December 2 - Downtown OlyWA

I decided to walk downtown to mail birthday cards to my sisters, and hopefully they'll get them in time.  I left home and went south and east down the Garfield Nature Trail to West Bay Drive.  It is colder in the canyon, as cool air flows into and fills the draw.  This maidenhair fern frond is showing the effects of too little warmth and too little light.

Maidenhair fern - Adiantum pedatum

There was a fair assortment of birds in the ‘burbs, and I was treated to a small mob of crows harassing a red-tailed hawk.

There is a large lot at the corner of West Bay Drive and Garfield with lots of blackberry brambles, a hawthorn that still has lots of berries, and a neighboring house that has filled bird seed feeders.  There was a lot of sparrow action in the brush there, as well as this Anna’s Hummingbird that appeared to be hunting spiders amongst the foliage.

Anna's Hummingbird hunting spiders

I continued across the Fourth Avenue Bridge

4th Avenue Bridge

and noted a Kingfisher fishing from the “Hazardous Condition” warning sign on the railroad bridge below.

West Bay Railroad Bridge

This rail line has been pretty much abandoned since the Port of Olympia ‘managed’ the property along West Bay so that the former mills and factories burned-down, quit business, or gave up.  It’s pretty obvious that the Port would like to have “Market Rate” housing and that sort of non-production development in the area, but that pipe dream has not come to fruition.  A couple of years ago the local artistes decorated the bridge in a fit of “Art Happens”, and the colors persist.

Passing by the Olympia Oyster House, I see there’s a sign promising an “Early 2019” re-opening.  The restaurant is situated in the same 1924 building where The Olympia Oyster Company culled the native Olympia oysters back in 1859.

The Olympia Oyster House

The place closed last October, but the place was purchased by some local restaurateurs.  Patrick Knutson runs Budd Bay Cafe in Olympia and River’s Edge in Tumwater, while Scott McKinney has Pints & Quarts in Lacey and Pints Barn in Tumwater. Pam Oates, who co-owns Budd Bay and River’s Edge, also has a minority stake in the Oyster House venture.

They used to have pretty good food and a decent back bar, and it’s a great place to sit on the deck in the summer and enjoy some good seafood.  However, apparently there were financial and other difficulties for the previous owner.  After the 2013 fire and rebuild, owner Leticia Barrett and Manager Abram Smith were subjects of picketing by former employees alleging a host of concerns, including workplace hostility and a toxic, dysfunctional environment.  Hopefully the new owners will treat their people better, and we citizens can enjoy the cuisine and atmosphere.

After doing some errands, I walked north from the Post Office to East Bay to do some birding.

White-crowned Sparrow adult

While there were a lot of birds out enjoying the snippets of sunshine on this cool day, I am always dismayed to note the several homeless camps.  There are several blocks of ‘tent city’ homeless camps in the north downtown area.  I’ll avoid a political rant about the subject…

Railroad Homeless Camp - Downtown Olympia

This camp (above) is just across the street from high-rent “market rate” housing

341 Loft Apartments

The camps, combined with the pollution ‘remediation’ areas make for a pleasant visit to the Olympia downtown area.

The birding is still OK, as there were quite a few Audubon’s and Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warblers in the landscaping at the LOTT WET Science Center building on Thurston Avenue

Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler

East Bay is always picturesque

East Bay - Olympia

And birdy

Belted Kingfisher female on the piling.  The No. 3 box was placed for nesting Purple Martins

And full of fungus

Nearly 200 crows were staging here prior to leaving for their evening roosts.  It felt kind of like the scene from Hitchcock….

Hitchcockian Crows

I continued to the North Point, for this view of the KGY radio studio.

Old KGY Studio - now owned by Sacred Heart Radio

KGY was started in 1922 by a Benedictine monk, Fr. Sebastian Ruth, at St. Martins College.  The station was bought by Archie Taft and moved downtown in 1932.  In 1960, the studio was built at the waterfront site, making it one of the most uniquely situated stations in the country.  In 2014, the 1240-AM station was bought by “Sacred Heart Radio”, they fired most of the staff, and programming went to hell.  KGY is a separate FM entity.  Locals still call this the KGY Studio or KGY Point, however.

I came back past the LOTT (Lacey-Olympia-Tumwater-Thurston Co.) waste treatment facility where several dozen Mew Gulls and Northern Shoveler ducks were feeding in the ponds (never eat a Shoveler within 3 miles of a waste treatment plant…).  The facility flares off its methane, rather than harnessing it for power generation.  I guess Puget Power’s rates must be pretty low, or it would make sense to have one’s own ‘renewable’ power?

Flaring off the Methane gas

West Olympia eBird Checklist here

4th Avenue Bridge eBird Checklist here

Downtown Olympia eBird Checklist here

East Bay eBird Checklist here

North Point eBird Checklist here

Jack Davis Pond eBird Checklist here