Nature Watch For February -- A Monthly Guide To Our Natural Surroundings

The bird is the word for nature watchers in February. Bald eagles, snow geese and a variety of gulls have established wintering habitat in our region. You can also see elk and bighorn sheep in the first half of the month. Below are some tips for what to watch for (for details on some of the first bulbs of spring, see the story on Page xx):

What to watch for.........................Where to look Bald eagles...............................Rockport (Skagit County) Swans (tundra and trumpeter).............Skagit Flats (Skagit County) Snow geese...............................Skagit Flats Gulls (Bonaparte, mew, herring, Thayer's, and black-legged kittiwake)...Grays Harbor and along

the Ocean Shores

Peninsula at Damon

Point, Point Brown

or the Oyhut Wildlife

Area (Grays Harbor

County) Glaucous gulls (rare) ..........................Ediz Hook (Port

Angeles) Black brants (geese)............Dungeness National Wildlife

Refuge (Clallam County) Harlequin ducks.................Ediz Hook, Dungeness National

Wildlife Refuge Yakima elk......................Oak Creek Wildlife Area (Yakima

County, near the intersection

of Highways 12 and 410) California bighorn sheep........Oak Creek Wildlife Area

Sources: "Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year," by James Luther Davis; Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; "Washington Wildlife Viewing Guide," by Joe La Tourrette; The Audubon Society