Birding in Neighborhoods - South

By Cathi Bower

The last few shortest days of the year found us at Sunlight Beach once, Deer Lagoon West side most often, and once to Lone Lake looking for a Canvasback Duck which had been hanging out there. Though we missed the Canvasback, it is just Duck Season now and everywhere you go there are at least eight or ten different types of water fowl—many, many, many American Wigeons, and a Eurasian Wigeon or two (Merlin actually heard the EUWI when we saw it off Deer Lagoon East dike), Buffleheads, Mallards, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necks, Gadwalls, Pintails, scaup, Goldeneyes, Northern Shovelers, Pied-billed Grebes, Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, Brant and Canada Geese, and a Cormorant or two.  When we head for the beach, there are bound to be a Common and Pacific Loon within sight, Surf Scoters and Horned Grebes. It’s been hit or miss on shorebirds, depending on the tides. When conditions are just so, we’ve seen hundreds of Dunlin murmurating about. Then an eagle or hawk or falcon will send everyone into a tizzy.

There have been two Short-eared Owls this winter, and it’s entertaining to watch them hunting and interacting with the Northern Harriers.

The beauty of Deer Lagoon is that if we were to ever tire of ducks and shorebirds, the woods path is full of chickadees, kinglets, a half dozen different sparrows (lately Fox among them, and also a White-throated Sparrow over by Lone Lake) nuthatches, Brown Creepers, woodpeckers, Yellow-rumped Warblers and finches.

January BINs will be the 8th and 22nd, and in between we’ll also head up to Deception Pass for my favorite field trip of the year—Red-throated Loons!