Birdwatching in Washington

Birding contacts and birdwatching information



Local Birdingpal Contacts

Local Birdwatchers Using the Birdingpal resources you must agree to the following: If you contact a local Birdingpal and make arrangement to go birding, you should note it is common courtesy to make sure you show up for the appointment. If for any reason you are unable to do this, the least you must do is contacting the local Pal right away. Please note that most Birdingpals are serious birdwatchers. It is a privilege to contact them, and your message should reflect it. A local Pal does not get paid, but should he/she offer to take you out birding, using their own vehicle, it would be courteous to pay for the fuel. A lunch and/or a small gift would also be appropriate, something as simple as a souvenir of your country, or a pin from your local birding club.
		Initial	Last Name	Area	Available	Language
		C	Warneke	Allyn	Anytime	English/German
		We are close to Theler Wetlands at the south end of Hood Canal as well as close to Case Inlet, the westernmost arm of Puget Sound. The Olympic Peninsula is north and west. There is an Audubon birding trail map for the Olympic Loop with 54 sites listed. We are a ferry ride across Puget Sound from Seattle.
		M	Willison	Auburn	Weekend
		M	Carpenter	Bellevue	Anytime
		R	Riedl	Bellevue	Anytime	English/French Spanish
		I am an advanced birder and am happy to take visiting birders throughout the state or recommend areas to visit for specific species.
		B	Flor	Bellevue	Anytime	English
		Member of Nature Conservancy and Audubon, part-time birder in Pacific Northwest, Puget Sound Region. The area has about 200 species.
		S	Aronoff	Bellingham	Anytime	English/French Spanish
		D	Hancock	Blaine	Anytime
		V	Biltz	Bonney Lake	Anytime
		C	Webb	Cle Elum	Weekend	English
		Kittitas county has habitat from alpine forest to desert shrub steppe, so it has a wide variety of birds. I am avid birder and photographer.
		L	Falb	Deer Harbor, San Juan Islands	Anytime
		H	Barbour	Deer Harbor, San Juan Islands	Anytime	English
		I live on Orcas Island in the San Juan Group, we have a mix of terrestrial, shoreline, water and pelagic species. I am by no means an expert birder, but I have been at it for 50 + years.
		S	Koon	Edmonds	Anytime	English/some Spanish
		There are a number of small wetland/bird watching parks in Edmonds as well as the puget sound that is right here. I love watching birds but have never gone on any organized birding trips. I would love to learn more about birds!
		P	Reeve	Everett	Anytime
		H	Feddern	Federal Way	Anytime	English/German
		I have been birding since childhood and now lived in the Seattle area for 20 years. Mainly bird Western Washington, including Pacific Coast, but also bird Eastern Washington and Oregon. Being retired I am normally available anytime.
		R	Nelson	Fircrest/Tacoma	Weekend
		L	Parshall	Gig Harbor	Weekend	English
		Interested in birds, nature and wildlife. Living in the Greater Puget Sound area, there is a lot of access to both fresh and saltwater habitats. Theler Wetlands is 10 miles from my home and Nisqually Wildlife Refuge is a 45 minute drive. Many of the local Audubon chapters have weekly walks in good areas for a broad range of birding skill levels. And, the local listserv, Tweeters, moderated through the Burke Museum provides daily alerts and information about sightings.
		B	Qualheim	Gig Harbor	Anytime
		C	Sandstrom	Kent	Anytime
		M	Johnston	Kent	Anytime	English
		Washington State hosts a wide variety of habitats that together provide exceptional birding opportunities throughout the year. I have led birding trips for Seattle Audubon and the Sierra Club for years and particularly enjoy showing folks from out of state or other countries what Washington has to offer. I'm available most days for trips in King and Kittitas Counties. I'm also open to considering other areas or searches for specific species on a case by case basis.
		M	Hobbs	Kirkland	Anytime
		B	Hansen	Lyle	Anytime	English/Spanish
		N	Gayle	Montesano, Westport	Weekend
		T	Schooley	Olympia	Anytime
		D	Grosboll	Olympia	Weekend	English
		I've some experience with our local birds. In particular, I would consider myself an advanced birder in grassland habitat, an intermediate birder in deciduous woodlands, and somewhere below an intermediate in conifer forest, shorebirds, ducks, and alpine species. I work as a restoration ecologist.
		C	McIntyre	Olympia	Anytime	English
		I am a new bird enthusiast, meaning I enjoy looking and watching, but am not totally driven to figure out exactly what I am looking at (altho I try). I particularly enjoy the birds at my feeder (Downy Woodpecker, Flicker, Chickadee, Nuthatch, Townsend Warbler, Goldfinch, Hummers, to name a few), and also the Sandhill Crane and Snow Geese that migrate along the west coast. Oh, yes, and the Great Blue Herons that hang out down by the lake. I've been doing some travelling lately, so I'm not always here, but generally available by e-mail. Olympia is located at the southern tip of Puget sound, lots of water, lots of nature easily available. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge is about 10 miles north; most of the trails have recently been closed as they put the finishing touches on reclaiming the salt marsh. I take a camera everywhere and occasionally catch a good shot!
		P	Burns	Olympia. Winter only	Anytime	English/Norwegian
		My husband and I love to bird. There are several great places to see birds between Portland, OR and Seattle, WA. Our favorite places to bird are Nisqually NWR north of Olympia andvsp@spvMalheur NWR near Burns, OR which is quite a drive from our house, but would be willing to take someone birding in that area if we could work it into our schedule. We also have had over 70 species in our backyard over the years, as I am insane in my love for feeding the birds.
		K	Wood	Orcas Island	Anytime	English
		I live next to the Frank Richardson Wildfowl Refuge, on Orcas Island. This intact ecosystem has good populations of many of the lowland NorthWest species. There are also opportunities for arranging boat trips for local and migratory seabirds in the San Juan Islands.
		M	Welch	Port Angeles	Anytime	English(native) Spanish(conversational)
