British Columbia and Washington Trip for Taiga Flycatcher ~ January 17, 2026

I had picked Mt. Vernon as my overnight stop because I wanted to spend the morning at Deception Pass State Park looking for Short-billed Gull, plus Red-breasted Sapsucker was also a possibility there. I drove the half-hour to the Rosario Head section of the state park, getting there just before sunrise. A Great Blue Heron flew into a tree next to the parking lot. Along the northern side of the point, I spotted 4 Horned Grebes, 2 Marbled Murrelets, a group of Pigeon Guillemots, 4 Buffleheads, 5 Common Goldeneye, 8 Red-breasted Mergansers, a pair of Harlequin Ducks, and numbers of Pelagic Cormorants.

Horned Grebe

Pigeon Guillemots

Pelagic Cormorant

Harlequin Duck

Gulls found there included Western Gull, the ubiquitous Glaucous-winged Gull, and my first confirmed 'Lower 48' Short-billed Gulls. My second goal was complete.

Western Gull

Short-billed Gull

Over on the south side of the point, I saw Red-necked Grebe, another Horned Grebe, more Short-billed Gulls, and a Belted Kingfisher.

Red-necked Grebe

Horned Grebe

Short-billed Gulls

Belted Kingfisher

While I was on the south side, a mixed flock of birds appeared. They included Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Brown Creeper.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Red-breasted Nuthatch

In the same area, a male Anna's Hummingbird was chittering at a female from a snag.

A male Anna's Hummingbird.

A female Anna's Hummingbird.

Pacific Wren, American Robin, and Fox Sparrow were also noted along the trail.

I left Rosario Head and drove over to the West Beach section of the state park. Looking out towards the Salish Sea, I found 11 Red-breasted Mergansers, 6 Common Goldeneye, more Glaucous-winged and Short-billed Gulls, an Eared Grebe, a Red-necked Grebe, and a Ring-necked Duck.

In the channel leading to Deception Pass, I saw 2 Surf Scoters, at least 9 Red-throated Loons, a Pacific Loon, a Common Loon, many Pelagic Cormorants, a Double-crested Cormorant, and around 50 Pigeon Guillemots.

A male Surf Scoter showing off its colorful bill, white eye, and distinctive head pattern.

A large rock just offshore held 2 Black Oystercatchers and 2 Black Turnstones.

Black Oystercatchers

Black Turnstones

I saw 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches on my walk back along the channel where I took this photo of the Deception Pass Bridge.

Looking east towards the Deception Pass Bridge.

A cropped version showing a tractor-trailer crossing the bridge to give height perspective.

Four Hooded Mergansers were seen on the way out of the park. On my way back to I-5, I stopped and walked out onto the Deception Pass Bridge to take photos from 185 feet above the water.

Looking east from the Deception Pass Bridge with Mount Baker on the left.

Looking west from the Deception Pass Bridge towards the Salish Sea.

Jason had texted me that a Whooper Swan had been found the day before fairly close to Seattle. I had seen one in California, but didn't have it for my photo list, so I decided to drive the 1-3/4 hours down there and see if it might show up again. Along Route 20, I stopped to take this photo of Mount Baker, which is the second-most thermally active crater in the Cascade Range after Mount St. Helens.

Mount Baker

I got to the Whooper Swan location a little after 3:00 PM and found 11 Trumpeter Swans, but no Whooper Swan. There were 23 American Wigeon there, too. I stayed there until dusk with no luck. While there, I booked the Fairfield Inn near Bellevue and drove there when it got dark. There was a Red Robin restaurant close by, so I went there and sat at the bar. That's when I realized that all of Seattle was glued to the TV watching the Seahawks beat the 49ers in their NFL playoff game. Back at the motel, I searched the Seattle area again for recent Red-breasted Sapsucker sightings and made a list of four sites to check out tomorrow.

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