Beaks and Bills
photo: Joe Meche
Yellow-billed loon
by Joe Meche
And just like that, we’re already a month into 2026, and, for the most part, the holiday dust has settled. My 82nd Christmas and my 36th Bellingham Christmas Bird Count (CBC) are now in the rearview mirror. From here, it looks like clear sailing to points west and south to experience new places and things. Although we’ve been to Hawaii before and we’ve camped at Twin Harbors before, this year will offer variations on that theme.
We’ve spent time on three of the larger islands of the Polynesian paradise including Oahu, Maui, and Kauai. In late February, we’ll visit the Big Island for the first time. Our granddaughter has staked a claim there and currently drives a tour bus to the top of Mauna Kea. It will be a delight to ride with her and listen as she narrates the trip for all the tourists, including her grandparents. She has also previewed a few of the best nature preserves for us to see a few of the endemic Hawaiian birds as well as the introduced species. I just purchased a detailed map of the island, so I’ll study it for the next month and a half. And yes, I’ll probably take a camera or two …or three.
Our trip in May will take us to the campground at Twin Harbors State Park, south of Westport. We’ve been to this state park before, but the plan for this year is to stay in one of the yurts for the first time. I made the reservation back in November, and, after looking at photos of the yurt, we’ll be camping in style. This will also significantly reduce the amount of gear we’ll need for the trip. An added bonus is the nearly central location between Westport and Tokeland … two of the premier spring birding hotspots in the entire state. Add another yes to taking a camera or two … or maybe four! Stay tuned for full accounts from both trips in coming issues.
To bring things back in line with the here and now, another relatively soggy winter is underway. We’ve had record setting floods brought on by the newly coined phenomenon known as atmospheric rivers. These long, narrow bands of moisture are generated by warmer tropical waters and flow along various paths into western North America from California as far north as British Columbia and even Alaska. The effects of flooding in Washington state alone have been devastating. It probably comes as no surprise that the frequency and intensity of these events are increasing. Climate change is real!
Early indications have shown that bird numbers are being affected as well. In the early tally on the local CBC, we were noticeably below average, in both species and overall numbers. My own area which includes lower Whatcom Creek had a marked dearth of birds. High tides near the mouth of the creek combined with the heavy runoff to muddy the waters significantly. In past counts when I’ve seen as many as 30 common goldeneyes, I saw none on count day. When the counts of all North American CBCs are combined, it becomes obvious that weather plays an important role in the winter distribution of all species.
photo: Joe Meche
Long-tailed duck
This trend seems to have continued into January as evidenced by my own reports from Semiahmoo as part of the ongoing Puget Sound Seabird Survey. Despite or possibly because of the wet and windy conditions the birds are just not showing up in my three territories as they have in previous years. Diehard birders, however, are finding the birds that are seemingly not affected by the whims of weather, as long as their food sources remain.
The primary unaffected birds are the diving birds that ply their trade well below the surface where they don’t have to contend with the wind-driven choppy waters. One of the biggest challenges for a bird photographer is to get a decent photo while the birds are riding the troughs between the waves. Notable among the birds that are present now and into March and April are four species of loons, including the rare yellow-billed, and the long-tailed ducks.
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Joe Meche is a past president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and was a member of the board of directors for 20 years. He has been watching birds for more than 70 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 50 years. He has written over 250 columns for Whatcom Watch.
