All-season Bird-Watching Adventures

Great Blue Herons can be found throughout the islands, along shorelines, lakes and ponds. (c)Bart Rulon

Bird watching is an activity that can be pursued year round, seeing something different in every season. In the fall and early winter months, the Canadian snow geese can be seen migrating south for the winter. Camano Island celebrates this migration with the Annual Port Susan Snow Geese Festival. Website

There are over 60 pair of eagles nesting on Whidbey Island. During the haying season, in the summer, eagles can be seen circling the fields looking for their next catch. Herons are plentiful on the shoreline of this islands. Their long legs and beaks make an unforgettable silhouette impression.

Wildlife habitats include old growth and mature second growth Douglas fir forests, old orchards and open fields, fresh and salt-water wetlands, and many, many miles of scenic coastline. Come for a visit and see for yourself.

Whidbey Island Audubon Society Phone: (360) 341-6387

Email: P. O. Box 296, Langley, WA 98260

Click on the link below for the Birds of Whidbey Island. This is a field check list for Whidbey Island bird species. Enjoy the varied habitats on our beautiful island!

Birds of Camano and Whidbey Islands

Click on the link below for Whidbey Audubon Society's Guide to 15 special spots close to nature on an enchanted island in Puget Sound

15 Special Birding Spots in the Puget Sound

In addition to the many species of waterfowl found on Camano Island's miles of shoreline, raptors are often seen near the Mark Clark Bridge, as are Snow Geese, Ducks and Swans. The Northwest's largest Heron rookery is located on Camano Island.

The 12 parks on Camano Island offer many locations from which to watch a very wide variety of birds, local and migrating. Camano's Iverson Waterfront Preserve is particularly popular. Click on the link below for the Washington State Checklist:

(ABA 461 species)

Port Susan Bay - Important Bird Area
Iverson Spit in Port Susan Bay, Washington state. Under the guidance of our Conservation Committee, an Action Team Committee led by Colleen Weber has been diligently working towards the goal of preserving this beautiful bay since the spring of 2007. Please click here for more details on this grant-funded, field-intensive project.

Snowgeese photo taken in the Stanwood/ Camano Island area. (c) C. Romann

EVENT: Snowgoose Birding Festival each February! Website

Port Susan Snow Goose & Birding Festival
PO Box 641 Stanwood, WA 98282
Phone/Fax 360-629-0562
Email: info@snowgoosefest.org

Paintings, photographs, ceramics, glass, fiber art and sculpture with the images of birds fill the walls at Four Springs Preserve. The exhibition is free and open to the public during the Port Susan Snow Goose & Birding. We are excited to have 33 artists participating this year with over 70 works displayed. There will be an art reception and wine tasting Sat. from 3 to 5 pm and Sun. from noon to 5 pm. Other events at Four Springs during the birding weekend include a variety of children's nature arts & crafts and a BBQ on Saturday.

2009 Participating Artists: Anita Zymolka Amrhein, Chaim Bezalel, Yonnah Ben Levy, Diane Brewster, Karan Bush, Lance Carleton, Opal Cocke/Amy Cowen, Ann Curtis, Anne Daletski, Daryl Deitz, Galina Y. Doder, Sharon N. Dodge, Betty Dorotik, Ray Fossum, Marguerite Goff, James Kaufman, Troylene Knape, L.L. Laun, Rena Mahurin, Mike McElroy, Janet Mitchell, Bobbie Mueller, Lucy Opperman, Robert Paczkowski, Patty Paddock, Bev Paulson, William H. Rawls, Lane Rowell, Dianna Shyne, Richard D. Swetman, Susan Cohen Thompson, Michael Wendorff.

Birding in the Neighborhoods - Weekly Field Trips Check the Audubon Website

Meet at the Bayview Park n Ride; birding usually is north up to Crockett Lake and sometimes Penn Cove. The meeting time varies with the season. Right now we're meeting some Thursdays at 8 a.m. If you would like to be notified of the events, contact Phyllis Kind by online letter. Carpool

Saturday, Dec. 19: Christmas Bird Count.
Contact Janet Hall for details: phone 360-331-3634 or send an online letter

Friday, Jan. 1, 2010 Field Trip: New Year's Day with the Eagles
Watch the bald eagles feeding on returning salmon on the Skagit River at Rockport. Meet 8:00 a.m. at Freeland Park and Ride or 9:00 a.m. at City Beach Park to carpool. Bring a lunch. Leaders are Steve and Susan Bennett 360-331-4779. Snow and ice cancel.

Thursday, Jan 14, 2010 Meeting: Birds and Whales in Baja
Howard Garrett of Orcanetwork. Unitarian Universalist Church, 20103 SR 525, Freeland -- 100 yards north of Island Recycling. Doors open at 7 pm, meeting at 7:20, program at 7:30. Please bring a mug for coffee. Carpool

Thursday, Feb 11, 2010 Meeting: Suburban Bird Tracking
John Marzluff of the University of Washington. Unitarian Universalist Church, 20103 SR 525, Freeland -- 100 yards north of Island Recycling. Doors open at 7 pm, meeting at 7:20, program at 7:30. Please bring a mug for coffee. Carpool

Thursday, March 11, 2010 Meeting: Feathered Architects
Udie Ulsh presents The Art of Building a Bird Nest. Unitarian Universalist Church, 20103 SR 525, Freeland -- 100 yards north of Island Recycling. Doors open at 7 pm, meeting at 7:20, program at 7:30. Please bring a mug for coffee. Carpool

Thursday, April 8, 2010 Meeting: The Lives of Osprey
Larry Ryman. Coupeville Rec Hall (Map). Doors open at 7 pm, meeting at 7:20, program at 7:30. Please bring a mug for coffee. Carpool

Thursday, May 13, 2010 Meeting: A Sense of Place
Discovering the Secret Places of Whidbey Island, with Elizabeth Guss of the Whidbey Camano Land Trust and Joe Sheldon of the Pacific Rim Institute. Coupeville Rec Hall (Map). Doors open at 7 pm, meeting at 7:20, program at 7:30. Please bring a mug for coffee. Carpool

Thursday, June 10, 2010 Meeting: Bird In the Hand
Learning Bird Identification from Expired Birds with Matt Klope, a biologist with the US Navy, and Robin Llewellyn of Whidbey Audubon Society. Coupeville Rec Hall (Map). Doors open at 7 pm, meeting at 7:20, program at 7:30. Please bring a mug for coffee. Carpool