Abstract
Seabirds, ranging in size from tiny storm-petrels to majestic black-footed albatross roam over the wave tops offshore in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. Sea stacks and islands provide critical nesting habitat for common murres and tufted puffins. Sand and gravel beaches furnish habitat for shorebirds, crows, gulls and a host of others. The coastline forms an important migratory pathway for millions of birds that pass through each year, guiding ducks, geese, cranes and raptors toward northern breeding areas during the spring and southward, as winter approaches.
Common Name | Scientific Name |
Habitat | Status |
---|---|---|---|
LOONS AND GREBES: | |||
Common Loon | Gavia immer | Ocean, bays | MBTA, WSS |
Pacific loon | Gavia pacifica | Ocean | MBTA |
Red-throated loon | Gavia stellata | Ocean, bays | MBTA |
Horned grebe | Podiceps auritus | Ocean, bays | MBTA |
Red-necked grebe | Podiceps grisegena | Coastal waters | MBTA |
Western grebe | Aechmophorus occidentalis | Ocean, bays | MBTA, WSC |
TUBENOSES: | |||
Black-footed albatross | Diomedea nigripes | Open ocean | MBTA |
Laysan albatross | Diomedea nigripes | Open ocean | MBTA |
Buller's shearwater | Puffinus bulleri | Open ocean | MBTA |
Flesh-footed shearwater | Puffinus carneipes | Open ocean | MBTA |
Pink-footed shearwater | Puffinus creatopus | Open ocean | MBTA |
Short-tailed shearwater | Puffinus tenuirostris | Open ocean | MBTA |
Sooty shearwater | Puffinus griseus | Open ocean | MBTA |
Northern fulmar | Fulmaris glacialis | Open ocean | MBTA |
Fork-tailed storm petrel | Oceandroma furcata | Open ocean | MBTA |
Leach's storm petrel | Oceandroma leucorhoa | Open ocean | MBTA |
PELICANS AND CORMORANTS: | |||
Brown pelican | Pelecanus occidentalis | Ocean, bays | MBTA, FE, WSE* |
Brandt's cormorant | Phalacrocorax penicillatu | Ocean, coast | MBTA, WSC |
Double-crested cormorant | Phalacrocorax auritis | Coast, bays | MBTA |
Pelagic cormorant | Phalacrocorax pelagicus | Coast, cliffs | MBTA |
GEESE AND DUCKS: | |||
Aleutian Canada goose | Branta canadensis leucopareia | Lakes, bays, marshes | MBTA, FCo, WST |
Brant | Branta bernicla | Coastal waters | MBTA |
Black scoter | Melanitta nigra | Coastal waters | MBTA |
Surf scoter | Melanitta perspicillata | Ocean surf, bays | MBTA |
White-winged scoter | Melanitta fusca | Bays, ocean | MBTA |
Harlequin duck | Histrionicus histrionicus | Rough coastal water | MBTA |
Oldsquaw | Clangula hyemalis | Ocean | MBTA |
Bufflehead | Bucephala albeola | Bays | MBTA |
Common goldeneye | Bucephala clangula | Bays, ocean | MBTA |
Greater scaup | Aythya marila | Bays, estuaries | MBTA |
Red-breasted merganser | Mergus serrator | Bays, ocean | MBTA |
Common merganser | Mergus merganse | Estuaries | MBTA |
EAGLES, OSPREYS AND FALCONS: | |||
Bald eagle | Haliaeetus leucocephalus | Coast, cliff | MBTA, FT, WST* |
Osprey | Pandion haliaetus | Coast | MBTA |
Peregrine falcon | Falco peregrinus | Coast, cliffs, MBTA, FCo, WSS | |
OYSTERCATCHERS: | |||
Black oystercatcher | Haematopus bachmani | Rocky coast and islands | MBTA |
PLOVERS: | |||
Killdeer | Charadrius vociferus | Shore | MBTA |
Semipalmated plover | Charadrius semipalmatus | Shore, tidelands | MBTA |
Snowy plover | Charadrius alexandrinu | Beaches, sandflats | MBTA, FT, WSE |
American golden plover | Pluvalis dominicus | Shores, Mudflats | MBTA |
Black-bellied plover | Pluvalis squatarola | Mudflats, marshes, shores | MBTA |
