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Does your family need a reason to spend time outside this winter — time that includes scavenger hunt-like fun, multisensory exploration, breathtaking scenery and the potential for bragging rights? Then try out birding with kids! This nature activity, also called bird-watching, is an age-old pastime that’s gaining seriously cool cred among a younger generation — including kids.
Winter is the ideal season to try birding. The cold months of the year in the Pacific Northwest mean the shedding of tree leaves and the fluttering arrival of many avian visitors. These two seasonal certainties result in world-class birding in our region, from winter into late spring.
Washington state hosts snow geese, tundra and trumpeter swans, sandhill cranes, short-eared owls, masses of waterfowl, and the usual resident birds. They are are easier to see throughout trees and bushes bare of leaves. If you’re truly lucky, you might see a snowy owl, a prize even for lifelong birders.
Here are my top tips on how to get started and where to go. It’s as easy as stepping out your door.
Start in your own backyard
“Mom, is that an owl?” my daughter asks. It’s September and midmorning, and the hoo-hooing outside our late-summer, still-open window prompts her curiosity. “It sounds like an owl, doesn’t it?” I say. “Owls don’t often whoo in the daytime, though. That’s a dove whooing!” Indeed, the bird calling is a male Eurasian collared dove perched atop our neighbor’s roof. We see him upon closer look out the window.
Bird calls and songs are the best way to start noticing the birds in your neighborhood, be it a city apartment, a suburban home with a yard or whatever abode you inhabit. Birds are all around us and their vocalizations are often our first point of contact with these avian neighbors. Once we hear them, we start to see them too.
Listen first and you’ll hear birds every season of the year. At my house as school starts in the fall, we hear the downy woodpecker’s sharp “chip!” as the pair flies into the suet feeder hanging by our front door. Come winter, we hear waterfowl overhead, as ducks and snow geese fly south from the Arctic to settle for the season in Washington’s agricultural landscapes. Spring is an exploding symphony of birdsong as American robins, house finches, black-capped chickadees and others court, mate and raise young. In summer, you might hear the whinny of a visiting flycatcher high in the trees, gorging itself on insects as it prepares to fly south come fall.
What you need for birding with kids
Your family can get started as easily as mine did. In addition to starting a listening practice, pick up a pair of binoculars and a field guide for local birds. You can purchase or rent binoculars from outdoor recreation stores or some nature shops, such as the Birds Connect Nature Shop in downtown Seattle, which has an excellent selection of both optics and field guides. Having binoculars will allow you to see birds up close and will greatly enhance your time observing them.
Next, put up a bird feeder, or three. Black oil sunflower seeds will attract chickadees, finches and grosbeaks. A suet cage will bring woodpeckers and bushtits, and a hummingbird feeder will draw Anna’s hummingbirds to your house year-round. A birdbath will attract every bird imaginable.
To keep visiting birds safe, place feeders close to the window. Put stickers or bright, dangling ribbon on the glass to prevent your avian friends from striking the window when coming to feed. Place feeders and bird attractants high enough to keep outdoor cats from harassing the birds you invite to visit.
Encourage kids to watch from a respectful distance to allow the birds to become comfortable with you.
Ready to venture beyond your yard? Head to a bird-rich park.
Trailside birding in Seattle and the Eastside
Marymoor Park is King County’s largest and most-visited park, and it has diverse habitats for bird viewing. Birds reliably flock to three habitat features: water, tree canopy and a food source. Marymoor has acres of all three.
The best areas for birds in Marymoor are along the Sammamish River and in the community garden. Wander the bird-named loop trails that lead to the river, and look for hawks, belted kingfishers, waterfowl and songbirds. Grab a bird list for the park and keep your eyes aloft and ears pricked. Marymoor also has an open environment, ideal for seeing birds. Apply the same birding principles to any park near you.
Try the Seward Park peninsula in south Seattle for waterfowl on the lake and barred owl sightings in the wooded interior. Seward Park’s outside perimeter is entirely paved and accessible for strollers and wheelchairs, with abundant birding trailside on Lake Washington and the forest edges.
Golden Gardens in northwest Seattle is ideal for seeing seabirds just offshore. Belted kingfishers and great blue herons frequent the pond at the north end of the park. A combination of landscapes within a single park will give you the most bird-sighting potential.
Birding in world-famous Skagit Valley
River deltas the world over are prime birding locations, and the world-famous Skagit Valley delivers every winter. Swans and snow geese, which look like patches of snow amid miles of open farmland, come from Alaska and northern Canada to feed on waste grain, potatoes and seed. Bald eagles are another visible bird on the agricultural landscape, dark silhouettes in the trees or sitting in the fields like solitary dark sentinels.
A good place to see the Skagit Valley’s treasures is to park at the end of Rawlins Road on Fir Island (between Conway and La Conner, near the trailhead to the Craft Island hike). Walk along the dike, keeping an eye out for low-flying raptors hunting voles. This is one of my favorite spots for seeing bald eagles, short-eared owls and ravens. Sometimes a flock of snow geese can be found in the pasture along the road. Be sure to dress for mud and cold.
