Winter is for the birds!
See the annual winter migration and celebrate habitat restoration near Port Angeles
This Canada Goose has something to say.
Hurricane Ridge seen from Ediz Hook, Port Angeles, at sunset.
Winter birding is spectacular here on the Olympic Peninsula.
Sipping hot tea between rain showers, we embarked on a Christmas bird count and saw dozens of buffleheads bobbing in the harbor by Ediz Hook, Port Angeles, disturbed only by a gang of frolicking seals. Two eagles watched the scene from a log boom.
Ediz Hook, a narrow 3-mile long strip of land that leads to the Coast Guard and Pilot Boat station in Port Angeles, is a local birding hotspot with a walking trail and bike path. It’s also the site of a massive restoration project that the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe has undertaken to improve fish and wildlife habitat. This has involved removing piers and concrete and replacing the shoreline with logs, clean beach sand and native plants. The area had been very degraded due to wood waste from mills and poorly planned development.
Ediz Hook is a great place in winter to see migrating Brant. They feast in the eelgrass meadows that have also been part of the restoration effort. Eelgrass meadows are climate change heroes—protecting fish, feeding birds, buffering the effects of ocean acidification and storing carbon!
Birding hotspots
Find more local birding hotspots for our county (Clallam) on E-bird Clallam You can see what species have been spotted most recently, and discover where by clicking on Birding Hotspots. And you’ll find an illustrative birding checklist of our local birds here.
Remember- always check the weather , bring a blanket, snacks and hot tea! Happy birding!
Learn more: indigenous history
Read more about the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe project here.
The base of Ediz Hook is the site of Tse-whit-zen, an ancient indigenous village on traditional lands of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe.