For the Birds: Changing of the Birds

Western Grebe with fish
Photo by Doug Parrott

By Christine Southwick

Fall has arrived and most of our spring- summer avian migrants have passed through our area heading toward their non-breeding areas for winter foods and low-hormonal resting and rejuvenation.

So which birds can you expect to see during our fall/winter seasons?

We have our year-round resident birds: Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Bushtits, Anna’s Hummingbirds, Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Dark-eyed Juncos, American Robins and our five common woodpeckers. 

Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls are also residents and can be heard all year long, especially now that the days are shorter and the darkness is longer.

Pied-billed Grebe in its winter plumage
Photo by Doug Parrott

But what really changes are the species that become visible. 

Two really easy to see in our gray wet seasons are the Western Grebe and the Pied-billed Grebe. The majority of these grebes are resident but their hidden nests in marshy vegetation make these grebes can be difficult to see until after their young are independent, then they swim more out in the open. 

Northern migratory grebes also start arriving by October. If you see a duck-like object constantly bobbing up, and then quickly diving again it is probably a Pied-billed Grebe.

Coots - what cute feet you have! Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler (used with permission)

Coots, those smallish black waterbirds with the specialized feet, are forming large float groups, called “rafts”. Lake Washington is a great place to see them.

Osprey have left for mostly Venezuela, with the parents leaving almost a month before their offspring. Most Merlin have flown south- a few may stay in the Skagit area.

Savannah Sparrows which breed in this area, are forming migrating flocks and will mostly be out of our area by the end of October.

Yards with trees and water features may see Townsend’s Warblers throughout the winter. They are here all year long, but nest high up in the trees and aren’t very noticeable until the weather cools and they feed lower.

Yards with open spaces may see American Goldfinches year-round as they don’t really migrate but follow field seed foods. And Pine Siskins may be seen anytime.

Varied Thrush (male) Photo by Christine Southwick

Birds that winter here and leave in the spring are starting to come in. 

Varied Thrushes are starting to be seen and heard; Fox Sparrows often winter here, especially in blackberry patches; and Snow Geese are arriving in the Skagit flats. 

You might hear a few flying as some of them loop above northern Seattle before settling in Skagit.

Look for more varieties of ducks too. 

Winter-time birding can be fun.