My younger daughter and I have now spent several weekend days visiting the area in Skagit County, Washington near La Conner, especially Fir Island Farm Reserve on Puget Sound. The birds have been fantastic, but often too distant for the best photography. I have though never seen as lage assemblages other than at Union Bay on Lake Washington. The numbers of ducks, Bald Eagles, Trumpeter Swans, and Snow Geese were often difficult to even estimate, with the geese probably close to a thousand birds.
Our first trip to the area was in September of 2023. During our first visit to Fir Island we spotted a Greater Yellowlegs, numerous Gulls and a Great Blue Heron capturing a Starry Flounder. The Tide was low.
Trail, Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington. Low Tide.
Very long shot of Great Blue Heron with Starry Flounder it caught, Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington.
We went in to La Conner for lunch and, as luck would have it, spotted a Cooper’s Hawk across the street where we parked!
Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk on tree, La Conner, Washington.
Our second trip to Fir Island on December 24, 2024, was really mind-boggling as at least a thousand Snow Geese were on the sound, along with a similar number of ducks! Trumpeter Swans were all over the place and we spotted at least three Tundra Swans mixed in with the Trumpeter Swans along the roadside! The tide was very high! My Tundra Swan photos were terrible, but they did show the relevant field markings. In addition to numerous identifiable ducks (the mass on the Sound was too far away) we spotted a male Short-horned Owl, which was harassing one of two Northern Harriers, and then, very suddenly, a River Otter swam past!
King tide at Fir Island Farm Reserve, EWashington.
Female Bufflehead, Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington.
The bully of the area, a male Short-eared Owl, Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington.
Pintail Ducks, Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington.
Snow Geese on Puget Sound near Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington.
Song Sparrow, Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington.
Trumpeter Swan, churchyard near Fir Island Road, Washington.
Western Meadowlark, Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington.
River Otter, Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington.
Our last visit was on January 20, 2025 (and no, this was not accidental!) and the tide was low at Fir Island. The Snow Geese were gone, but there were even more Trumpeter Swans. We saw a male Northern Harrier almost immediately. We could hear shotguns in the distance as it was still duck hunting season. There were literally hundreds of ducks in the protected area, especially Mallards and American Wigeons, and a fairly large group of Green-winged Teal. However, the best sightings of the day were a small group (six) of Long-billed Dowitchers foraging in the mud, a Red-tailed Hawk on a roadside pole, and two large groups of Bald Eagles in distant trees from a roadside view in Skagit Valley.
Bald Eagles, Skagit Valley, Washington.
Long-billed Dowitcher, Fir Island Farm Reserve, Washington.
Red-tailed Hawk, Skagit Valley, Washington.
All in all a great respite from the insanity!
Note: As I said earlier, I plan to do these diaries less often — no more than once a month- and for sanity’s sake they will not be on politics!
