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A male Surf Scoter, one of the many thousands we saw during the tour. Photo by participant Ann Camp.

The 2016 tour started out with pouring rain and ended with much more promising sunshine. Although it was one of the wettest Februarys on record, we did not let the weather slow us down -- and our perseverance paid off. It took a while, but we finally got to see the great sights of the Pacific Northwest, including the mountains, state parks, and birds.

We ended the tour with 105 species of birds and nine species of mammals. We saw more than 120,000 individual birds, with more than 30,000 Snow Geese (in discrete flocks at four different locations) comprising the bulk of the birds seen. Other impressive bird numbers included the following estimates: 7,000+ Trumpeter Swans, 4,000 Tundra Swans, 20,000 American Wigeon, 8,000+ Surf Scoters; 20,000 Mallards, 14,000 Northern Pintails and Northern Shovelers, 300 Common Goldeneye, 300 Red-breasted Mergansers, 120 Red-throated Loons, 400-500 Bald Eagles, 50-80 Red-tailed Hawks, 15-20 Rough-legged Hawks, 5,000 Mew Gulls, 8,000 Ring-billed Gulls, 10,000 Glaucous-winged Gulls, 4,000 Dunlin, and a whopping four dozen plus Marbled Murrelets.

Bird sighting highlights for the tour included Eurasian Wigeon, Long-tailed Duck, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Red-throated and Pacific loons, Cackling Goose, Black Turnstone, Surfbird, Lesser Yellowlegs, Rhinoceros Auklet, Short-eared Owl, Anna’s Hummingbird, Thayer’s Gull, Mew Gull, Bonaparte’s Gull, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Western Scrub Jay, Northwestern Crow, Pacific Wren, Varied Thrush, Hutton’s Vireo, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Red Crossbill, Purple Finch, and surprising female Common Yellowthroat.

We got to see many of the dark morphs or subspecies of birds associated with the damp, dark, coastal habitats of the Pacific Northwest and Puget Sound. These included: Merlin (F. c. suckleyi), Peregrine Falcon (F. p. peali), Steller’s Jay (C. s. stelleri), Fox Sparrow (P. i. fuliginosa), Song Sparrow (M. m. morphna), Spotted Towhee (P. m. oregonus), Western Scrub Jay (A. c. superciliosa), and Purple Finch (H. p. californicus).

Northern migrants such as Northern Shrike, Snowy Owl, and Bohemian Waxwing did not show up this year, presumably due to the wet yet mild winter weather conditions. Although I found a juvenile Gyrfalcon during pre-tour scouting, the bird could not be located due to flooded fields (and -- presumably -- changing prey). Never have we seen more standing water in the Skagit! Our best observations of bird behaviors/sightings included: dozens of Marbled Murrelets, easy to see because of the glass–like waters and excellent viewing conditions; very close views of Trumpeter and Tundra swans; Glaucous-winged Gulls dropping shellfish from the air; Snow Geese returning to feed in the fields; the raptor extravaganza of harriers, buteos, and eagles; seabirds by the hundreds -- if not thousands; and wonderful views of a suckleyi Merlin and a pealei Peregrine. The sheer number of birds was phenomenal. Our mammal list was good too. The rarest included three River Otters running on land and swimming in salt water, a Northern Raccoon traveling during the middle of the day, and a half dozen Northern Fur Seals passing by lighthouses.

In addition to the excitement of the sheer numbers of birds, the seafood was sensational and the camaraderie great. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to show you what we believe is the best of the Pacific Northwest!

Safe travels!

-- Terry and Karen

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Totals for the tour: 105 bird taxa and 9 mammal taxa