North Northwest US in late Aug to early Sep? (1 Viewer)

[MiddleRiver]

Possible I might be somewhere between Minneapolis and Seattle late summer. N.Dakota, Montana, Washington State... Not ideal time of year, but if any 'must visit' hotspots, would love to hear them!
thanks in advance...

 

[Mysticete]

That's a pretty broad swath of country. Are there certain birds you are looking for?

It will be pass breeding season for grassland breeders, so they might be trickier.

 

[lgonz1008]

If you are willing to make the trip around Washington, there's a couple of good spots to try, here is a trip report of the places I did and got a lot of species even though it wasn't a birding trip: https://www.cloudbirders.com/be4/download?filename=GONZALEZ_Washington_08_2022.pdf

One negative is that the Westport Pelagic is booked for the year, but even a ferry trip could give you some Auklets and other seabirds.

 

[MiddleRiver]

That's a pretty broad swath of country. Are there certain birds you are looking for?

It will be pass breeding season for grassland breeders, so they might be trickier.

I have birded very little in the NW (or even the W) so my 'ticklist' is almost wide open. That's good. I have little control over timing of trip, and I realize it's kind of a doldrum for many species, which is why I'm trying to dig a little and maximize good birding. Of course I'll hit eBird hard as well

 

[MiddleRiver]

If you are willing to make the trip around Washington, there's a couple of good spots to try, here is a trip report of the places I did and got a lot of species even though it wasn't a birding trip: https://www.cloudbirders.com/be4/download?filename=GONZALEZ_Washington_08_2022.pdf

One negative is that the Westport Pelagic is booked for the year, but even a ferry trip could give you some Auklets and other seabirds.

Thanks for the very nice report link! I'm actually headed for Bellingham and have done several ferries from there, so yes that's always an option. But really my hope was to hit some good habitat in that N corridor between Minneapolis and Seattle (Bellingham). Option would be to just hang out in PNW and bag the ND idea - it's just an area I've never been to, so it seemed like a good way to get to B'ham

 

[hookem2010]

I visited early on in my birding career and as part of a bachelor party, where birding was not the main priority, but Glacier National Park was maybe the most beautiful place I've ever been. Without really knowing what I was doing, or looking up nearby Hotspots, I found some good birds, including lazuli bunting, red crossbill, bald and golden eagles, and a spruce grouse right in the middle of the hiking trail. Grizzly bear, moose, bighorn sheep and mountain goat as well. I'm sure if you head to east Montana, you could find some of our declining grassland birds like longspurs, Sprague's pipit and maybe some grouse species.