By Lucy DeGrace

Beginning in about 2006, SFEG’s habitat restoration at Howard Miller Steelhead Park has consisted of stream channel restoration, installation of two footbridges, eradication of invasive plants, and thousands of native plants planted with the help of hundreds of volunteers.  Wandering clockwise along the loop trail (the Wetland Wildlife Trail on the park map) on a recent sunny dawn, chickadees and spotted towhees could be seen and heard busily chattering in the dense thicket of native shrubs along the Skagit River. 

Both species find insects, seeds, and berries to eat in the dense riparian corridor, and find sufficient cover from predators here.  Toward the west end of the loop trail, a sign created in 2007 draws attention to the resident bald eagles that nest nearby, and the populations that swell this time of year in response to abundant spawned-out salmon.

This day one eagle was heard, but none were seen. This late in the spawning season most eagles have by now moved downriver to the Skagit delta or Samish flats, dining on migratory waterfowl these days. 

As the meadow trails converge at a footbridge on the west end of the park, the trail moves through completely different habitat.  A footbridge built by SFEG field staff crosses a side channel which provides critical habitat for rearing juvenile salmonids including steelhead trout. 

Many people might not see this habitat as their classical idea of a salmon stream, but these calm waters provide refuge from floods, predators, and warm summer temperatures. As you can imagine, these waters are home to many birds a well. Nesting boxes for wood ducks were installed here as part of the restoration project.  Normally nesting in tree cavities, wood ducks will use nest boxes places in suitable locations if no natural cavities are available.  The nest boxes have been used every year for the past several years.  As the trail circles back toward the east, its location atop an old railway path (Skagit-Sauk Reach Trail on the park map) provides intermittent views of the side channel running parallel below. 

On this walk, I saw no wood ducks, but I saw several scaup plying the waters of the side channel, diving for aquatic invertebrates and plants. 

Some of these invertebrates are also the food favored by juvenile salmonids. Across the trail the steep slope is dense with sword fern and mossy, lichen-draped mature evergreens.  

As the trail nears the park’s utility shed and the campground, there are places to reunite with the meadow trails, where this morning song sparrows were announcing their presence. These vocally gifted little guys find great cover in the understory and ample source of insects and seeds to feed on.  The raucous call of the Steller’s jay drew my attention to a party going on down the trail. The jay mingled with varied thrush and more spotted towhees and American robins in a gregarious party in and below an ancient apple tree.  As I approached to try and identify the fruit and the tree, I noticed hundreds, maybe thousands of small holes drilled into the tree trunk, as if by a drill and a steady hand.  No, these were the work of a sapsucker.  Maybe red-breasted, but no one came forward to take credit.  

Thus concluded my early morning bird walk at Howard Miller. Between these birds, the bats who may (or may not) use the roost boxes we installed, the beaver evidenced along the riverbank, and the cougar that was recently sighted there, it’s apparent that riparian habitat is for everyone!

For more information about this park, and to download a trail map:

https://www.skagitcounty.net/Departments/ParksAndRecreation/parks/howardmiller.htm