SANDPIPERS, TURNSTONES, SURFBIRDS AND PHALAROPES: | |||
Black turnstone | Arenaria melanocephala | Rocky shore and mudflats | MBTA |
Ruddy turnstone | Arenaria interpres | Beaches, rocks | MBTA |
Marbled godwit | Limosa fedoa | Beaches, tideflats | MBTA |
Greater yellowlegs | Tringa melanoleuca | Marshes, mudflats | MBTA |
Lesser yellowlegs | Tringa flavipes | Marshes, mudflats | MBTA |
Spotted sandpiper | Actitis macularia | Shore | MBTA |
Whimbrel | Numenius phaeopus | Shores, marshes | MBTA |
Wandering tattler | Heteroscelus incanus | Rocky coasts, beaches | MBTA |
Long-billed dowitcher | Limnodromus scolopaceus | Mudflats | MBTA |
Short-billed dowitcher | Limnodromus griseus | Mudflats | MBTA |
Rock sandpiper | Calidris ptilocnemis | Rocky shores | MBTA |
Baird's sandpiper | Calidris bairdii | Mudflats, shores | MBTA |
Least sandpiper | Calidris minutilla | Tideflats, shores | MBTA |
Sanderling | Calidris alba | Outer beaches, tideflats | MBTA |
Western sandpiper | Calidris mauri | Beaches, marshes | MBTA |
Red phalarope | Phalaropus fulicaria | Ocean, estuaries | MBTA |
Red-necked phalarope | Phalaropus lobatus | Ocean, bays | MBTA |
JAEGERS AND SKUAS: | |||
Long-tailed jaeger | Stercorarius longicaudus | Ocean | MBTA |
Parasitic jaeger | Stercorarius parasiticus | Ocean, bays | MBTA |
Pomarine jaeger | Stercorarius pomarinus | Ocean, bays | MBTA |
South polar skua | Catharacta mccormicki | Ocean, bays | MBTA |
GULLS AND TERNS: | |||
Bonaparte's gull | Larus philadelphia | Ocean, bays | MBTA |
California gull | Larus californicus | Coast, beaches | MBTA |
Glaucous-winged gull | Larus glaucescens | Coast, ocean, bays | MBTA |
Heermann's gull | Larus heermanni | Coast and nearby ocean | MBTA |
Herring gull | Larus argentatus | Coast, ocean, bays | MBTA |
Mew gull | Larus brachyrhynchos | Coastal waters | MBTA |
Thayer's gull | Larus thayeri | Ocean | MBTA |
Western gull | Larus thayeri | Ocean | MBTA |
Black-legged kittiwake | Rissa tridactyla | Ocean | MBTA |
Caspian tern | Sterna caspia | Coast, bays | MBTA |
Common tern | Sterna hirundo | Ocean, bays, beaches | MBTA |
Forster's tern | Sterna forsteri | Ocean, bays, marshes | MBTA |
Arctic tern | Sterna paradisaea | Ocean, coast | MBTA |
ALCIDS: | |||
Ancient murrelet | Synthliboramphus antiquum | Ocean | MBTA |
Cassin's auklet | Ptychoramphus aleuticus | Ocean | MBTA, FCo, WSC |
Common murre | Uria aalge | Ocean, bays | MBTA, WSC |
Marbled murrelet | Brachyramphus marmoratus | Coastal waters, bays | MBTA, FT, WST* |
Pigeon guillemot | Cepphus columba | Ocean, rocky coast | MBTA |
Rhinoceros auklet | Cerorhinca monocerata | Ocean | MBTA |
Tufted puffin | Lunda cirrhata | Ocean | MBTA, FCo, WSC |
KINGFISHERS AND HERONS: | |||
Belted kingfisher | Ceryle alcyon | Marshes, shores, tideflats | MBTA |
Great blue heron | Ardea herodias | Marshes, tideflats | MBTA |
FT - Federally Threatened, under the Endangered Species Act
FE - Federally Endangered, under the Endangered Species Act
FCo - Federal Species of Concern
WST - Washington State Threatened
WSE - Washington State Endangered
WSS - Washington State Sensitive
WSC - Washington State Candidate
MBTA - Migratory Bird Treaty Act
R- resident (present all year, but could be far out at sea and not visible from shore)
W - winter
Sp - spring
S - summer
F - fall
* Indicates the species is under review for a change of status at the Washington State level