The Hiker Mama

Category: Birding

  • Larrabee SP and Whatcom Falls Park – Trip Report

    Larrabee SP and Whatcom Falls Park – Trip Report

    On Friday we made a quick afternoon trip up to Bellingham to visit Larrabee State Park and Whatcom Falls Park. We tried real hard to miss the rain showers, but ended up getting caught in a few. It was worth it anyway! We didn’t get started until a little after noon. I should know better […]

  • Nisqually Winter Birding

    Nisqually Winter Birding

    Over Christmas Break we had a chance to join the weekly Wednesday birding trip at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. It had been clear and cold for several days, and we 30 degrees when we arrived at 8am. We joined a very large group of birders and walked through different parts of the refuge to see […]

  • Birding at Ridgefield National Wildlife Sancutary

    Birding at Ridgefield National Wildlife Sancutary

    Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we had the chance to visit Ridgefield NWR and do some hiking and birding. On Black Friday we have a tradition of trying to get out into nature. We’ve been doing this even before REI made a big splash and closed their stores on Black Friday, encouraging their employees to Opt […]

  • Gloomy Day at Brightwater

    Gloomy Day at Brightwater

    Our school schedule is light this week, so we took advantage of a little less school work to head out for an afternoon stroll. I chose the Brightwater Center because I hadn’t been on many of the trails yet, and we wanted something easy and close to home. I had to bribe my kids with […]

  • Whidbey Wanderings

    Whidbey Wanderings

    You know it’s going to be a good day when your adventures include a ferry ride. And sleeping in, and hot cocoa. We had a fun trip two Fridays ago up to Whidbey Island to explore and do a short hike and some bird watching. After sleeping in, we gathered our gear for the day and […]

  • Birding in Edmonds

    Birding in Edmonds

    I love Wednesdays. I drop Gabe off at his classes, and Annika and I work on her school work. Then we have a few hours in the afternoon free before we have to get Gabe. Yesterday we decided the November sun was too amazing to ignore, so after we finished our book work, we went […]

  • Leavenworth Spring Bird Festival

    Leavenworth Spring Bird Festival

    Birds, sunshine, picturesque mountains in a charming small town – this is what drew me to the Leavenworth Spring Bird Festival earlier in May. I ended up having Annika to myself, as Gabe had plans with a friend for the day. We got an early start and made it to Leavenworth just after 9am for […]

  • Spring at Nisqually

    Spring at Nisqually

    We recently spent a morning at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge looking for birds. We did the boardwalk loop, and spent several hours just wandering along, stopping frequently to observe birds and other wildlife. Birds were wildly singing and very active all over. The sun was shining and it felt like spring in all the ways […]

  • McLane Creek – Trip Report, 3/7/15

    McLane Creek – Trip Report, 3/7/15

    I’ve been on restriction and not allowed to hike since last October. But now I’m allowed short walks on mostly level ground, so I’ve been trying to find walks that are easy and flat but still give me a good dose of nature. I was perusing through the Winter Hikes of Western Washington card deck […]

  • Winter Camping – Salt Creek Recreation Area and Dungeness Spit

    Winter Camping – Salt Creek Recreation Area and Dungeness Spit

    Camping in February? This was a first for my family. I don’t think I’ve ever braved late winter/early spring camping before, but the weather was looking so nice, and we had two bonus days off from classes, so I thought we’d give it a try. We had heard good things about the camping at the […]