All summer, the MV Plover's sailings set the rhythm of the Blaine waterfront. The Northern Light has described the little ferry as historically a summer service. By November, the tide chart is the schedule that matters on the harbor.
Wintering loons, grebes, brant, scoters and goldeneyes are back on Drayton Harbor and Semiahmoo Bay. Whether a walk on the spit gets you close looks at them or distant specks depends less on the weather than on whether the water is coming in or going out.
Why high water changes the view
The eBird hotspot page for Semiahmoo Spit is specific about this. At high tide, diving ducks may come close to shore, and the page tells visitors to check a tide chart before they go. The same page says shorebirds roost mid-spit at high tide during fall migration. It also says the gravel and beach route on the sea side of the spit can depend on the tide.
So a rising tide does two things at once. It pushes the birds toward you, and it shrinks the beach you would otherwise walk out on to reach them. A falling tide does the opposite. Low water opens up the sea-side beach, and the diving ducks move back out to deeper water.
A 2012 profile of Drayton Harbor in BirdWatching gives a sense of how sharp the change can be. Its author remembered flocks of hundreds of loons arriving at a tide change. That's one observer's memory from more than a decade ago, not a count. It still shows that the timing within a day can matter more than which day of the week you pick.
What the harbor holds once it fills
Drayton Harbor and Semiahmoo are listed as a Washington Important Bird Area. The regional tourism listing for the site names loons, grebes, brant, scoters, ducks, gulls, terns, sandpipers and goldeneyes among the birds that winter here or pass through. The same listing calls bald eagles and peregrine falcons local nesting species.
North Cascades Audubon put rough numbers on a winter morning there. The description for its February 2024 Semiahmoo outing said marine birds are at their best in February. It said these trips usually find about 45 species, including roughly 15 kinds of duck, two geese, possibly three loons, three grebes, plus shorebirds, gulls and bald eagles. Read that as one typical past outing, not a forecast. Even so, it shows how much a single walk can turn up here in midwinter.
The 2012 BirdWatching profile filled in more of the list. It named Common, Pacific and Red-throated Loons, Long-tailed and Harlequin ducks, and four grebe species among the winter birds. Over years of logged sightings, the eBird hotspot for Semiahmoo Spit has collected 227 species across 4,757 checklists.
Four places to stand, and how the tide treats each one
Most of this shoreline is public and close to town. Each spot reacts to the tide differently.
| Spot | Where it starts | Distance | Parking and fees | Tide note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semiahmoo Spit, Coast Millennium Trail | Semiahmoo County Park | 0.8 miles, flat and paved | Parking across the road, toilets at the trailhead, no entry fee | The paved trail works at any tide. The sea-side beach route depends on the tide |
| Drayton Cove loop | Semiahmoo County Park | Just over 2 miles | Same lot as the spit | Runs along the east shore of Drayton Harbor and loops back by road |
| Blaine Marine Park to Jorgensen Pier | Marine Park, or the Port lot south of Marine Drive | About a 2-mile waterfront stroll | Parking and restrooms at Marine Park | Mostly armored shoreline with small beaches, so the walk itself stays dry |
| Peace Arch Historical State Park | Park entrance at the border | Day-use grounds | Discover Pass required for vehicles, sold at automated stations | Lawns and tall trees rather than open shore |
For spit details, Washington Trails Association describes the trail and trailhead. The City of Blaine says Marine Park has benches, trails and designated bird and wildlife viewing, and that its waterfront walk connects to the public pier and marina. Blaine By The Sea's walking guide places Jorgensen Public Pier at the mouth of Drayton Harbor. The pier is closed to vehicles and you reach it on a one-block walkway. Washington State Parks lists bird watching among the day uses at Peace Arch Historical State Park.
Put the tide note next to the table and it starts to work as a plan. On a high-tide morning, the spit and the pier are the front-row seats, because that's when diving ducks come in close. On a low-tide afternoon, the sea-side beach on the spit opens up. That's also a good time for the Drayton Cove loop or the Marine Park walk, where the tide matters much less to the route.
Parking is where a good morning on the spit can go wrong. The eBird page says free parking is available at several points along Semiahmoo Parkway, and it warns against stopping on the roadside because Blaine Police ticket illegal parking. The same page says Tongue Point is owned by the resort and its parking is for customers, though some walking access there is public. The lot at Semiahmoo County Park is the simplest place to start.
The Saturday walk that covers the whole spit
If you'd like someone who knows the birds to walk the spit with you, North Cascades Audubon has a trip on the calendar. Birding Semiahmoo runs Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon, led by Jane and John Aspnes.
The listing gives the plan:
- Meeting point: the Semiahmoo County Park lot, on the left right after the road drops down to the spit, at 9261 Semiahmoo Parkway
- Route: out to the end of the spit and back, weather permitting, looking over both Drayton Harbor and Boundary Bay
- Targets: resident birds and migrants, plus songbirds and birds of prey
- Terrain: nearly all level beach and trail, under three miles in total
- Group size: limited to 20, all skill levels welcome, registration required
The registration page has shown mixed signals, labeled sold out while also saying tickets go on sale Oct. 31. Check with North Cascades Audubon before you count on a spot. The walk covers both bodies of water around the spit in one morning, so it's a practical way to learn which side holds which birds before heading out alone on a different tide.
The winter calendar the harbor sets up
From here, Blaine's season goes from tide-timed mornings to evenings downtown, then back to the water for the Christmas Bird Count.
- Holiday Harbor Lights, Saturday, Nov. 28. An all-day event downtown at 701 Peace Portal Drive. The Blaine Choir & Band carol on G Street Plaza from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., and the tree lighting follows at 4:45 p.m. Blaine-Birch Bay Park & Recreation presents it, with support from the City of Blaine.
- Night Market & Luminary Walk, Dec. 4 and 5. Runs 4 to 9:30 p.m. at Blaine Public Library, 610 3rd Street. The Blaine Harbor Music Festival hosts it with downtown vendors, live music and a luminary walk along the waterfront.
- Christmas Bird Count season, Dec. 14, 2026, to Jan. 5, 2027. Birds Canada sets that window. Blaine falls inside the cross-border White Rock count circle, which the Washington Ornithological Society lists as covering the U.S. side, including Blaine and Semiahmoo Bay. Watch North Cascades Audubon and the count organizers for this season's specific count days.
- Wings Over Water Northwest Birding Festival, March. The 2026 festival ran March 13 to 15, with field trips, bird and wildlife cruises and a Saturday expo. Its program included Semiahmoo trips and a cruise on Boundary Bay and Semiahmoo Bay. The festival site is where the 2027 dates will appear.
The walk to see the Harbor Lights is a short one from Marine Park and Jorgensen Pier. Check the tide table that afternoon. A high tide near dusk could mean an hour on the pier before the 4:45 tree lighting, with the diving ducks close in at the mouth of Drayton Harbor.
If winter mornings on the spit have you thinking about which parts of Blaine sit closest to this shoreline, Donita Dickinson and the team are glad to talk it through, calmly and without pressure. And if you already own near the water and wonder what your home is worth right now, get a free home valuation.
