On the Wing at Willapa Bay

Posted on July 21, 2024 by

14 Comments

Last week I spent a few days in Long Beach, perhaps my favorite place on the Washington Coast (you’ve already seen sunset.) I’ll have more to say about our trip in the coming days, including our excursions into Oregon. But for now, I’ll focus on the birds at Willapa Bay for this week’s #Sunday Stills Challenge.

According to Wikipedia, “Willapa Bay is a bay located on the southwest Pacific Coast of Washington state in the United States. The Long Beach Peninsula separates Willapa Bay from the greater expanse of the Pacific Ocean. With over 120 square miles (310 km2) of surface area Willapa Bay is the second-largest riverine estuary on the Pacific coast of the continental United States.”

“Willapa Bay is known for its biodiversity and much of it, including the entirety of Long Island, has been set aside as part of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. The oyster beds help the ecosystem by providing habitats and filtering water, improving the quality of the water.  The refuge is home to several endangered and threatened species including the snowy plover, marbled murrelets and brown pelican. Other birds that are commonly spotted throughout the refuge include bald eagles, great blue herons, peregrine falcons, red-tailed hawks, marsh wrens and golden-crowned kinglets.” 

Leadbetter Point State Park is adjacent to the wildlife refuge with easy access to the mudflats, so that’s where we went to see the birds.

Honestly, I don’t think I can tell one shorebird from another, but I love watching them just the same: eating on the mudflats, flying to and fro in unison at some mysterious command.

I can identify an eagle and managed to capture this one soaring high overhead, always welcome.

Not bad for July. I’ll have to visit again in the spring or fall when thousands of shorebirds stop by on their way to and from the Arctic.

~ Susanne

Category: Birds, TravelTags: , , , , , ,

14 Comments on “On the Wing at Willapa Bay”

  1. Nice photos Susanne. The ability of birds to fly in flocks is marvelous, and fun to photograph. I’m not a birder, but like trying to identifying what I see and there are a lot of tools that make that easier these days.

    • Thanks, Graham. It was fun watching them. I’m a casual birder, and enjoy finding new places and new birds. I try to identify them if I can, but these were too thick for that.

  3. I also like to see those birds in such large numbers. The way they all take off at the exact same moment never fails to impress me.

    Best wishes, Pete.

  4. At first I thought Long Beach, CA 😄. What a great place in Washington to see shore birds, Susanne. Lovely shots! It is fascinating to watch them flock and swoop in unison. Always fun to see an eagle in flight, well done!!

    • Thanks, Terri! Our little town of Long Beach is quite different from California’s, other than being on the Pacific coast! The tiny town is charming, the beach huge and good for walking, and there are many places to explore! And I loved seeing all the birds! The challenge aligned with my trip perfectly!! 😊

  5. That looks like a great place to see birds whether you’re a serious watcher or just enjoy the sight of so many together!

  6. Wowsa…look at all those birds! We used to go to Long Beach every year with our youth group for youth camp (ocean park actually)…it’s about an hour and a half/2 hours from where we live.

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