Gadabouts on the Northern Peninsula

Joe Meche is president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and also serves the chapter as newsletter editor and birding programs coordinator. He has been watching birds for more than 50 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 30 years.

The Olympic Peninsula is like an entirely different Washington, detached from the main body and reaching northward toward Vancouver Island. The peninsula is separated from the state’s largest population centers to the east by the waters of Puget Sound and Hood Canal. To the north and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca is Vancouver Island, and to the west is the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

The northern part of the Olympic Peninsula is home to an array of unique features, including salmon rivers, sand spits, rain forests, natural lakes, hot springs and wilderness beaches. The peninsula also lays claim to having both the westernmost and northwesternmost points of land in the contiguous United States. The Olympic mountain range covers the interior of the peninsula and, rising to almost 8,000 feet above sea level, forms an effective rain shadow to the area east of the mountains.

We returned to the peninsula in mid-May to host the North Cascades Audubon Society’s 2nd Annual Dungeness Weekend Campout, and spent two excellent nights at the Clallam County Campground. This site provides a gateway of sorts to the Dungeness Spit and the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. The weather was spectacular for the 11-mile hike to the historic Dungeness lighthouse and continued through the Sunday morning trip to the Dungeness River Audubon Center at the Railroad Bridge Park.

About two-thirds of the way to the lighthouse, we observed as many as 200 pairs of nesting Caspian terns on the smaller Graveyard Spit, actively participating in every phase of breeding behavior. Some were sitting on nests while food offerings were taking place between potential mating pairs. And yes, some were actually mating. The activity was quite raucous, as you might expect, and then picked up a notch when a peregrine falcon did a low-level pass just above the gathering.

It’s always stimulating to observe the activity within a large colony of birds, and nothing interrupts the action faster than a fly-over by a raptor. This event was repeated twice when bald eagles came a bit too close for comfort. The sounds alone were worth the price of admission, and the sight of that many large white birds against a blue-sky background just added to the day.

Orange-crowned warblers were quite numerous and vocal around the campground throughout our stay and we observed merlins on at least two occasions. One particular highlight was the adult Cooper’s hawk that was first heard and then located in the trees right above the picnic shelter. The bird was quite vociferous and we surmised that there might be a nest somewhere nearby, although we failed to locate it.

As great as the weekend gathering was, Cindy and I had planned back in March to extend our getaway by heading for the coast — not the inland coast but the real Pacific Ocean coast. So, after the weekend at the group camp, we pulled our stakes and headed for deeper water. The weatherman said that the coast was clear so we were pretty excited.

With even a quick scan of a map of the peninsula, you might notice a few distractions as you travel on Highway 101. West of Port Angeles, the road winds around the stunningly scenic Lake Crescent shoreline. This lake is reminiscent of many of the lakes I’ve had the pleasure of visiting in the alpine country between Germany and Switzerland. Steep, densely-forested mountainsides plunge into the clear and cold waters of the lake.

A bit farther down the road from Lake Crescent is the road into the Sol Duc River Valley and the Sol Duc hot springs. This is one of the most popular hot spring sites on the peninsula and the starting point for numerous trails that reach deep into the heart of the scenic valleys and ridges of the Olympic Mountains. The bridge at Sol Duc Falls is immediately recognizable as one of the most photographed spans in the state.

Neah Bay and Cape Flattery sit at the northwesternmost tip of the peninsula and the scenic lighthouse on Tatoosh Island is worth the extra driving time. An added bonus to this detour is the fact that Tatoosh is often a site for large numbers of nesting common murres. From the bluffs on the mainland and with a scope, you can witness quite a bit of breeding and nesting activity on the rocky east face of the island.

Lake Ozette is well off the roads more frequently traveled, but a great place to visit if your schedule allows an extra day or three. Ozette is the third largest lake in Washington and offers a great campground and a starting point for day hikes to the wild and pristine ocean beaches of Olympic National Park. Additional highlights are the petroglyphs you might find on some of the dark, volcanic rocks. Two trails lead from the lake to Cape Alava and Sand Point, and the energetic hiker can choose to do a loop connecting the three points. I emphasize the word energetic.

La Push is a small community located on one of the most scenic spots in America. Spectacular sea stacks and pounding surf set the mood for this home of the Quillayute tribe. Tourist facilities and other businesses are available and totally operated by the tribe. The name of the community is a Chinook jargon corruption of the French, la bouche, meaning mouth. Since La Push is just south of the mouth of the Quillayute River, you can appreciate how places are named and how languages mix and blend.

We reached our destination for the next two nights of camping at the National Park Service campground at Kalaloch. The large campground north of the historic Kalaloch Lodge sits on a bluff above the Pacific and offers sensational views. Even though I understand the concept and have experienced it many times before, I’ll never cease to be amazed by the sound of ocean surf. Quite simply, it never stops!

Kalaloch is the site of an historic lodge that sits on a lovely spot on the wild Washington coast that is part of the Olympic National Park. The main lodge is perched above a bend in Kalaloch Creek just before the creek flows into the ocean. Upstream from salt water, the creek is well-shaded and a perfect habitat for kingfishers. Almost on cue, as we crossed the creek on a short hike, a male kingfisher flew into view. We observed nesting behavior between the male and female when she came into the picture.

From our unique position on the bluff, we had an unobstructed view of all the birdlife on the beach, in the water and on the wing. At this time of the year, we saw no shorebirds on the beach and an almost-constant stream of loons heading north. The majority of the loons were of the Pacific variety with an occasional common or red-throated flying by. Other campers reported sightings of northbound gray whales, but the only mammals we observed were harbor seals and sea lions.

While our campsite was ideal, clouds on the horizon indicated that our perfect weather would not last. We made the most of the time we had and hiked the beaches and trails in the area. On the second day, it was obvious that we needed to check our tie downs and prepare for wind and some of the wet stuff or, as Timothy Egan refers to it, “The Good Rain.”

Rain came by mid-afternoon and forced us into our shelter. And then the wind joined in the conspiracy to end our string of good weather. With these elements taking control of our day, we reluctantly made our way to the lodge for an early dinner. The rain continued through the night and our tent passed the test with flying colors. We stayed dry and cozy and were elated to awaken to a window of opportunity to strike camp before the next line of squalls reached us.

One of our trip highlights came as we were decamping when a flock of about 20 red crossbills settled into a tree, just overhead. Of course, the arrival of these unique birds was a distraction and slowed our exodus somewhat. We weren’t on the road for long before the rain returned, and the Port Townsend ferry would be our next stop.

Our destination for the second leg of this long weekend trip was the campground at Kalaloch, but keep in mind that there are innumerable places to stop along the way. If you have time to meander the back roads and file away campgrounds and places to explore for future reference, your list will fill in no time. If you don’t have a particular destination in mind, you won’t find many bad spots on the northern Olympic Peninsula. §