Audubon Washington’s Cascade Loop includes other locations for birding around the Skagit. Bring a Discover Pass for parking, as some viewing spots are on public land. Be respectful of private property because the Skagit Valley is working agricultural land, most of it privately owned. Park in designated areas, and give farm equipment the right of way. Also, be aware of waterfowl hunting season, which often starts in September and ends in February.
Bonus: Hit the town of Edison for a pastry at Breadfarm bakery, where you can also pick up a loaf or two for the drive home. If you need more nature adventures, try one of the kid-friendly walks in the county, such as the Burlington Dike Trail or Tommy Thompson Trail.
South Sound-area birding spots
Another river delta rich with bird life is the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, a short hop off Interstate 5 between Tacoma and Olympia. Unlike the sprawling Skagit Valley, this area packs a complete ecosystem within an easily traversable (and stroller- and wheelchair-accessible) system of boardwalk and earthen dike trails, a flat and easy hike for little legs. Start at the visitor center to pick up a bird list and map.
The best time to see birds at Nisqually is within two hours on either side of high tide, so check the tides before your visit. Even if your timing isn’t optimal for seeing birds, the boardwalk and flat trail through the flooded delta is a beautiful walk. You might see something unexpected; I once spotted mermaid-like harbor seals in the river, far from Puget Sound. There is a $3 fee per four adults for the day. Children age 16 and younger are free. (Note that dogs are not allowed.)
Spectacular migrations in Eastern Washington
Every year in late March, thousands of sandhill cranes — a species that stands more than 4 feet tall — visit the area around the agricultural town of Othello, Washington, from their breeding grounds in northern Canada. The Othello Sandhill Crane Festival (March 18–21, 2027) is a family-friendly event, typically offering a variety of birding tours by school bus, craft activities, “meet the bird” docents, guest speakers and guided walks. Check the event website for registration and event details.
Bonus: The nearby Columbia National Wildlife Refuge is a stunning place to hike or picnic. If you’re lucky, you might catch sight of a marmot peeking over a cliff to get a look at you.
Washington’s coast
For another spectacular migration experience, head to Bowerman Basin in the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge on the Washington coast in late April and early May to see migrating shorebirds by the thousands (and the peregrine falcons that hunt them). Park at the Bowerman airfield (itself a novelty for kids). Walk along the boardwalk to the end viewing platform, where you’ll see plovers, sandpipers, dowitchers, red knots and dunlins converging on the mudflats.
The best time to see the shorebirds en masse is two hours before and after high tide, so time your visit just right. The undulating sight of so many birds in flight is unforgettable.
More ideas for getting started
Practice ethical birding
Watching your neighbors should be done discreetly and with their safety and success as wild creatures at the forefront of your observation. Give birds space, do not expose them to undue stress or danger, and promote their habitat conservation. Read the American Birding Association’s Code of Birding Ethics to understand the best way to start birding.
Count birds
Document birds in your own backyard! Start your own informal yard list (my family’s list is up to 53 birds!). Or make it part of official community science by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count (Feb. 12–15, 2027). The GBBC, as it’s called by participating birders, is a weekend of counting birds from right where you are. The data collected each year by civilian birders is a valuable barometer for the health of bird populations around the world.
Bird by ear
Download the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Merlin app to record what you are hearing in your yard and get instant suggestions for what bird it might be.
Or if you like more storytelling to go with your ear training, check out the archives of BirdNote, a two-minute program highlighting a bird likely to be seen at a particular time of year, along with its vocalizations and signature behavior. Available as a podcast or on local station KNKX every weekday morning.
Take classes and walks
Many local parks and nature organizations hold family bird walks, and some organizations — like Birds Connect Seattle and various parks departments — host affordable nature classes with bird-specific content. Check the respective organization for participant age minimums, as classes may be designed for adults. Or design your own family outing with resources from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology educational department, with ideas based on age group.
Download an app
Having reference material ready on your phone is invaluable as a birder, whether you are a beginner or seasoned participant. Apps fall into two main categories:
Identification: The aforementioned Merlin app helps users identify birdsong and vocalizations. The app also offers photographs for visual identification, and it is free. I like the Sibley Birds app for visual and geographical identification, as the app features illustrations instead of photographs, which I find more instructive for identifying bird field marks. The Sibley app also includes all the same audio as the Merlin app (both use the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Macaulay Library of bird song). There is a one-time $20 cost for downloading the Sibley app.
Documentation: Bird lovers the world over document what they see for their own records and for community science through apps hosted by science institutions. The one used most in North America is eBird, through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The eBird app transforms your sightings into science and conservation. You can directly impact bird data with your sighting submission, as well as add to your personal “life list” of birds seen.
Pick up a book
Get a copy of the invaluable “A Birder’s Guide to Washington,” an exhaustive tour of every corner of the state for bird-watching, with driving directions and lists for what you are likely to see and where.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published many years ago and was most recently updated by the writer on Oct. 28, 2026, with new tips and resources for bird-watching with kids.
