Birds on the Island
One of the pleasures of walking around the Reserve is observing the great variety of birds who call the area their home. For a list of birds on San Juan Island that visit local feeders, see the following website.


Birds of Westcott Bay Reserve
The following list are birds that might be sighted in and around the various habitats of Westcott Bay Reserve during various seasons of the year. This is a site specific list and does not include all the birds sighted on San Juan Island. For a comprehensive list of the birds in the San Juan Islands, see the checklist in the book, Birding in the San Juan Island, by Mark G. Leis & Fred A. Sharpe.

Key
Seasons: All=All seasons, W=Winter, Sp=Spring, S=Summer, F=Fall
Occurance: A= abundant; seen almost always
C= common; often seen, but not always
U= uncommon; seen occasionally
* indicates nesting and breeding on island.

Bird List
Pied-billed Grebe * All / C
Double-crested Cormorant * All / C
Great Blue Heron*? All / C
Trumpeter Swan F,W,Sp / C
Canada Goose* All / C
Mallard* All / A
Northern Pintail F,W,Sp / C
Blue-winged Teal S / U
Cinnamon Teal*? Sp, S / U
Gadwall* All / C
American Widgeon Sp,W,F / A
Canvasback Duck Sp,W / U
Ringed-neck Duck* All / A
Lesser Scaup Sp,W / U
Common Goldeneye F,W,Sp / C
Hooded Merganser* All / C
Common Merganser F,W,Sp / C
Red-breasted Merganser F,W,SP / C
Turkey Vulture* Sp, S, F / C
Osprey* Sp,S,F / U
Bald Eagle* All / C
Northern Harrier*? All / C
Sharp-shinned Hawk* All / C
Cooper's Hawk* All / C
Red-tailed Hawk* All / A
Golden Eagle* All / U
American Kestrel All / U
Merlin All / U
Peregrine Falcon* All / U
Rough-legged Hawk F,W / U
Ring-necked Pheasant All / U
Wild Turkey All / U
American Coot* All / C
California Quail* All / A
Black-bellied Plover F,W,Sp / U
Semi-palmated Plover Sp,F / U
Bufflehead F,W,SP / A
Killdeer* All / C
Greater Yellowlegs F,W,Sp / C
Black Turnstone F,W,Sp / C
Sanderling F,W,Sp / U
Western Sandpiper F,Sp / U
Least Sandpiper F,Sp / U
Dunlin F,W,Sp / C
Short-billed Dowitcher Sp,F / U
Long-billed Dowitcher Sp,F / U
Common Snipe Sp,S,F / U
Bonapart's Gull Sp,W.F / C
Heerman's Gull F / C
Thayer's Gull W / C
Mew Gull Sp,S,F / A
Glaucous-winged Gull* All / A
Rock Dove* All / C
Band-tailed Pigeon* All / C
Mourning Dove* Sp,S / U
Western Screech Owl* All / U
Northern Saw-whet Owl* All / U
Great Horned Owl* All / C
Rufous Hummingbird* Sp,S / A


Belted Kingfisher* All / C
Red-breasted Sapsucker W U
Downy Woodpecker* All / C
Hairy Woodpecker* All / C
Northern Flicker* All / A
Pileated Woodpecker* All / C
Olive-sided Flycatcher* S / C
Western Wood Peewee* S / U
Pacific Slope Flycatcher* Sp,S / U
Tree Swallow* Sp,S / A
Violet-green Swallow* Sp,S / A
Cliff Swallow Sp,S / C
Barn Swallow Sp,S,F / A
American Crow* All / A
Common Raven All / C
Chestnut-backed Chickadee* All / C
Bushtit* All / C
Red-breasted Nuthatch* All / C
Brown Creeper* All / U
Bewick's Wren* All / C
House Wren S / C
Winter Wren All / C
Golden-crowned Kinglet* All / C
Ruby-crowned Kinglet F,W,Sp / U
Swainson's Thrush* S / C
Hermit Thrush Sp,W,F / U
American Robin* All / A
Varied Thrush Sp,W,F / C
Cedar Waxwing* S,F / C
European Starling* All / A
Cassin's Vireo S / U
Northern Shrike F,W / U
Hutton's Vireo* All / U
Warbling Vireo* S / C
Orange-crowned Warbler* Sp,S / C
Yellow Warbler* S / U
Yellow-rumped Warbler* Sp,S,F / C
Black-throated Gray Warbler* S / U
Common Yellowthroat* S / C
Wilson's Warbler* S / U
Western Tanager* S / U
Black-headed Grosbeak* S / U
Rufous-sided Towhee* All / A
Chipping Sparrow* Sp,S / C
Savannah Sparrow* Sp,S / C
Fox Sparrow F,S,Sp / U
Song Sparrow* All / A
Golden-crowned Sparrow F,W,Sp / C
White-crowned Sparrow* F,S,Sp / C
Dark-eyed Junco* All / A
Brewer's Blackbird All / C
Red-winged Blackbird* All / C
Brown-headed Blackbird* Sp,S / C
Purple Finch* All / U
House Finch* All / C
Red Crossbill* All / U
Pine Siskin* All / C
American Goldfinch* S,F / C
Evening Grosbeak* All / U

This bird list and the website on feeder birds was created by Richard W. Wright of San Juan Island. Richard welcomes information on additional bird sightings that relate to Westcott Bay Reserve and San Juan Island.
His e-mail is: taichi@rockisland.com

Plants at the Westcott Bay Reserve

Explore the Reserve to see the rich variety of plant life
in the San Juan Islands.


The following is a partial list of plants that can be found at the Westcott Bay Reserve. This is a work in progress and not a complete list.

Trees
    • Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)
    • Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
    • Grand Fir (Abies grandis)
    • Lodepole Pine (Pinus contorta)
    • Pacific Crabapple (Pyrus fusca)
    • Pacific Madronna (Arbutus menziesii)
    • Scouler's Willow (Salix scouleriana)
    • Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)
Shrubs
  • Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
  • Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus discolor)
  • Nootka Rose (Rosa nutkana)
  • Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor
  • Red-flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)
  • Tall Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium)
  • Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
  • Trailing Blackberry (Rubus ursinus)
Flowering Plants
  • American Vetch (Vicia americana)
  • Blue-Eyed Mary (Collinsia parviflora)
  • Blue and Yellow Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis discolor)
  • Broad-Leaved Starflower (Trientalis latifolia)
  • Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense)
  • Common Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
  • Oxeye-Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum)
  • Western Buttercup (Ranunculus occidentalis)
  • Dovefoot Geranium (Geranium molle)
  • Fragrant Bedstraw (Galium triflorum
  • Miner's Lettuce (Montia perfoliata)
  • Pathfinder (Adenocaulon bicolor)
  • Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
  • Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza manculata)
  • Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
  • White Clover (Trifolium repense)
  • Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
Ferns, Grasses, and Other Plants
  • Braken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
  • Common Velvet Grass (Holcus lanatus)
  • Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
  • Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)
  • Timothy (Phleum praetense)

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Westcott Bay Institute
PO Box 339
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
(360) 370-5050