		I have been living and birding in Port Angeles, WA near Olympic National Park for the past 3 years. I have also lived in San Diego and the Bay Area, CA (two other good birding locales) and still spend a lot of time there, especially in the winter.
		B	Man	Port Townsend	Anytime	English/Francais
		Beautiful location right on the water, with shore birds, raptors, many LBJ's, too.
		G	Hendrickson	Redmond	Anytime
		G	Oliver	Redmon	Weekend	English
		Seattle Washing and surrounding area. Winter is good for large variety of waterfowl which winter here. Spring and fall are best for migrants and larger number of species. August is particularly slow; so going up to higher elevation to look for those speciality species is best in August.
		K	Hansen	Renton	Anytime	English/Norwegian
		I work various shifts, but prefer to do my birding on week-days. Maybe you are here in the Seattle area for business and would like to get out for some birding between work. That is what I do when I travel, so I'd love to be able to reciprocate. Intermediate to advanced is my level, but any level is welcome.
		P	Mann	Seattle	Anytime	English
		M	Wagenbach	Seattle	Anytime
		R	Lawson	Seattle	Anytime	English minimal Spanish French
		I live in Seattle, but will take birders on trips all over the state.
		C	Alexander	Seattle	Anytime
		G	Irving	Seattle	Anytime
		J	Flynn	Seattle	Anytime	English/French Spanish
		C	Jobe	Seattle area & Camano Island	Weekend	English/Spanish American Sign Language
		My fiance and I would like to connect with other people who enjoy birding in our local area, and also to possibly find people to bird with when we travel (which is mostly within the contiguous U.S. for now until his daughters are grown).
		M	Flint	Seattle	Weekends	English
		M	Riley	Seattle	Anytime	English/Italian
		Local Audubon member, live close to Magnuson Park on Lake Washington Burke Gilman Nature Trail. Not super advanced at ID although good at spotting. Mickey is female.
		D	McVay	Seattle	Anytime	English
		Seattle has several very good birding sites within the city limits.
		J	Bryant	Seattle	Anytime	English workable Spanish learning Italian
		Fall and winter are the worst seasons for weather, but the best for birding here. Come then for gulls, waterfowl and shorebirds, including a decent chance of Siberian rarities. I can show you a range of fresh- and saltwater habitats, deciduous/coniferous/mixed woodland, and small patches of prairie-type habitat, all in the Seattle metro area. Probably not available for longer trips, but happy to advise on sweet spots for some of our specialties, like all of Washington's Picoides woodpeckers.
		D	Mustin	Seattle	Anytime	English/Spanish
		Intermediate birder, retired physician. I like to visit many WA state habitats - coast, sound, mountains, central shrub-steppe.
		D	Cook	Seattle	Weekend	English
		As an intermediate skilled birder I bird a variety of habitats near Seattle.
		S	Thompson	Seattle	Anytime	English/some French
		Available anytime (depending on my work schedule, which is variable). Many good birding areas right in the city of Seattle and more in the surrounding region. Winter is especially good for raptors, snow geese, swans, ducks & sea birds. We're happy to give you recommendations on where to go and possibly go with you if schedules work out.
		C	Riddell	Seattle	Anytime	English/Spanish
		I live near Puget Sound, a major body of inland marine water and most frequently bird the Sound and Western Washington.
		P	Baker	Sedro-Woolley	Anytime	English
		Near the Skagit Flats in the Skagit Valley well known for birding in Winter. Due to large numbers of waterfowl and shorebirds many raptors also congregate. Further upriver is known for the Bald Eagle winter population. We own a small organic farm that has nice habitat for warblers.
		G	Bletsch	Sedro-Woolley	Weekend
		C	Johnson	Sequim	Anytime	English
		I live at Diamond Point with the Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge two miles offshore
		R	Raine	Shoreline	Weekend	English
		Keen Photographer.
		P	Milten	Everett, Snohomish	Anytime	English
		I am an avid photographer and love to find birds to take pictures of. The snow geese, eagles and blue heron in the Mt Vernon to Anacortes area are my favorites.
		T	Minutolo	Spokane	Anytime
		C	Wilcox	Spokane	Anytime	English/Spanish
		P	Girres	Tacoma	Weekend
		F	McAdams	Tacoma	Anytime	English some French
		Pierce county has a wide range of habitats, including the estuary & tidal flats of Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, inlets & beaches of Puget Sound, and the mountain streams and meadows of Mt. Rainier National Park. I enjoy birding throughout the state, including eastern Washington, and know a variety of good birding spots. My work schedule is flexible and I often have free time during the week, or can accommodate visitor schedules with enough time to trade days with co-workers if needed.
		S	Markowitz	Tacoma/Seattle/Gig Harbor	Weekend	English Limited Spanish/Japanese
		I am a teacher, so I am available weekends from September through June, with wider availability during the summer months. Tacoma has a varied habitat, with ducks being the highlight in the winter. I am a regular at Nisqually NWR, which is productive for ducks, bald eagles, and two species of chickadee. There are many other species, including owls, bitterns, and Perigrine falcons. Lots of other species in varied habitat, from Mount Rainier (Grey Jay, Grey-crowned Rosie-Finches) to the Olympic Peninsula (Chestnut-backed Chicadee, singing Swainson's Thrush) in season. I'm sure you've done your research. Expect a day of birding fun, with an emphasis on actually watching the species we find. So much is learned (and remembered) about species with which we've spent time. Birding by ear is a part of how I play the game, and the forests here are thick. Let's enjoy a day of birding!
		V	McClelland	Vancouver	Anytime
		L	Craig	Vancouver	Anytime
		C	Howard	Walla Walla	Anytime
		D	Granstrand	Yakima	Weekend	English
		Yakima County, WA, has many wonderful birding areas. If I can't make it for a day, I can provide information on the best places to visit.
Professional Guides If you contact a professional Birdingpal guide you must be prepared to pay a fee for guiding services.
		Initial	Last Name	Area	Available	Language

