Semiahmoo Spit Birding
This past week I had my first real birding trip since moving to school at WWU. I decided to make the trip to Semiahmoo Spit, a spit in the Strait of Georgia, less than a mile from the Canadian border. Coincidentally, as I was on my way I saw a report of an American Golden Plover at the spit the day before, which would be a lifer for me. I never found it, even though it was spotted that afternoon in a flock of 800 Black-bellied Plovers, but I doubt I would have missed a flock that big so they must have arrived later.
I took the first bus from Bellingham at 7:00 am which dropped me off at 8:00 in Blaine, about 3 miles from the spit. The bus stop was just a sign in the grass on the side of the road, and the walk to the spit was mostly on grass or the side of the road, there were no sidewalks or even a shoulder. As I was walking down the road a small brown bird suddenly flew up from a foot in front of me and landed a few feet down the road. I was startled and initially thought it looked like a Savannah sparrow, but as I got a better look I realized it was a Lapland Longspur! This was a bird I was really hoping to see this year and a super unexpected find. I took a crappy photo with my phone before trying to get my camera out without startling the bird. Unfortunately it flew away before I could get my camera out, but it was still such a cool sighting.
I arrived at the spit at 9:00 am and the first thing I saw was a huge mixed flock of ducks. There were Mallards, Greater Scaups, Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Canada Geese, and a single Northern Pintail. I had heard that this was a good spot for waterfowl, especially in the winter, so I was excited to see that it was living up to its reputation. There were also a few Great Blue Herons and Killdeer.
As I moved up the spit I saw plenty of sparrows. White-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Savannah Sparrows, and Spotted Towhees. There were also lots of European Starlings, House Finches, and House Sparrows. At one point I decided to cross the spit from the bay side to the open water side. I immediately saw a pair of Harlequin ducks and I walked down the beach towards them. As I approached slowly a flock of Black Oystercatchers and a single Black-bellied Plover flew right in front of me. I stayed there for a while taking photos before moving on. During this time a pair of Black Turnstones also wandered past me.
I kept moving down the spit and saw a Bald Eagle, a surprise American Pipit, Common Loons, Horned Grebes, and a single Red-necked Grebe. Eventually I reached a pier which was covered in Double-crested Cormorants, a few Pelagic Cormorants, and some Harlequin Ducks. Near the pier was a single immature Snow Goose, probably resting before finishing its journey to the Skagit flats.
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