Hi Rob and interested Tweets.

I've seen a few posts about this, but no lists! Here's mine:

1) Ocean Shores
2) Skagit/Samish flats
3) Sequim/Dungeness Spit area
4) Mt. Rainier
5) Whidbey Island

And, since a "Top 10" is a more natural list (and ties in with a
birder's greed for more, here's 5 more:

6) Pt. No Pt.
7) Ridgefield NWR
8) Tokeland
9) Nisqually NWR
10) San Juan Island

Surely, someone will complain that there's a lot of area lumped
into spots like "Whidbey Island" and Skagit/Samish Flats", but I
tried to make my birding spots ones which I would normally do in
one trip. What I mean is I don't usually go to Whidbey, just do one or
two spots, such as Crockett Lake or Penn Cove, and then stop.
Usually I would bird many different sites throughout the area as one trip.

The list may be predictable as well, but instead of trying to put my
personal stamp on it I've tried to pick sites that I think offer great
overall birding experiences to anyone who goes there. I think a great
birding spot offers several things:

1 - An abundance of birds
2 - A spot where one can easily observe some aspect of a bird's life
such as a migration hotspot, a popular feeding area or a breeding site, etc.
3 - Natural beauty (gee, I left out Tacoma's rendering plant...)
4 - Reasonable access

There are probably many other criteria, but these are just a few.

I'd be interested in seeing other people's lists on Tweeters.

good birding --

Jim Flynn
merlinmania at comcast.net
Seattle, WA