Birders’ Top Spots| Priest Point Park
Location: Olympia.
Habitat: Municipal park on saltwater bay with one-mile gravel shoreline, 300-acre riparian forest with some old-growth conifers.
Best season for birding: Now through spring.
Birds commonly seen: In November look for buffleheads, red-necked grebes, and surf scoters on bay; greater yellowlegs along shore; and varied thrushes, black - capped chickadees, ruby - crowned kinglets, song sparrows and winter wrens in forest. November-April is high season for saltwater species: Rhinoceros auklets; double-crested, Pelagic and Brandt’s cormorants; Western and horned Grebes; and pigeon guillemots, common and Barrow’s goldeneyes. Belted kingfishers, and hairy and pileated woodpeckers live here year-round. Spring brings colorful migrants: Rufous hummingbirds, American goldfinches and tree and violet-green swallows. Ospreys arrive in May.
Viewing: Three-mile Ellis Cove Trail winds through old-growth trees and along Budd Inlet’s rocky beaches. Ospreys nest in canopy near trailhead.
Getting there: From Interstate 5, take Exit 105 (Port of Olympia). Go north on Plum Street/East Bay Drive. Drive 2.1 miles. Turn right into Priest Point Park. Drive 0.4 mile through park, cross over East Bay Drive on bridge. Turn left at Exit South sign, then immediately turn right onto road to Ellis Cove Trail. Drive 0.1 mile to Ellis Cove Trail parking.
Source: Audubon Washington, Great Washington State Birding Trail maps. To order maps (Cascade Loop, Coulee Corridor, Olympic Loop or Southwest Loop), go online to www.wa.audubon.org. Call 866-922-4737 for more information.