Birds and Wildlife

Small island is about five miles off the west coast of Whidbey Island. Smith Island is a protected aquatic reserve. boats must keep a certain distance from shore to protect the wildlife there.

Notable species found here are tufted puffins, rhinocerous auklets, rockfish and bull kelp. But you might also see harbor seals and sea lions on shore, cormorants, and glaucous wing gulls.

Large groups of trumpeter swans overwinter in Whatcom County. Reports have been seen near the Samish River Wildlife area. The marker, here is general and approximate.

Fir Island is another wildlife refuge area where you might find wintering trumpeter swans.

The Wiley Slough and Skagit Wildlife area are a possible place to find wintering swans. Note: area is closed for renovations through November 2023.

I viewed a large flock of trumpeter swans off of Port Williams Road in Sequim in January 2023. Be aware, however, that the area around here are largely private farms. I did find a pullout on the roadside to view the swans -- at a distance, but with seeing a large herd of elk as a bonus!

I offer this as an approximate location representing an area where you MAY see the birds on Winter mornings. The best area I've seen the birds is at Shadow Lake in Snohomish.

Big Beef Creek in Seabeck, WA is a popular place to view bald eagles in May and June in particular. It's best to go in the morning at a very low tide, when the eagles come down to feed.

Of course, you'll also see a variety of other birds while you're at it. I've also seen red tailed haws, ducks, great blue herons to name a few.

Parking is roadside, here and if you want to go down to the beach, you'll need to climb down a few rocks.

This platform, and the area surrounding it (as well as the general area including the nearby campground) are common places to view elk.

The image of the two bull elk, here, were taken while standing on this observation platform. One thing to note, though, is that if you're using a tripod and someone is walking around on the platform, there will be some vibrations.

Protection Island -- as its name implies -- is a protected aquatic reserve meaning that it has limited human traffic (I did note a hut on a bluff there with a bunch of people who I assume were volunteers or researchers) and boats must keep a certain distance from shore.

Some notable species you might find there are rhinoceros auklets, pigeon guillemots, tufted puffins, and glaucous-winged gulls.

And, of course, you might note some harbor seals on the shore.

Poulsbo Fish Park is a wonderful 40 acre park with Dogfish Creek and an estuary that goes into Liberty Bay. You might see chum, coho salmon, and cutthroat trout here.

We'll add some photos here soon enough -- we walk there ALL the time so it's funny that we don't actually have photos of the area on our website right now.

This is a park with a small footpath that takes you down to Shadow Lake. The trumpeter swans mostly stay to the other side of the lake, but are easy to view, especially if you bring binoculars or a long camera lens. It's fun to watch the swans take off in the morning.

We've posted a hike along the trail here on one of our routes pages.