Mary McCallum – December 13, 2020
Map: Frye Cove County Park eBird: Frye Cove County Park
Frye Cove is a Thurston County Park located on the west shore of Eld Inlet just north of Flapjack Point on the Steamboat Island Peninsula.
Address: 4000 61st Ave NW, Olympia WA, 98502
(Use of GPS or map is suggested, as the Park signs are small and easily overlooked.) Take Steamboat Island Rd. 5.5 miles from the Hwy 101 exit and turn right (sign) on Young Rd then left in about 2 miles on 61st (sign). The park entrance is at the end of 61st. There is an alternate GPS route to 61st via Gravelly Beach Rd and Young Rd.
- Park hours: Gated. 9:00 AM to dusk.
- Parking lot for about 30 cars inside gated entrance road. No permit required.
- Cell-phone Service is marginal. My Verizon phone got 2 bars.
- Dogs are allowed.
- Low to moderate usage with the exception of summer during recreational shellfish tides (hard-shell clams, oyster and mussels).
- Flush toilet restrooms with running water at picnic area located a short distance below the parking area.
- Two covered picnic shelters and several uncovered picnic tables are scatted about the “meadow” and former Frye home site with a view of Eld Inlet and Mt Rainier (weather permitting).
- Children’s playground is also there.
Habitat: Frye Cove is a 64-acre former home site on 1400 feet of saltwater shoreline with cobble and gravel beach and a small narrow cove with exposed mudflats at low tide. Upland is mixed moss-covered conifer (Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Hemlock) and deciduous (Alder, Big Leaf Maple) forest with typical sword fern and Evergreen huckleberry understory. There are some ornamental shrubs and fruit trees that remain at the former Frye home site/picnic area.
Trails/Access: Frye Cove has a 2.2 mile network of dirt trails. Trails are wide and well maintained but moderately steep with some high steps. An exception is the picnic area that can be accessed below the parking area down the asphalt driveway (gated). The most popular trail and recommended trail for birders is the wooden-signed 1 mile “Cove Loop Trail” that descends through forest from the parking area past the former home site/picnic area to the main shoreline on Eld Inlet. Here are good viewpoints to scan for water birds with a spotting scope although many water birds feed in the near-shore shallows and can be observed with binoculars. The trail then loops back to the parking lot along the bank high above the north shore of Frye Cove with peek-a boo views of the cove through the shrubbery.
We birded the park on a cool, wet and drippy December morning. On the main inlet we observed Surf Scoters, Common Goldeneyes, Common Loons, Buffleheads and Horned Grebes. Double-Crested Cormorants were drying their wings on the remnant pilings just offshore the mouth of the cove. (These pilings used to host Purple Martin nest boxes but I don’t know their current status). And, of course, numerous Gull sp. were about. Bald Eagles flyovers are a good possibility especially during the salmon runs in the fall and early winter. Belted Kingfisher is also likely along the treed shoreline although we were out of luck during our visit. We were surprised however to observe, for some time, a Sharp-shinned Hawk perched on a small tree along the shoreline directly below us. We could clearly see the squared-off tail and the dark hood as opposed to the Cooper’s Hawk that has a rounded tail and a dark cap. On low tides, scan the mud flats of the cove for shorebirds. The day of our visit the mudflats were bare but we have seen a Spotted Sandpiper on a previous birding trip.
Songbirds observed included numerous Varied Thrush in the upland forested area and flocks of PIne Siskins feeding on the alder catkins along the shoreline. Black-capped Chickadees, Song Sparrows, Pacific Wren, Steller’s Jays and American Crow were also added to our list. We did not observe flickers or woodpeckers however we noticed evidence of Pileated woodpecker excavation on an upland forest snag so these species would be expected as well as the Brown Creeper.
BEFORE YOU GO:
Before heading off for a birding adventure, here are some things to consider –
1. It’s always best to have a partner with you – both to maximize the joy and to minimize the risks. BHAS cannot ensure that these locations are totally safe.
2. Don’t forget to bring your mask and hand sanitizer. Have your mask handy and put it on when passing another person not in your party.
3. Leave valuables at home.
4. Check the weather and the bird reports before heading out. An easy way to check what birds have been seen is through Birder’s Dashboard http://birdingwashington.info/dashboard/. It is a simple way to research a species, place, or checklist.
