Bellingham is on the verge of doing something no Washington city has done quite like this before: letting its residents choose an official bird by popular vote. The North Cascades Audubon Society and Audubon Washington have partnered with the City of Bellingham to invite the community to nominate candidates, narrow the field to a top ten, and then vote for a favorite during Bellingham Bird Week, October 5 through 11.
How the Nomination and Voting Process Works
Nominations are being accepted through mid-September. Any resident can submit a bird species they believe best represents Bellingham, whether for its ecological role, its year-round presence, its cultural associations, or simply because it is a bird people here love to see. After the nomination window closes, organizers will select the top ten finalists based on community submissions.
Those ten finalists will then go to a public vote during Bellingham Bird Week, which runs October 5 through 11. At the close of voting, the City of Bellingham will issue an official proclamation recognizing the winning species as the city's avian icon. The proclamation gives the designation a formal civic weight, making this more than a social media poll and something residents can point to as a genuine expression of community identity.
Nominations can be submitted online through the City of Bellingham's website at cob.org. The City's weekly newsletter, Inside Bellingham, highlighted the campaign in its September 10 edition and encouraged residents to participate before the mid-September deadline arrives.
Why Bellingham Is a Natural Fit for an Official Bird
Bellingham sits at the intersection of several major Pacific Northwest ecosystems: Puget Sound lowlands, Cascade foothills, saltwater shoreline, and freshwater wetlands. That biodiversity makes the city genuinely rich in bird life year-round, not just during migration peaks. The North Cascades Audubon Society, which is coordinating the nomination process, conducts regular bird counts in the area and has documented well over 200 species across Whatcom County.
Some of the birds that Bellingham residents are most likely to nominate include the osprey, which has made a dramatic comeback at Squalicum Creek Park and draws crowds of admirers each summer; the great blue heron, a year-round resident of the Bellingham Bay waterfront and a symbol of the patience this city seems to cultivate; and the American crow, arguably the bird that Bellingham residents interact with most on a daily basis and a species that has demonstrated remarkable intelligence in urban environments.
Waterfowl advocates might make a case for the bufflehead or the harlequin duck, both of which winter in Bellingham Bay. Birders who frequent the Nooksack River corridor might lobby for the American dipper or the belted kingfisher. And the bald eagle, while majestic, may face competition simply because it is already so widely claimed by every corner of the Pacific Northwest.
Bellingham Bird Week: What to Expect in October
Bellingham Bird Week runs from October 5 through 11 and is expected to include events organized by local birding clubs, nature walks, educational programming, and the public vote for the official bird. Audubon Washington, the statewide affiliate involved in organizing the contest, works across Washington to support bird conservation and public engagement with local ecosystems.
The week culminates in the city proclamation, which will give the winner a permanent place in Bellingham's civic identity. Previous official city designations, like the city flower or city tree, tend to generate enthusiasm at first and then become beloved background facts that residents share with visitors or recall during trivia nights. An official bird has the added advantage of being something people can actually see on a walk to the farmers market or a drive along Chuckanut.
For Bellingham residents who want their voice heard before the nomination window closes, the deadline is mid-September, meaning the remaining days to submit a nomination are few. Voting opens during Bird Week in early October. More details on how to nominate and vote are available through the city at the City of Bellingham's official website. For background on how Bellingham has celebrated local nature and culture in recent months, see earlier community coverage here.
