Urban Waterfowl Watching is a Great Wintertime Pick-Me-Up

Winter can be somewhat of a letdown for wildlife watchers after the frenzy of spring and summer activity. Many species head to warmer weather, leaving us stuck behind under cloudy skies, drizzly days, and snow.

But winter can be a wildlife-watching bonanza, and not just at your backyard feeders. Colorful waterfowl, in numbers that are off the survey charts of most backyard winter feeding stations, are viewable not far from home for most of us in the dead of winter.

Washington is part of the Pacific Flyway, a migratory corridor for many species including ducks and geese. Beginning in late summer, several thousand waterfowl begin their southern migration from breeding grounds in Alaska and northern Canada. As these species migrate southwards to warmer wintering grounds, they stop over at the various water bodies located along the flyway. Many of these sites are located in and around the urban areas of Washington; on the westside, they include Mercer Slough in Seattle, Snake Lake in Tacoma, Nisqually Refuge near Olympia, Padilla and Skagit bays near Anacortes, and Shillapoo Lake near Vancouver; on the eastside, they include the Yakima River Delta near Richland, McNary Refuge near Pasco, and the Columbia Refuge near Moses Lake.

The best time to view large concentrations of waterfowl in Washington is in January. Species most commonly seen include mallard, gadwall, American widgeon, green-winged teal, northern shoveler, canvasback, northern pintail, scaup, ring-necked duck, goldeneye, bufflehead, ruddy duck, surf scoter, merganser, snow geese, Canada geese and American coot. Fewer numbers of blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal, Eurasian widgeon, wood duck, redhead, eider, oldsquaw, Harlequin duck, brant, tundra swan, and trumpeter swan may also be seen.

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