It was raining lightly but steadily after I finished my
errands, so I drove out to Priest Point Park on the east side of Budd Inlet
just north of town. This 314-acre park
is owned by the City of Olympia, and has a mile of shoreline, as well as over
four miles of hiking trails.
The name Priest Point is derived from the history of the
site. The popularity of the inlet as a
trading and gathering area for Native Americans led to the founding of a
mission at the point by Father Pascal Ricard of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate
in 1848. “Guided” by French Catholic clerics, local Native Americans grew produce
and fruit to feed the ‘poor’ brothers and for sale. The mission continued its
contributions to the local economy and education until 1860 when the
missionaries left Olympia to concentrate on British Columbia ministries.
I started from the east parking lot, and headed toward
the Mission Creek Estuary trail.
There
were still quite a few trees down in the park - blowdown from last Thursday’s
windstorm. This tree succumbed due to
some heart rot near its base
and ‘tho most of the main trails had been cleared,
there were several side paths that had trees across.
|
I get to go around this one . . . |
This year wasn’t all that unusual, as trees
go down in the second-growth forest all the time. By counting the tree rings, you can get an
idea of the ecological history of the park.
This tree went down a few years ago, and showed 95 rings.
|
Ninety-five years ago was about 1934 |
This tree had been taken down recently, and
showed about 120 rings at the stump.
|
This tree began growing around 1899 |
I dropped down to the beach to scope through the
waterfowl flocks, and found a group of Wigeon.
|
Wigeon in the Rain |
While I watched, I noted a bird with grey flanks and a red head – a
Eurasian Wigeon drake was in the flock.
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Red head, grey flanks - Yup! It's a drake Eurasian Wigeon |
Depending on the location here in Puget Sound, almost any time you sort
through a few hundred wigeon in the area, seeing one or more Eurasians is
likely. The tide was dropping, and the
birds pulled out to feed on the strand.
|
Luncheon on the Beach |
The beaches here are closed to people for shellfish
gathering, due to poor water quality.
|
No clamming. No Swimming. No Wading. Enjoy Your Visit. |
There are high levels of coliforms in the water, and just across the bay
is a Superfund site. Cascade Pole
operated a wood treatment plant on the "North Point" site from the 1930s to the 1980s. Creosote, a mixture of several different
chemicals used to preserve wood, was released to the environment during the
plant’s operation. Soil and groundwater were contaminated as a result. They started clean-up, and pretty much just
capped off the worst of the contaminated soils.
Don’t eat the clams around here.
The concern over pollutants doesn’t impact the
non-consumptive fishing. There were a couple of guys
fly-fishing for coastal cutthroat trout.
|
Fly-fishing at the mouth of Ellis Cove |
The Great Blue Herons were fishing as well. No one appeared to be catching anything.
|
Obligatory Blue Heron Photo |
The woods were pretty quiet, what with the rain and a 5
to 10-knot south wind, so most of the birding was watching the ducks and gulls
out on the Inlet.
|
Yet another "Olympic Gull" . . . |
On the trail back to
the car, I looked up on a fir tree and saw:
|
A Bear??!! |
But when I
looked closer, I saw that it was Art.
|
Arthur Bear - - Just call me Art |
Priest Point eBird Checklist is Here
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