The North Olympic Peninsula offers exceptional bird watching year round. Our mild winter supports large numbers of ocean birds, including waterfowl. Spring and fall are migration times and offer great diversity in species. Summer residents are numerous and varied due to the diversity of habitat - from rain forest to tidelands.

1. Gardiner Beach, east of Diamond Point

The bay hosts a series of pelagic (ocean) birds such as loons, grebes, mergansers, scooters, old squaws, cormorants and golden eyes, depending on the season. Shore birds are abundant at low tide. Just south of the beach is a brackish pond that leads to a rise of land forested with fir and alder. The pond offers a variety of waterfowl while the trees provide roosting and perching areas for the Bald eagle, Great blue heron and the Bleted kingfisher.

2. John Wayne Marina and Sequim Bay State Park

A variety of shore and sea birds and winter waterfowl can be seen. North of the Marina is Washington Harbor. Its extensive mud flats should not be overlooked. Jameston Beach is noted for its shorebirds (during migration) and winter waterfowl., including Black Brant. Also keep an eye open for eagles and Peregrine falcons.

3. Dungeness Bay, at Three Crabs Restaurant

Look for cormorants, osprey and eagles on the pilings. On the beach at low tide are sanderlings, turnstones and plowers.

4. East of the Three Crabs Restaurant

In winter, a series of ponds offer shelter for pintail, Green winged teal, Blue-winged teal, American wigeon, and usually a few Eurasian Wigeon. Eagles and an assortment of hawks such as Northern harrier, Redtailed and Cooper's hawk, and Peregrine falcon appear throughout the year. Many smaller birds are seen in the area including the Song, Doncoln's, White-crowned, Golden-crowed and Fox sparrows; Dark-eyed juncos; House finches and American goldfinches; Red-winged and Brewer's blackbirds; and Rufous-sided towhees.

5. Dungeness Recreation area is ideal with open, dry grass and shrubs

Look for Western meadowlands, Mourning doves and kestresl. The adjoining county park sports populations a sparrows, towhees and a variety of passerines that inhabit picnic and camping area.

6. Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, on the Dungeness Spit

Observe not only numbers of wintering ducks and geese, but also many less common oenes such as Harlequin ducks, scoters, Oldsquaws, auklets, murres and guillemots.

7. Sequim's Railroad Bridge Park
On Hendrickson Road at the historic railroad trestle across the Dungeness River.

In this riparian habitat flickers, kinglets, and finches, wrend, bushits, nuthatches and towhees and an occasional shrike can be found. Look in the river for American dipper.

8. Olympic National Forest
Service campground at the confluence of the Greywolf and Dungeness Rivers.

This forest location provides an opportunity to observe crossbills, dippers, warrbleers, chichadees, nuthatches and thrusthes, to name a few.

9. Olympic National park, at Hurricane Ridge

Besides the above mentioned birds, one may see Ravens, Steller's and Gray jays, several of the thrushes and other species. A visitor is will advised to stop by the Park Visitor Center first and for a minimal price obtain a bird checklist, which is also available at Rainshadow Books in Sequim.

10. Ediz Hook, in Port Angeles

The protected water and log storage area attract large numbers and species of shorebirds including plowers, shimbrels, oyster catchers, turnstones and sanderling. These waters also provide on the Peninsula's best areas for gull species. plings serve as a roost for cormorants. The oceanside waters may yield auklets, puffin and in the winter, flocks of common murres.

11. Drive to Neah Bay from Port Angeles on Highways 101 and 112

Many birds not seen in other locations such as Black oysercatchers, phalaropes, terns, other spcies of gulls and Marbled murrelets may be observed in the less disturbed areas.