Local Information

	Name	Description
	Birder friendly lodging	Washington
	Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia	Washington
	Local weather	Yahoo
	Electronic maps	Google
	Find lowest prices for field guides, books, maps etc.	BookFinder4U
	Bird check list	Printable
	Read a Birdingpal's Trip Report	Washington
	Audubon Washington	Club
	Washington Ornithological Society	Club
	Central Basin Audubon Society	Club
	Eastside Audubon	Club
	Kittitas Audubon Society	Club
	Whidbey Audubon Society	Club
	Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society	Club
	Palouse Audubon Society	Club
	Admiralty Audubon Society	Club
	San Juan Islands Audubon Society	Club
	Seattle Audubon Society	Club
	Skagit Audubon Society	Club
	Spokane Audubon Society	Club
	Tahoma Audubon Society	Club
	Willapa Hills Audubon Society	Club
	Yakima Valley Audubon Society	Club
	North Cascades Audubon Society	Club
	Othello Sandhill Crane Festival	Festival
	Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest	Festival
	Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival	Festival
	University of Washington's Tweeters	Latest Sights
	BirdYak	Email Listserv
	Shirley Muse's Walla Walla Hotspots	Sites
	Dungeness River Audubon Center	Sites
	Birding Hotspots around the world	Sites
	Birds and birding in the Pacific Northwest	Sites
	Bob Hansen's Birding Klickita County	Sites
	Michael Hobbs's Marymoor Park, Lake Sammamish	Sites
	Birdnotes.net	Birding
	Westport	Pelagic

Last update 02/01/2012