Kitsap Peninsula waters are teeming with migratory waterfowl this time of year, which means that winter is a great time to grab your binoculars and do some bird watching on the peninsula.

“There’s thousands of birds wintering in our area waters and they will be here until April,” said Joan Carson, whose popular “Bird Lady” column appears in several western Washington papers. Not only are the birds and ducks plentiful, they’re also easy to spot from Kitsap’s ferry docks and waterfront parks.

“On a clear, cold, sunny day, you get the goldeneye and bufflehead and scoters,” she said. “You get a spot of spring and the males start showing off for the females and you get an active display, which is always fun.”

What to look for: Grebes, mergansers, loons, murres, guillemots, rhinoceros auklets, goldeneyes, scoters, buffleheads and wigeons, as well as our resident great blue herons, bald eagles, kingfishers and various shorebirds

Where to go: Silverdale Waterfront Park; Port Orchard Waterfront Park; Lions Park in Bremerton; Liberty Bay Waterfront Park and Oyster Plant Park in Poulsbo; Point No Point and Norwegian Point Park in Hansville

Directions at Places To Go. Just click on the name of the location for a map.

When: Now through April; medium tide is best for spotting water birds closer to shore

Equipment: Binoculars are good, a spotting scope is better

You can find information about even more birding locations on the Kitsap Peninsula at Kitsap County Parks and on our website at Bird & Eagle Watching.