Trip Report
Juanita Bay Park
Two of us enjoyed a private trip to photograph 43 bird species despite thick fog that burned off just as we were leaving. We enjoyed time with a ruby-crowned kinglet, more wood ducks than I've ever seen in one spot, green-winged teals, canvasbacks, and 18 Wilson's snipes.
Courtenay Schurman
- Sat, Mar 1, 2025
- Juanita Bay Park
- Naturalist
- Successful
-
- Road suitable for all vehicles
-
There were 8 cars in the parking lot when we arrived just before 9 a.m., and the lot was almost full, except for handicapped access, at 10:45 when we left. The portapotty is half-stocked with toilet paper and accessible. Many people enjoyed the weather with kids and dogs; a few had long camera lenses for ruby-crowned kinglets, a juvenile bald eagle, and a very territorial Anna's hummingbird male. No turtles out basking - the sun hadn't come out yet. Atmospheric conditions when we arrived meant a lot of birding by ear. Had we waited an hour, we might have been able to see more birds out on the bay. But the best birding is first thing in the morning!
Two of us spent a foggy morning birding at Juanita Bay south, enjoying 43 unique species. We covered roughly 1.7 miles in 100 minutes, 9-10:40.
I've never seen so many wood ducks in one place except at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Canada. Also of note in our 43 species was 18 Virginia rails, a great blue heron, 100 double-crested cormorants and 100 gadwall, 2 common mergansers, 3 killdeer, and 15 beautiful green-winged teals, the smallest of the ducks. Good birding. We missed the swans, however.
