Birding in Neighborhoods North (BIN North) outings are on the second Wednesday of the month. We meet at 9 am in the parking area of the trip’s location. To be added to — or removed from — the monthly outing reminders, email Nancy Luenn

Early Spring is still loaded with duck sightings at Deer Lagoon (everything but Wigeons!) - Ring-necks, Buffleheads, scaup, goldeneyes, Mallards, Pintails, and geese, Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers, and everyone is stunning in their new seasonal plumage.

Birding in Neighborhoods South (BIN South) meets every other Thursday morning. Contact Cathi Bower.

Seven people came to the Freeland County Park Small Sit on a damp Saturday, April 11, to enjoy a variety of fauna including both birds and sea mammals! Two children in attendance looked at the wildlife and played on the playground.

The rain subsided just after the beginning of the Sit and conveniently stayed away until just before the Sit ended, giving us humid conditions but good lighting for viewing out on the water.

Lyla Biddle, Deception Pass State Park AmeriCorps Interpretive Naturalist writes this trip description:

On April 4th, 23 field trip attendees enjoyed a stunning spring day at Rosario Beach. The morning began with trip leader Madrone Ruggiero providing some hands-on learning in the form of several sleepy moths, a valuable food source for a variety of bird species found in the park.

Back at the end of February out at Deer Lagoon, that Redhead was still out there hanging with the scaup and some Ring-necked Ducks and all the other many species to be expected — Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, wigeons, Mallards, Green-winged Teals, Hooded Mergansers, Buffleheads, Coots, a Common Goldeneye and Canada Geese.
Cathi describes what was seen during March though the first day of Spring at Deer Lagoon and the Greenbank Farm.

Two participants joined trip leader Madrone Ruggiero on a cloudy and damp walk through South Whidbey State Park on March 19. The whistle of a Varied Thrush heard from the parking lot started us off on a trend of heard, but not seen birds. After examining a couple common late winter moths including Cerastis enigmatica, whose larvae eat salmonberry bushes that are just beginning to break bud, we set off through the campground. Our first sighting of spring in the campground was a Bigleaf Maple tree with swollen flower buds just beginning to open, which got the group started on the topic of edible plants. See more.

Sunny skies and calm seas welcomed the dozen attendees of the Flintstone Park Small Sit on Saturday February 28. At the start of the sit a flock of Northern Pintails dabbled in the shallows at the edge of the water while a small flock of Short-billed Gulls rested on the sand. Two pairs of Mallards among the pintails gave us an opportunity to compare the females of the two species. …

March 7: A highlight of this 2-hour field trip occurred before it even started: an adult Bald Eagle skimmed the surface of the bay and caught a surf smelt in each of its talons. The trip itself, with 16 attendees, commenced at the marina.  Several Bufflehead were there, along with a pair of Pied-billed Grebes. A Belted Kingfisher dove a couple of times from the railing of a sailboat. Other waterbirds included Pelagic and Double-crested Cormorants, Red-breasted Mergansers, Canada Geese, and Pigeon Guillemots.

“Now that we’ve had that spring tease for a few days there, we’ll recollect these past winter weeks, which began with hot cider and goodies at Freeland Park back on Christmas Day! A surprising turnout of birders and birds—up in the park and along the shore that morning we saw and/or heard over 30 species.

Since then, from the East and West dikes at Deer Lagoon we’ve observed the season and tides turn….” Read about the species spotted in Cathi Bower’s report.

“On January 19, uncharacteristically flat water and clear skies brought fewer birds than normal to the Keystone Harbor with seven humans and only a few Glaucous-winged hybridgulls attending the sit.…On the first day of February, a dozen people came by the Coupeville Wharf small sit…The highlight of the sit for the field trip leader was helping an enthusiastic new birder from the mainland identify their mystery birds they saw from the ferry….”

Trip leader Madrone Ruggerio shares his report.

“We started our field trip at Libbey Beach Park, taking advantage of the high tide that brought seabirds close to shore. The water was choppy, but the birding was great with the morning sun highlighting the seabirds…We moved on to Hastie Lake Park. The tide was pushing waves against the breakwater, but the sun was warm and the wind had settled. The birding was equally good…”

Learn about the species the group spotted in Nancy’s Luenn’s article.

On January 14, the view from Windjammer Park resembled a watercolor painting. Smooth silvery water below and thick fog above. The still water made it easy to find seabirds. Species identified included Surf Scoters, a White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneyes, Buffleheads and scaup. Close to shore we saw…

Read Nancy Luenn’s full report.