Washington Wildlife Viewing Guide

Sunny Walter's Excerpts from
Washington Wildlife Viewing Guide

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Where to See Wintering Wildlife (Extracted from Washington Wildlife Viewing Guide by Joe LaTourrette)
Go To: Wintering Birds -- Waterfowl and Raptors Wintering Mammals -- Deer, Elk, and Bighorn Sheep -- also Sea Otters

Where to See Wintering Birds -- Waterfowl and Raptors
Ch 1	Shillapoo & Post Office Lakes	Vancouver - Columbia River	Canada geese, dabbling ducks, tundra swans Bald eagles, ospreys, and other raptors
Ch 2	La Center Bottoms	La Center - Lewis River	Canada geese, ducks, some tundra swans Some bald eagles
Ch 3	Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge	Ridgefield - Hwy. 5 exit 14	Canada geese - all 7 species, tundra swans (Dec-Mar), ducks, bald eagles, sandhill cranes (fall) Black-tailed deer
Ch 11	Willapa National Wildlife Refuge	Long Beach - Willapa Bay	Canada geese and large numbers of ducks (fall and winter) Trumpeter swans, Roosevelt elk (private land upstream from Hwy. 101) Deer, elk, black bear, bald eagles on Long Island
Ch 19	Duckabush Estuary	Brinnon - Hood Canal	Bald eagles, trumpeter swans (winter) Wigeon, pintails and other waterfowl (fall and winter), harbor seals (all year)
Ch 25	Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge	Sequim	Almost every waterfowl species that winters in WA, including harlequin ducks, scaup, black brant Bald eagles Harbor seals and pelagic marine birds (all year)
Ch 33	Birch Bay State Park	Blaine	Bald eagles 100+ species of birds, including harlequin ducks, peregrine falcons when???
Ch 35	North Fork Nooksack River	Kendall	Bald eagles (Oct-March) peak in late Dec or early Jan Fall-winter spawning run of chum salmon Elk
Ch 37	Skagit Wildlife Area	Mount Vernon	~27,000 lesser snow geese, ~300 tundra swans (fall - April) 125,000+ ducks, including mallards, teal, wigeon, pintails (Skagit Bay) Bald eagles, peregrine falcons, northern harriers, red-tailed hawks Black-tailed deer, beaver and river otters (sloughs)
Ch 42	Mercer Slough	Bellevue	Goldeneyes and ruddy ducks Waterfowl and shorebirds (all year)
Ch 52	Yakima River Canyon	Ellensburg, Yakima	Bald eagles (Nov-Feb) California bighorn sheep, golden eagles, prairie falcons and other raptors (all year???)
Ch 58	Mountain Loop Hwy - Sauk River Bench	Darrington	Bald eagles (Nov-March) Black-tailed deer (fall, winter)
Ch 60	Upper Skagit Bald Eagle Area	Rockport	Bald eagles (Nov - mid-March - peaking in early Jan) Chum, coho and other salmon spawning - same time
Ch 62	Methow Wildlife Area	Winthrop	Bald eagles - winter - along Methow River
Ch 70	Riverside State Park, Little Spokane River Natural Area	Spokane	Bald eagles (mouth of Little Spokane)
Ch 71	Riverside State Park, Deep Creek Canyon	Spokane	Bald eagles
Ch 72	Devil’s Gap	Reardon	Bald eagles (downstream from dam) winter
Ch 77	Dry Falls - Sun Lakes State Park	Ephrata	Rough-legged hawks, bald eagles winter
Ch 79	Columbia National Wildlife Refuge	Othello	~10,000 Canada geese, mallards and other waterfowl - Royal Lake (fall, winter) (Royal Lake and other refuge areas closed in winter)
Ch 83	McNary National Wildlife Refuge	Pasco	Canada geese, ducks (fall, winter, spring)
Ch 85	Whitman Mission National Historic Site	Walla Walla	Canada geese and other waterfowl (mid-Sept - April)
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Where to See Wintering Mammals -- Deer, Elk, and Bighorn Sheep (also Sea Otters)
Ch 6	Klickitat Wildlife Area	Goldendale	Black-tailed deer (Jan-Mar) Bald eagles, golden eagles
Ch 9	Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument	Castle Rock	Toutle elk herd, black-tailed deer Bald eagles - lower Toutle River
Ch 10	Julia Butler Hansen National Wildlife Refuge	Cathlamet - Columbia River	Roosevelt elk and Columbian white-tailed deer (best seen Sept-May) Canada geese, tundra swans, other waterfowl and shorebirds Resident bald eagles, migratory warblers and other songbirds
Ch 14	Johns River Wildlife Area	Aberdeen	Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer, waterfowl (fall and winter)
Ch 20	Olympic National Park: Hoh Rainforest	Forks	Roosevelt elk, black-tailed deer River otter (morning), bald eagles, Harlequin ducks? (along river)
Ch 22	Makah Bay and Cape Flattery	Neah Bay	Sea otters, seabirds, marine mammals Tidepools
*	Straits of Juan de Fuca: Neah Bay to Chito Beach Resort	Neah Bay	Rafts of ~` 100 male sea otters (Dec - April?)
Ch 50	Oak Creek Wildlife Area	Naches	Rocky Mountain elk, California bighorn sheep (winter, spring) Golden eagles, prairie falcons and other raptors; Lewis’ woodpeckers, western tanagers and other songbirds; and gray squirrels (spring, summer)
Ch 55	Swakane Wildlife Area	Wenatchee	Bighorn sheep, mule deer (Dec-Mar) Golden eagles, yellow-pine chipmunks, Mountain bluebirds, gray jays, blue grouse, valley quail, and several woodpecker species (all year?) *Butterflies (summer) - Sunny
Ch 57	Lake Chelan	Chelan	Mule deer, mountain goats (fall, winter, spring - on steep slopes rising up from the lake) Possible black bear , cougar *Mule deer in Stehekin (winter) - Sunny
Ch 62	Methow Wildlife Area	Winthrop	Largest herd of mule deer in state (mid-Mar - May) *Mule and whitetail deer on hills, along roads at feeding places, or along river (winter) - Sunny
Ch 68	Hall Mountain and Meadows	Metaline	Bighorn sheep (Dec 1 - Mar 1) MOOSE, woodland caribou, white-tailed deer, mule deer Breeding songbirds ??
Ch 74	Dodd-Olsen Canyon	Creston	White-tailed and mule deer (winter) Woodpeckers, songbirds, red-tailed hawks, golden eagles and other raptors, ruffed and blue grouse, Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (spring, summer) Wildflowers
Ch 89	William T. Wooten Wildlife Area	Pomeroy	Rocky Mountain elk (mid-Dec - March) Bighorn sheep (winter) Mule deer (all year) White-tailed deer (elusive) Chukar partridge and mountain quail (spring, summer)
Ch 90	Chief Joseph Wildlife Area	Asotin	Rocky Mountain elk (winter)
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Links checked and updated on: July 20, 2003
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