Bird Walk at the Everett Sewage Lagoons, October 3, 2026
By Douglas Resnick
Photo by Emilia Baram
The area we visited offers numerous opportunities for observing birds. Along its western side runs the Snohomish River. To the east is Union Slough, which, to the south, meets the river at Langus Point. To the north is 12th St. NE and the Interpretive Sign Spur.
We met at Langus Riverfront Park, which is situated about half-way between the northern and southern ends of the area we were visiting, and which has restrooms and conveniently large parking areas. We birded there for about half an hour, allowing latecomers to join us before we headed for a site closer to the southern lagoon. Our view of the river gave us opportunities to watch Mallards, a Great Blue Heron, and two Double-crested Cormorants, as well as to observe the occasional flights of Ring-billed and Glaucous-winged Gulls over the river.
From there, we carpooled to a small parking lot between the northern and southern lagoons. We quickly found Red-winged Blackbirds in the vegetation alongside the lagoons and various ducks in the water. Most numerous among the former were Mallards, Northern Shovelers, and Wood Ducks. A surprising find, high above us, was a flight of Snow Geese. As we walked to the east, we found ourselves walking between a wetland to the south and mudflats to the north. From the south, we heard the call of a Virginia Rail. Staying on the paved trail, we then turned south, walking between the slough and the wetland. Several raptors presented themselves, mostly perched at a distance and leading to much discussion concerning their identification. We came up with these results: Cooper's hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, and Merlin. Other birds visited nearby trees: Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, European Starling, American Robin, and Cedar Waxwing. Among birds that announced their presence vocally were Belted Kingfisher and Golden-crowned Sparrow. We walked as far as Langus Point before turning back, and we were rewarded with the sight of a Western Grebe.
After returning to our vehicles, we carpooled to the parking lot on 12th St. NE. Our view to the northeast revealed 3 Great Egrets, listed by eBird as rare for this location at this time of year, and 3 Great Blue Herons. After getting our fill of these birds, we walked south to the northern lagoon. Here, we added two more ducks to our day's list: Bufflehead and Scaup; at the given distance, we could not tell which kind of Scaup we were seeing. We then continued eastward, beside the Smith Island Restoration Project. The end of the trail is nearly encircled by the Restoration Interpretive Signs. Our attention was mostly drawn, however, to the Northern Harrier flying nearby, just above the tops of the reeds. On our way back, we spotted an Osprey in the air and a Red-necked Grebe in the water.
We carpooled back to our starting point just past 12:30 PM, having record the observations of 45 species or other taxa.
Photo by Emilia Baram
Photo by Emilia Baram