John Gordon/Listening to Birds: Skagit Valley Bird Blitz 2026

Monday, 15 June 2026

Skagit Valley Bird Blitz 2026

Skagit Valley Bird Blitz 2026

The Skagit’s Valley Bird Blitz is over for another year. Inaugurated in 2011, the Skagit Valley Bird Blitz was created by Kelly Pearce with help from Denis Knopp, Al and Jude Grass, Scott Denkers and other birding enthusiasts. The event seeks to replicate the Manning Park Bird Blitz, a successful event that now spans 41 years of ornithological sightings!

Birding in the Skagit Skagit in early May is a great time for novice and experienced birders alike to visit the Skagit – the birds are singing and nesting; spring wildflowers are in glorious bloom; and the infamous Skagit mosquitoes have not yet achieved their full blood-sucking majesty!

With 199 recorded species, the Skagit offers a beautiful mountain setting and a classic “U-shaped” glaciated valley that is traversed by a widely meandering river. Healthy waterfowl populations are found here, including harlequin ducks and the lush riparian forests are alive with songbirds. There are also dry forests of Ponderosa Pine and open meadows where birds of prey frequently hunt. All in all, a thriving web of diverse ecosystems to attract our birds.

As the Skagit Valley spans the Canadian-U.S. border, it forms a natural corridor for north-south migrants, an important corridor to study in the years ahead, as climate change continues to impact the timing of bird breeding and migration. Human migrants enjoy the Skagit Valley lands too, both Americans and Canadians can enjoy birding in this trans-boundary wilderness.

My first visit to the area twenty years was with noted naturalists Al and Jude Grass. Al encouraged us to appreciate not just the birds but the scenery, butterflies, wild flowers and assorted critters. Al has passed on now but many in the nature community remember him fondly. While the weekend was mostly spent collecting bird data it was impossible not to be struck by the sheer beauty of the surrounding mountains and the crystal clear waters of the Skagit River. Early one morning I spotted a flock of Pine Siskin feeding on a sandbar. One bird stood out as being slightly larger. Intrigued I took a long distance photo which revealed a female Cassin’s Finch, a good Fraser Valley (FV) year bird.

Saturday morning we split into groups to bird different trails. Beginner birders were led by Bird Blitz staff Kelly Pearce and Scott Denkers. I teamed up with Angela Bond and birded Whitworth Meadows where we spotted a hummingbird chasing a flycatcher. The hummer, a Calliope was another year bird. Then Angela picked up a Dusky Flycatcher on the Merlin ap. Merlin can be less than accurate but in this case it was spot on. Whitworth Meadows is one of the closest locations to Vancouver and the Lower Mainland to find Calliope.

Another highlight of the weekend was the Saturday night presentation by Bird Canada’s Rémi Torrenta’s. The subject Black Swifts. We learnt that Black Swifts nest deep in our mountains, under waterfalls and is one of the most mysterious bird species in North America. We learnt what Birds Canada is doing to better understand this elusive, enigmatic, and endangered bird, and advance its conservation.

After an hour long presentation under the stars Rémi mentioned the ability to specify donations to go to the BC branch rather than for out of province projects if so desired , something I wasn’t aware of.