Birders' top spots: Fir Island Farm/Hayton Reserve

Location: Skagit County.

Habitat: Former farm located in 11,000-acre Skagit Wildlife Area refuge, with agricultural and riparian landscapes diked off from driftwood-covered mudflats.

Best seasons for birding: Winter, spring, fall.

Birds commonly seen: Species in all three seasons include bald eagle, northern harrier, northern pintail and green-winged teal. Trumpeter and tundra swans are present October-March, and snow geese and American wigeons October-April. (Mid-January sightings reported by the Audubon Society included 10,000 snow geese and about 70,000 ducks at this location, plus tens of thousands of dunlins, sandpipers and other birds.) Peregrine falcons hunt dunlins and black-bellied plovers along the shore, and barn owls search fields and marshes for rodents. Great horned owls roost in surrounding trees.

Viewing tips: Close vehicle doors quietly to avoid disturbing geese and swans. Walk to dike overlook and watch for waterfowl and shorebirds. Never deliberately cause birds to take flight; at this vital feeding time for migratory birds, repeated disturbances can do significant harm. Avoid treacherous mudflats.

Access: From Interstate 5, take Exit 221 (Lake McMurray/Conway) and turn west. Drive 0.1 mile. Turn right (west) onto Fir Island Road. Drive west 3.2 miles. Turn left (south) at Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife sign. Drive 0.5 mile to parking area. Fish and Wildlife vehicle permit required; $10 wherever fishing and hunting licenses are sold.

More information: wdfw.wa.gov/lands/r4skagit.htm or 360-445-4441.

Source: Audubon Washington. For free maps of Washington birding sites, call 866-922-4737 and ask for Great Washington State Birding Trail maps ("Cascade Loop" or "Coulee Corridor"), or request online at www.wa.audubon.org.