Woodard Bay for Beginners and Others with Sam Merrill and Tracey Scalici

This walk is designed primarily for beginning and intermediate birders. We will explore the approximately 2-mile loop at Woodard Bay, which includes an easy forest trail with boardwalk sections, returning by a pedestrian-only road. We will look and listen for woodland birds such as Swainson’s Thrushes, Pacific Wrens, Brown Creepers, Pacific-slope Flycatchers, and Pileated Woodpeckers as we walk through the deep forest of cedars and Douglas Fir and approach Henderson Inlet, where we may see Cormorants, Purple Martins, Great Blue Herons, sea ducks, and seals and seal pups basking in the sun, among other birds and animals.

To reach the Woodard Bay Natural Resource Conservation Area from Olympia, take Boston Harbor Road north. Turn right on Woodard Bay Road, crossing Libby Road. There is a small parking area on the left just before crossing the bridge over Woodard Bay – a Discover Pass is required for this parking lot. Or, drive over the bridge and up the hill. At the top of the hill is a county parking lot which does not require a Discover Pass. It’s an easy walk back down to the lower parking lot.