WHIDBEY ISLAND WATERBIRD ADVENTURE- *Sundays with Sunny and Friends!
FULL DAY TOUR

Tour Length: 11 ½ Hours
Tour Code: ES02
Pick-Up: Northgate Park ‘n Ride
Departing: 8:00 a.m.
Returns: 7:30 p.m.
Activities: Birding, Walking, & Educational Sightseeing
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: $175 per person
Season: Winter
Carbon Footprint:
Min No of Passengers:

Inclusions: North Seattle pick up and drop off; highly qualified and knowledgeable naturalist guide; travel in luxury vehicle; excellent casual lunch; selected fruit, energy bars, soda, juice, and tea; all entry and parking fees; slide show; and comprehensive commentary.

Description: Enjoy this Sunday with tour guide Sunny Walter, professional wildlife photographer, photo tour leader, and co-author of “Washington Nature Weekends, 52 Adventures in Nature.” Our accompanying birding expert is Brian Bell, Master Birder, birding tour leader, and author of “Birds of Washington State.”

The marine waters of the greater Puget Sound region are one of the most fertile saltwater habitats in the world, and every winter, waterfowl migrate from afar to feast on its bounty. Many marine birds arrive in the fall, stay for the winter, and leave again in the spring for nesting sites high in the mountain forests or as far north as the Arctic Circle. We travel to Whidbey Island to see these marine birds before they leave for their breeding grounds, as well as the many other waterbirds on Whidbey.

We cross Possession Sound on the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry to begin our waterbird adventure. Our first stop is at the Earth Sanctuary Nature Reserve where we will explore the beautiful wetland system that is home to many wintering ducks as well as songbirds, frogs, salamander, muskrats, river otters, and deer.

Our second stop is on the west side of Whidbey Island at Double Bluff. We expect to see a good variety of loons, grebes, alcids, and ducks. We will have binoculars for everyone and will set up a scope to scan the bay below. Be sure to bring your cameras to capture the beautiful saltwater scenery and the flocks of birds.

At our next stop, Crockett Lake, we will make a slow cruise along the wide shoulder of the marsh and shallow lake, stopping to get good looks at wintering ducks, terns, eagles and harriers. At Fort Casey State Park, we will take a brief walk out to the lighthouse high on the bluffs above a rocky beach – watching for Common Murres, grebes, auklets, murrelets, gulls, oystercatcher, and other waterfowl. Lunch is at Toby’s Tavern in Coupeville, a renovated beer parlor with lots of memorabilia on the walls and the best fish 'n' chips, mussels, clams, sandwiches, and burgers on the island.

After lunch, we will visit the lowland lagoons around Penn Cove, which provide food and shelter for waterfowl and migratory birds. We expect to see Black Turnstone, as well as Surfbird, scoters and grebes.

We will then drive to Libby Beach and Swantown on the west shore of Whidbey. In addition to the seabirds, we will look for sanderlings and other shorebirds on shore and Caspian terns offshore. We will also use the spotting scope to get good views of a breeding colony of harbor seals.

Our final stop is at Deception Pass State Park, where we will walk to North Beach to see the large flocks of Red-throated Loons that winter here. From here we have splendid views of the magnificent Deception Pass Bridge and the swirling waters below.

We will finish our day at Rosario Head, taking a short walk to the picturesque bluff which overlooks Deception Pass. We expect to see many seabirds in the waters below, as well as herons standing on the rocks. This is a lovely place for a winter sunset.

Our quest for waterbirds ends with a 1 hour, 45 minute drive back to Seattle, arriving back at the Northgate P&R around 7:30pm

This tour can be customized as a private tour, call or email for a quote.

For a more detailed description of the tour, please click here