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In 100th Issue, Birder's World Revisits Its First Hotspot: Skagit Flats, Washington
Published:
August 4, 2003 For Immediate Release
Contact: Chuck Hagner, editor
chagner@birdersworld.com
(262) 798-6584
Birder's World Magazine Celebrates
Washington's Skagit Flats in Its 100th Issue
The national magazine honored Skagit Flats in its first issue
Waukesha, WI (July 11, 2003) - After 100 issues and 100 birding hotspots, the editors of Birder's World - the nation's preeminent magazine for birdwatchers - still rate Washington's Skagit Flats as one of the nation's best winter birding destinations.
The Skagit Flats, Birder's World's first-ever hotspot, was detailed in the magazine's inaugural issue, February 1987, in "Scanning the Skagit." The Skagit is now rescanned in the August 2003 issue by respected birder and biologist Diann MacRae, author of the original article as well as the Birder's Guide to Washington.
The largest protected tract of land in this birding hotspot is the Skagit Wildlife Area (SWA), spread over 13,000 acres of mostly tideland and intertidal marsh.
"Birding the Skagit and adjacent Samish Flats, located about 60 miles north of Seattle, can be accomplished in a day or so," says Birder's World Editor Chuck Hagner. "The area truly is one of the prime birding destinations in the Pacific Northwest." Some of the area's specialties include its five species of falcons - Gryfalcon, Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon, Merlin, and American Kestrel - as well as Trumpeter Swans, Short-eared Owls, Snowy Owls, and numerous shorebirds.
While the flats have undergone many changes since MacRae's inaugural article, the Skagit's best birding spots are the same. MacRae writes that the Big Ditch, Jensen, and North Fork access areas offer the best views of the flats and Skagit Bay, where some of the SWA's 180 species of birds can be seen.
Some positive changes have swept over the Skagit since the original article appeared. For instance, in 1987, the flat's 450 Trumpeter Swans made up the largest wintering population in the contiguous 48 states. Today, the swans number between 1,500 and 2,000 - still the largest wintering population.
Another group of birds, the Fraser/Skagit Snow Goose subpopulation, called so because these birds winter in British Columbia's Fraser River delta as well as the Skagit Flats, has grown in population from 46,000 birds in the late 1990s to 70,000 today. These birds are notable because they are part of the last significant Snow Goose population to breed in Asia on Russia's Wrangel Island.
The entire area is an important wintering ground for multitudes of birds. "Sediment brought down by the Skagit River from the distant mountains is laden with nutrients from plants and microscopic animals," MacRae writes. "This combination offers a banquet to the winter-weary birds."
The same nutrients that nourish the birds enrich the soils that grow corn - some of which is knocked down for the birds - and other more detrimental crops and plants. New cottonwood plantations in some areas are restricting the once expansive views birders had of the flats, and cordgrass is also starting to invade the surrounding bays and waters. Yet bird watching on the flats will endure, because the birds have powerful voices on their side - including MacRae and Birder's World.
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Birder's World (www.birdersworld.com) is a popular bimonthly magazine about wild birds and bird watching published by Kalmbach Publishing Co. Written for both serious and casual birdwatchers, Birder's World showcases the beauty of bird watching through superb photography and compelling articles. For more information, please contact Editor Chuck Hagner at (262) 798-6584 or chagner@birdersworld.com.
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