The Coulee Corridor Scenic Byway route features more than half of Washington’s 365 bird species!

Thousands of Sandhill Cranes migrate along the Pacific Flyway in spring and fall. Black-crowned Night-Herons and Great Egrets nest here in summer. Our large populations of Bald Eagles and waterfowl offer great winter birding. The Coulee Corridor follows the ancient route of the Columbia River where ice-age floods sculpted dramatic canyons and tablelands, where Native American tribes lived and Hudson Bay trappers explored, where miners crossed to the Cariboo gold fields and cowboys made the White Bluff cattle drives.

The shrub-steppe encompasses plains of sagebrush, grasses, and lichens, plus talus slopes and basalt cliffs. Much of this semi-arid desert, now irrigated by water from the Columbia River, includes wetlands and pothole lakes, with abundant public land in the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge; the Desert, Potholes, and Banks Lake Wildlife Areas; Lake Roosevelt Recreation Area; and state and local parks.

You'll find a warm welcome in Coulee Corridor communities. Please take advantage of local services, and enjoy places to stay and eat along the way. Let residents know that you are a visiting birder.