It’s a gorgeous weekend in early March. You’re cruising Skagit country roads and suddenly off to your left you’ve spotted several dozen swans dotting a flooded field, their arched necks and round backs silhouetted against the expansive green landscape and mirrored by the standing water’s reflection. Oh, and Mount Baker’s craggy visage shimmering white in the distance! An art deco print made real! Gotta get a picture! Quick, hit the brakes!
‘Cause you’re the only one on the road, right? No farm equipment anywhere in sight (never mind that this is planting season), no workers in the field, nary a posted “No Parking” or “Private Property” sign to be seen, and that’s not food growing in the field, it’s just a big lawn! Who cares that the road shoulder is narrow and there is traffic behind you! Stop the car!
Before I venture further in this story, let me admit I have been both the visitor braking and the irritated local behind them: Everyone catching our breath for different reasons based on who we are in the working agricultural landscape we’re driving through, the birds here, too.
Wild birds on a working landscape
I live in an agricultural region of Washington State, Skagit County. The Skagit has some of the world’s richest soil for growing commercial crops; over 80 different crops are grown here, in addition to ranching and dairy (though the latter is in a steep decline; only 8 dairies left in the county as of this writing). Skagit is also a regional birding destination for the swans (Trumpeter and Tundra), snow geese and raptors (especially bald eagles and short-eared owls) that over-winter here.
Most of the above birds linger in Skagit over the winter because of agriculture. The swans and snow geese forage the high-protein grass, and corn grown for silage by the dairy farmers. Swans enjoy the remains of potatoes left in fields after harvest. Snow geese flocks hoover up emerging wheat and other grain. The geese in particular have become “a beautiful nuisance,” for how thoroughly thousands of birds can destroy a field, appearing like a low wavering white cloud over a space, doing their pretty fluttering en masse, and leaving behind a waste of mud as they peel off.
Bird enthusiasts on a working landscape
Birders, photographers and hunters visit the Skagit in the winter, too, to recreate in response to these same birds. A few years ago, I was one of those birders coming to Skagit, swerving for birds, disregarding posted “No Trespassing” signs posted on the dikes. Whoops.
Since relocating to Skagit in 2020, I am now one of the locals. Not only am I a local, I am professional local vested in educating those visiting bird enthusiasts on proper visiting behavior to Skagit. Or, as the program I oversee, Be Bird Wise states, “Promoting responsible behavior while viewing migratory birds on the agricultural landscape.”
Another pretty picture of “Bird Wise” behavior. Birding from the shoulder of the road at a respectful distance from wildlife, feet firmly in public right of way. Photo: Aaron Allred.
Be Bird Wise is a group effort of multiple agencies and hosted by my employer, Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland. If you want to know how dynamic the forces are among the farmers on the landscape, the other users of that landscape responding to the wild birds, and the birds themselves, I urge you to read our Wise Observations testimonials. We draw from a wide range of people to tell the stories of how the working agricultural landscape supports a diverse community, curious visitors, and wildlife.
Read Wise Observations
You’ll read how Skagit Audubon partnered early with Be Bird Wise and shares the same messaging for ethical wildlife observation in their outreach. “I think of the message of Be Bird Wise as applicable to any place that has the challenges of human congestion resulting from rare bird sightings or birds in abundance. Be Bird Wise is an idea that translates to other places with the same issues,” says Colleen Shannon, the birder interviewed for that story.
You’ll also read the perspectives of a local hunter, a Seattle-based accessibility advocate, a tribal elder, a local nature guide, and a dairy farmer, among many others. They share in their own words their observations of changes over time across the Skagit landscape as those working and living on the land respond to the wild birds and the visitors who come to see them.
If you are visiting someplace new to see a bird, please respect private property, resist the impulse to pile on (people in quantity does not equal authorized behavior), and do not approach wildlife.
Be Bird Wise shares a Code of Conduct which in addition to suggesting respectful visiting behavior, also shares resources like where to reference land ownership boundaries, find public access locations, and more.