Maya's Adventure Follow a shorebird's northward journey. Read interesting shorebird facts.

Click for a list of birds viewed on the Peninsula, noted by season. This list includes links to photos and additional information about local species.

Here is a print-friendly bird checklist to use while you are here.

DID YOU KNOW? Several of our charter boat companies take birders out for fabulous sea bird watching trips? Minimum number of people to charter such a trip is ten; call a charter office for details.

Visit our local Audubon chapter website!

Enjoy our slide show, "Peninsula Birding" This 18 slide tour includes local raptors, shorebirds and more...even a seal or two. Click HERE to begin.

Refuge Photo Blind Available to Birders By Shelly Pollock Supported by a grant from the North American Nature Photography Association, volunteers from Friends of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge installed a photography blind for public use at the Tarlett Slougb unit off Sandridge Road near Long Bead WA. Wildlife photography enthusiasts can schedule use of this new facility (located off of Lone Fir Cemetery Road) through the Willapa Refuge Headquarters. "This photography blind is the first of its kind in Pacific County and we hope the community of wildlife photographers will enjoy the excellent viewing of marsh and forest edge areas," commented O1arlie Stenvall Project Leader for the Willapa NWR. "Access to this blind will not interfere with the birds natural behavior, and the birds need for protected habitat will not be impacted." Active birders and volunteers from the Friends of Willapa Bay National Wildlife Refuge, as well as Charlie Stenvall, selected the site, which offers a seasonal view of migratory ducks and geese in the winter, and attracts some shorebirds in from the Bay in the early spring. Special thanks go to Jeff Collins who generously constructed the wildlife photo blind. The Willapa NWR is home to many of the 300 bird species found in Pacific County, including scores of migrating shorebirds and waterfowl species that depend UP9h the mudflats and tidelands for food and rest during their spring and fall travels. The Tarlett Slough area, where the blind is located, is at the southernmost end of Willapa Bay. The slough attracts the most number of migrating species because of its diverse habitat, located near tidelands with marsh, forest, and open grasslands. The blind is uniquely designed for wildlife photography with narrow openings for camera equipment, and is not recommended for general wildlife viewing. Telephoto/zoom lenses are strongly recommended to ensure long-distance capture of bird activity. Use is by reservation only. Users must sign in and pick up a key at the Willapa NWR office. There's a short hike to the building.

Welcome from the Shoalwater Birders! We would like to share with you our favorite birding spots on the Peninsula. 1 to 2 hours before high tide is best for the shore birds; bay tide is 1 hour later. Early morning (before 10) and after 4:00 is best for songbirds, etc.

Please avoid trespassing on private property

spring = sp | summer = su
fall = f | winter = w | all year = ay

1. Fort Columbia (sp-su-f)
Walk the woods for warblers, towhees & other songbirds. Check the cliffs and water for resident shorebirds.

2. Chinook County Park (ay)
Look out in the bay for Bald Eagles, pelicans, cormorants, herons and shorebirds.

3. Stringtown Road (f-w-sp)
Bird the bay from your vehicle, paying attention to the private property signs.

4. Chinook Valley Road (ay)
In the summer this is a good place for warblers, hawks and kites. In the winter the flooded fields are good for waterfowl, raptors and shorebirds---most is private property.

5. The gravel road that runs east up the hill off Chinook Valley Road (sp-su-f)
This road leads up to the Ilwaco watershed. The higher elevations might produce some different species.

6. llwaco Boat Basin (ay)
Go to the far end of the boat ramp parking lot and look out over Baker Bay to the south. Species to watch for: Common and Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Loons, ducks, geese, cormorants and Bald Eagles.

7. Cape Disappointment State Park (ay)
All of the park is good especially in the off-season. Turn right into the park from the main road and go to the second parking area on the left during the nesting season; you might see Brandt’s Cormorants, Pelagic Cormorants and Pigeon Guillemots living on the cliffs or in the harbor. If you go right into the campground, check out the ponds and marshes. O'Neal Lake is a possible spot for Pied-billed Grebes and ducks. The McKenzie Head trail offers a panoramic view and large variety of birds, especially in the winter. Look near the boat launch for Common Loons, cormorants, mergansers and Bald Eagles in the winter months.

8. North Head Lighthouse (sp-su)
There are four trails here. The one that leads to the lighthouse will put you near cliffs to view Pigeon Guillemots and cormorants during the nesting season. You also might see or hear Olive-sided Flycatchers. The trail up behind the house is where hummingbirds and Western Tanagers have been sighted.

