How to go birding by boat in Western Washington

Typical of outdoor enthusiasts ready for a mid-June weekend in Western Washington, my friend Roniq Bartanen and I were dressed in seasonably appropriate rain gear and woolens. Binoculars and camera in hand, we joined our group of 20 bundled-up recreational birders, photographers and curious weekend adventurers to set off on a boat birding trip from Anacortes to Vendovi Island, an island preserve located in Washington’s northeastern Salish Sea, between Lummi and Guemes islands. Naturalist and guide Stephanie Fernandez of Skagit Guided Adventures had planned our day and, over seven hours, would lead us birding while en route to Vendovi, where we could spend two hours traversing the woods, beaches and meadows across the 217 acres of this island gem. 

Aligning with the Washington charter boat summer season (roughly April through October), several Washington-based tour and charter boat companies offer scheduled birding-by-boat trips in the inland waters of the north Salish Sea, from the ports of Anacortes, Bellingham and Port Townsend. You can also find inland water birding by boat among the programming featured at seasonal birding festivals like Wings Over Water in Blaine, the Olympic Birdfest in Sequim and Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds. For those with more robust sea legs, Westport Seabirds hosts pelagic birding day trips in open ocean 30 to 40 miles off Washington’s coast. 

Today we were about to explore the more sedate waters of the northeastern San Juan archipelago. “Bald eagle. Belted kingfisher. Harbor seal,” we noted, already counting birds and megafauna before our 40-foot landing craft exited the marina. 

As we cruised past the sea cliffs of Fidalgo Island’s Washington Park toward open water, Stephanie called out three marbled murrelets — a rare and cryptic seabird — and you could hear the camera shutters clicking over the purring boat engine. I observed more massive lenses on this boat than binoculars, with over half the guests holding impressive camera gear. Watercraft-based nature tours like these are increasingly popular among recreational wildlife photographers. 

Our cruise continued between Cypress and Guemes islands, Stephanie pointing out rafts of rhinoceros auklets with their bright orange bills and contrasting white facial plumes, and sleek, black double-crested cormorants along the way. We drew near to several craggy islets hugging the edge of Cypress Island. Pigeon guillemots clustered on the sedum-covered rock face of the first islet we approached, their bright pink feet a beautiful contrast to their tuxedo-like plumage. Our skipper killed the boat motor and we listened to the birds vocalizing, their high-pitched calls a delicate, urgent chiming as they flew in from the water to land, leaning into the rocks and piling on top of each other.

Above us, turkey vultures circled, their intent soon evident: the neon orange remains of an octopus lay exposed by the tide amid rocks close to the waterline, not far from the nesting guillemots. From our boat we were witnessing a literal safari of life and death. 

We made the final stretch to Vendovi Island at a clip until a quartet of harbor porpoise and three transient orca whales prompted us to stop again to watch in reverent silence. Seeing such special animals as an orca was no guarantee on this trip, and the intimacy of the small boat and group size made this kind of nimble access possible when opportunity presented.  

Upon our arrival to Vendovi, we disembarked at the dock leading to a kiosk below the caretaker’s house. Owned and managed by the San Juan Preservation Trust, Vendovi is only accessible by watercraft, and open to the public Thursday to Monday, April through September. Moorage is first come, first served at the 70-foot dock in the north cove, with side-tie duration of three hours (groups larger than 10 people must make arrangements in advance with SJPT, and dock space is not guaranteed).

Our group’s two-hour foray on the island commenced with our guide, Stephanie, inviting us to explore the woodland and shoreline trails; hiking, birding, photographing, picnicking or simply relaxing as we liked. Our instructions: stay on designated trails, observe posted signs and leave no trace — the island is pack-in, pack-out and there are no public restrooms (visitors are encouraged to use available restrooms on their boats).  

Roniq and I set off for Paintbrush Point, so named for the native spring wildflowers like Menzies’ larkspur and Oregon sunshine that dot the bluff facing southeast toward Samish Bay. The trills of olive-sided and pacific-slope flycatchers from the Douglas fir and big leaf maple canopy serenaded our 1-mile woodland hike to the point. Flitting pacific wren, song sparrows and dark-eyed juncos at the forest floor conjured an almost fairy-like atmosphere amid the sword ferns and salmonberry. Roniq marveled at the native plant life in abundance, unspoiled by invasive encroachment and protected from forage by deer (a rare visitor, occasionally swimming over from other islands), and one of the reasons for the island’s priority for conservation by SJPT. On one trailside rockface near Paintbrush Point, my friend counted five types of moss, among them strict haircap, Wallace’s spikemoss and (the aptly-named for this birding adventure) curly heron’s-bill moss. 

From Paintbrush Point, we took in the view of Samish Island and the distant cliffs above Chuckanut Drive while we ate our pack lunches. The land-based portion of this boat birding tour with Skagit Guided Adventures is distinct from other boat birding tours, which are exclusively vessel-based. The day’s bird count included small forest birds not likely to be seen or heard from a boat vantage. In addition to the birds already mentioned, we also heard or saw black-headed grosbeaks, Swainson’s thrushes, chestnut-backed chickadees and Wilson’s and orange-crowned warblers.  

The island access gave us solitude in a spectacularly beautiful place, and quiet from the activity of the boat. Regardless of disembarking, boat birding tours deliver an experience of our Pacific Northwest fauna and a marine landscape vista not available by land. The energy and excitement of fellow nature-lovers on board further added to the satisfaction of a trip like this, all of us sharing an observation of the biological awe still abundant in the waters where we live.