave the ice and snow of northern winters to see their favorite birds, so perhaps you should look to them for real tips on winter birding!  For those of us in the valleys of California, the worst weather we see - wind and rain - is really comparatively mild.  Birding on an extremely windy day! I don't know of anyone who actually likes birding in the rain.  But I would argue that birding in the wind is just as aggravating as trying to bird in the rain!   Wind can be utterly infuri
Read more

Winter Gulls: The Great I.D. Challenge

Image
Gulls are a fun challenge for birders, from beginners to experts.  A few things make gulls an interesting study: they are large and conspicuous in their open habitats, so they are easy to see, easy to put a scope on, and easy to watch and study for long periods of time.  Furthermore, gulls are almost always identifiable as gulls; none of this confusing warbler/vireo/kinglet nonsense! And yet, gulls are almost impossibly difficult!  (Though perhaps not nearly as difficult as Empidonax flycatchers!) An intimidating scene to many a birder: a mixed flock of gulls.  I see five different species of gull here. Oh, and one American Coot in the background. One of the reasons they are so complicated is most gull species take two or three years to achieve adult plumage, and go through multiple molts in a year.  So, you may be looking at three or four gulls together that look like four completely different species, when they are actually just different ages (individuals in their first, s
Read more

Joshua Tree Woodlands: A Tale of Sloths, Moths and the Trees that Need Them

Image
In 1844, early California explorer John C. Fremont gave a somewhat scathing review of Joshua trees when he wrote, "...their stiff and ungraceful form makes them to the traveler the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom."  Rather unkind, don't you think?  But when Joshua trees were formally described by scientist William Trelease in the 1890's, he noted that Joshua Trees are "the most attractive of all the Yuccas."  I am inclined to agree with this sentiment, and must disagree most heartily with Lieutenant Fremont! I, for one, adore Joshua Trees, with their whimsical shapes and great ecological significance!  If you struggle with plant identification, the iconic Joshua tree, hallmark of the Mojave Desert, is a good place to start.  With densely spiked tufts protruding from the ends of gangly arms stretched towards the heavens, this looks like a plant straight from a Dr. Seuss book.  Native people called these trees “humwichawa,” and used thei
Read more

What's Wrong With This Tree?

Image
If you've spent any time in an oak woodland (and I sincerely hope that you have!!) you may have noticed something odd: strange growths on the branches and leaves of oak trees.  You might wonder if the trees are sick or diseased, or plagued with a dangerous pest. But not to worry; these fascinating growths are a normal part of a healthy oak community.  Spined Turban Gall on Valley Oak, with a bonus gall: the tiny orange sphere to the left of the larger gall might be a gall of the California Jumping Gall Wasp (inconclusive) These growths are in fact galls, and are caused by a variety of cynipid wasps.  Galls form when a wasp lays eggs in a plant's tissue, releasing chemicals which stimulate the plant to use its own tissue to form protective structures around the eggs.  As the insect larvae develops, it feeds on plant tissue from within its cozy gall home.  Galls form on a variety of plants, including alders, poplars, willows and even sagebrush.  But the best known and m
Read more