9. Beard’s Hollow (su-f)
Nice, new trail out to the ocean. Keep left around the car-sized rock to stay on the trail. Marsh Wrens and warblers are viewed here, as well as birds on the rocks and swallows nesting in the crevices.

10. Black Lake (ay)
There is a trail around the lake. A pair of Osprey usually nests on the light pole at the school. It is a great place to view Trumpeter Swans in the winter months. Also watch for Green and Great Blue Herons.

11. Long Beach Sewage Ponds off N. 2nd Ave (ay) - always a good place for a variety of birds.


12. Long Beach Boardwalk (ay) - see information panels along the walk.

13. Loomis Lake Boat Launch (ay) - ducks, geese, swans, mergansers.

14. Klipsan Beach 227th Ave. ponds and marshes (ay)
A pair of Osprey nests here; waterfowl and shorebirds are present, especially during winter---private property, but good viewing from the road.

15. Park Ave. in Ocean Park (ay)
Park Ave. is west of the main highway and south from the beach approach. Check the ponds and riparian areas for songbirds, waterfowl, Great Blue Herons and Belted Kingfishers.

16. Ocean Park Beach Approach (ay)
This is a good place to view a variety of gulls because people feed them. Shorebirds are in the area except during the nesting season, with peaks during spring and fall migration.

17. The Canals in Surfside, North of 311th Ave. and west of I Street. (f-w-sp)
You will have to drive around the neighborhood to find public footbridges and viewing spots as most of the land surrounding the canals is private property. A good starting point and information source is the Surfside Homeowners Association Office at 31402 H Street. There are geese, ducks, blackbirds, songbirds, finches and Great Blue Herons.

18. Northwest end 357th Ave. Beach Access (ay)
Walk north on the beach; fewer people can mean more birds. Shorebirds concentrate on the beach at high tide during migration.

19. Oysterville Road Ponds (ay)
In the winter, depending on the water levels, you can see waterfowl and shorebirds. In the summer months watch the riparian areas. Avoid cranberry bogs and other private properties.

20. Leadbetter Point - Unit of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge (ay)
There are trails here through a variety of habitats. You can access Willapa Bay, the Pacific Ocean, old forests, dunes and marshes. Areas may also be closed due to the ground nesting of Snowy Plovers. You are in Black Bear country, so make noise while moving through; this will not disturb the birds. Thousands of shorebirds feed on the mud flats during migration. You may see Bald Eagles, Great Egrets, dunlins, Great Blue Herons, Peregrine Falcons and Brant Geese.

21. Oysterville Cannery (f-w-sp)
Take Oysterville road east to the end and go north a few blocks to the Sea Farm. This is a good place to watch the bay before high tide with a scope.

22. Oysterville-Territory Road (w)
On the bay side of Territory Road you will see a large field with a stone bench for quiet watching. There are Common Snipe during the winter; they hunker down in the tall grass and blend in well.

23. Nahcotta Boat Basin (f-w-sp)
This is a good place to set up a scope to study the bay without any hiking. You might see Common Loons, Western and Horned Grebes, Brant Geese and Bald Eagles. Watch the distant pilings. Black Turnstones often can be seen on the oystershell piles.

24. East 113th St. off Sandridge Road (f-w-sp)
Comes to a dead end with room to turn around. Dusky Canada Geese are plentiful in the bay.

25. Lone Fir Road and the Cemetery off Sandridge Road (w-sp)
The area to the north of the road, Tarlett Slough, is part of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge (closed to public entry); the other side is private property. Both areas are fenced, but you can bird the pond from the road, between the fences, for Killdeer, Yellow Legs, White-fronted Geese and Red-necked Phalaropes. In the early fall watch for migrating Aleutian Canada Geese. In the summer you will see swallows, Savannah Sparrows and possibly a Western Bluebird.
26. Riekkola Unit of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge (f-w-sp)-off Sandridge and 65th
In the large fields at the end of the road you will find large concentrations of Canada Geese, ranging from the ‘cackling’ race, the duskys, lessers, to the giants. Hunting season is October to January.

Any day is better when we share it with our bird friends.

Questions: Sue at 665-2753 or Gayl at 665-2702
We meet Jan, Apr, July & Oct,
the 2nd Wed, at 7:00 PM in the Ocean Park Library
Newcomers are always welcome--come join us.