By Audrey Fraggalosch

Looking for a fun outdoor experience to brighten your winter days? One of Washington’s most spectacular events is the arrival of migrating birds to the Skagit Valley. Here you can see the largest winter gathering of Snow Geese and Trumpeter Swans in North America. These magnificent birds annually migrate southward by the tens of thousands from nesting grounds in Siberia and Alaska.

The Skagit Valley is one of their major wintering grounds (December to March) and the avian numbers are jaw-dropping…+50,000 migrating snow geese, 7,000 trumpeter swans and 3,000 tundra swans. Imagine watching an aerial ballet with hundreds of swans dipping and soaring together like a shimmering wave of white light…this is winter birding at its best.

Hundreds of other bird species also find vital feeding grounds and winter habitat in the Skagit’s open fields and wetlands.  From the Upper Skagit River to the Skagit Flats to Fidalgo Bay, you can explore 20 different birding sites and see a wide diversity of species, including spectacular birds of prey and flocks of waterfowl and shorebirds. Don’t miss the large population of wintering bald eagles  that gather along the Skagit River to feed on spawning salmon.  BirdsofWinter.org has detailed information on what birds you will see where and directions on how to get to the Skagit’s many different birding locations.  So grab your camera and binoculars and be prepared for an awe-inspiring experience.