Stratford, Washington — Farm Country With a Flyway Overhead

Stratford is small on the ground and much busier in the sky.

The community lies north of Moses Lake among farms, reservoirs, canals and wetlands shaped by Columbia Basin water management.

Irrigation made intensive agriculture possible.

The same water network also created and sustained habitat used by migrating birds.

Grain fields provide food; wetlands provide resting water. Seasonal bird populations can dwarf the human population without making the place any less agricultural.

Stratford remains inhabited farm country rather than a conventional town center.

Its most numerous visitors arrive without using the roads.