Winter has arrived in western Washington, with the usual storms and dark skies, but winter also means lots of birds in marine habitats, both in shallow in deep water. That’s a big compensation for me. I can take you on a little tour of a few of my local marine habitats for a selection of that diversity.
This map from Google Earth shows the island where I live in the Salish Sea, Washington’s inland waters. I’ve also labeled the locations for our virtual field trip to a few sites I visited recently.
Google Earth screenshot. On left, the Salish Sea, with my island circled, and on right a closer view, with sites labeled
Open water habitat (C)
Some birds prefer deeper water. The alcids are notable for that, so if I want to see those I have to go out in the boat. We don’t go more than a mile from shore but that’s enough to get into rougher seas and deep rocky reefs.
A weather system was rolling in from the ocean on this day, with high pearlescent clouds over the Olympic mountains to the south
Surf scoters fishing
The alcids are far more numerous than ducks where the water is deeper than a hundred feet. And as is true for ducks, winter is the best time for alcids, since most of them also travel a fair distance to breed.
Common murres breed on the open ocean coast
Pigeon guillemots nest in many rocky locations throughout the Salish Sea and are abundant all year
Rhinoceros auklets also breed in the Salish Sea, mostly on Protection island near Port Townsend, but disperse in winter, and actually less common at this season
Marbled murrelets breed in old-growth forests. As those forests have become rare, the murrelet population is declining. Still, a few are visible in offshore waters every time I go out.
You can count on seeing murres, guillemots, rhinos and marbled murrelets on any boat trip in winter. Far less common are Ancient murrelets, so it was very cool to see a few as we neared the end of our trip. Ancients breed up north on islands off the open coastline of British Columbia and are only seen in the Salish Sea in winter, sporadically. According to my records, I’ve seen them just once or twice a year.
Winter plumage Marbled and Ancient murrelets look fairly similar, though if you get a close up view you’ll note Ancients have a black throat, no white on their backs, and light bills. However even at a distance you can tell Ancients by their behavior. They invariably fly in small flocks in very tight formation, and splash down all at once (a feeding strategy). Marbleds are in pairs at this time of year.
Flying fast and low over the surface
Simultaneous splash down
The outer rocks are popular staging sites for marine mammals and birds. Double-crested and Pelagic cormorants are here year round but in winter hundreds of Brandt’s cormorants come to our inland waters to feed and roost.
A mix of wildlife on Whale Rock. Not only is it protected, a mile from shore, but it’s surrounded by a kelp bed and strong tidal currents, both of which means lots to feed on nearby
One of the Brandt’s here still has its blue breeding plumage chin. A few Pelagic cormorants here too (smaller).
One of my favorite winter sightings is Pacific Loons. Note it’s black neck strap and finer bill than the Common loon’s.
Pacific loons tend to form flocks, unlike Common loons (who I see much less often in deep water than closer to shore)
Eagle numbers increase dramatically in mid-late winter as migrants come down from British Columbia and Alaska, and residents return from the mainland where they spend the fall scavenging spawned salmon. Residents are more visible on the outer rocks from December to February before nesting season starts in earnest, and pairs stay closer to their home nests.
Immature Bald eagles
Tussling
These fishermen are not competing with the birds and mammals. They are diving for urchins or sea cucumbers (they had a dive flag out). It’s a luxury to be able to go out boating just for fun, as we were doing.
A cold and dangerous job
Heading back to the dock, with the Cascade mountains in the east
Finding a good day to go out in the boat is tricky in winter. It’s not as much fun in a 25-foot boat when it’s windy or wet or recent storms have kicked up ocean swells. And right now isn’t a great time either: record river flooding from the recent heavy rain event washed down vast numbers of logs and stumps, which are hazardous to run into (“deadheads”). Most of my birding is therefore from shore.
Nearshore on the channel (B)
A spit near the village separates a large protected bay from the fast-moving water of the channel between my island and a neighboring one. In the shallow waters by the spit, birds forage by the beach (on one side) and the salt marsh (on the other).
Parked in a pullover spot. The road is on the only land, with bay on left (east) and channel on right (west). A GB heron is silhouetted against the late afternoon filtered light
View across the channel to San Juan island. Mergansers in flight. That blue in the photo is what we call a “sunbreak”, ie a brief moment of sky on an otherwise cloudy day.
Huge flocks of Red-breasted mergansers around, more than usual this year
White-winged scoters are not usually distinguishable from shore. Here a flock feeds with Buffleheads, Red-breasted mergansers and Horned grebes just a hundred yards from the beach
Hen WW scoter eating a crab
Horned grebes and a molting drake Red-breasted merganser
Harlequin drake colors are muted on cloudy days, but the amazing plumage pattern is still evident
Mew gull (aka Short-billed) in winter plumage
Mew gulls and Glaucous-winged/Olympic gulls are by far the most common gulls at this season. Some Bonaparte’s are also around in winter but move around the county, usually well offshore. On this day a few joined a big group of Mews to feed on schooling baitfish in the shallows.
In the video (clips from a 20 minute feeding session), some mergansers can also be seen feasting on the small fish.
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The tide was really high that day (typical on these short winter days) so not as much scope for shorebirds. But I did see a few in the marsh vegetation on the bay side.
Greater Yellowlegs and Dunlin
Winter is a good time to see flocks of killdeer and even small flocks of oystercatchers. A week ago I saw 18 killdeer on a nearby beach.
Protected shallow bay (A)
The bay is almost enclosed, with just a narrow opening at the north end. Lining the east side of the bay are a road, two marinas, restaurants and other retail businesses, a motel and many vacation rentals. A southwest wind can kick up wind chop but otherwise the water there is more calm than other marine sites. Ducks really like it. I’ve seen many kinds there, with buffleheads and mergansers most abundant. A few days ago coming home from the village I just had to pull over to check out a large flock of a Common mergansers. We see fewer of them in marine sites than the Red-breasteds since they prefer freshwater, but this bay is somewhat brackish with runoff.
The spit where I was at site B can be seen in the distance, to the west. Red-breasted and Hooded mergansers were in the mix, along with Horned grebes, Double-crested cormorants and Glaucous-winged/Olympic gulls.
Their periscoping feeding method is better seen close up, as the drake on the right is doing.
So streamlined!
And of course I can’t forget my faves, the buffleheads. I enjoy watching them even on cloudy days, when they are monochrome black and white, to see what shenanigans they are up to. On a rare sunny day, their colors are a stunning bonus.
Lots of buffies this year, sometimes a flock of over a hundred in one protected bay or another. Buffies deserve their own diary, which I may do later in the winter.
The Dawn Chorus is now open for your birdy reports of the week.
