Plan a bird watching trip along the Strait of Juan de Fuca Highway. The byway hugs the coast of the Pacific Northwest and provides several prime birding spots because the same sparkling, cold waters that attract you to the byway also attract the area’s many species of birds. Whether you visit the saltwater or freshwater shorelines, the byway offers plenty of bird sightings.
See thousands of roosting birds at Hobuck Beach. Surfbirds, Glaucous-winged, California, and Thayer’s Gulls, and many others frequent the beach. If you drop by the river mouth, you may also see Harlequin Ducks. Near Hobuck Beach you will find Cape Flattery, where many rare bird sightings have occurred. Bring your binoculars to the Cape Flattery overlook to see the cliffs of Tatoosh Island. During the spring and summer, Murres nest on these cliffs. Year-round you can spot Black Oystercatchers or, on a winter visit, you can see Western, Red-necked and Horned Grebes, and Surf and White-winged Scoters. In the spring or fall, watch for Red-throated, Common and Pacific Loons, Pelagic and Brandt’s Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, Cassin’s and Rhinoceros Auklets, and Marbled Murrelets, to name a few. In the summer, watch the skies for soaring Black and Vaux’s Swifts and scan the waters for Tufted Puffins.
Stop by Lake Ozette to see Red Crossbills and Warbling Vireos. As you look across the lake, watch out for Belted Kingfishers and Common Loons. You can also see Black Turnstones, Northern Goshawks, and many other birds at Lake Ozette.
Drop by Clallam Bay Park in the spring for sightings of Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pacific-slope Flycatchers, Violet-green Swallows, Lesser Yellowlegs, Belted Kingfishers, and an occasional Green Heron. During fall and winter, see many species of Mew.
Stop at Pillar Point County Park, an excellent place to see Great Blue Herons gathering in the shallows. See shorebirds, such as Black-bellied Plovers, Dunlins, Sanderlings, and Whimbrels, camp out on the beaches.
If you want to see Turkey Vultures migrating south, check out Salt Creek County Park during the last week of September. If you prefer a spur of the moment trip, don’t fret that you won’t see any birds. This saltwater shoreline sustains Marbled Murrelets, Harlequin Ducks and Rhinoceros Auklets year-round. In fall and winter, the Elwha River Estuary is the place for you to observe Thayer’s Gulls roosting. Herring and California Gulls will entertain you as you stroll through the estuary.
Travel the Strait of Juan de Fuca to see hundreds of different bird species. The sites along the byway are beautiful, the waters are peaceful and the birding opportunities incredible. Regardless of whether you are at Hobuck Beach, Cape Flattery, Lake Ozette, Clallam Bay Park, Pillar Point County Park, Salt Creek County Park, or the Elwha River Estuary, you will not be disappointed in this birding trip.
