Trip Report
Naturalist Walk - Discovery Park
2 of us enjoyed a private Mother's Day outing to Discovery Park to enjoy 40 bird species including Pigeon Guillemots, Caspian terns, bald eagles, orange-crowned warblers, and bald eagles among fountaining geoduck sprays.
Courtenay Schurman
- Sun, May 11, 2025
- Discovery Park
- Naturalist
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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My husband and I enjoyed spotting and hearing 40 bird species along the Loop and Shore trails this morning for Mother's Day. We arrived at 8:30 to a parking lot about .25 full; by 11:30 when we left the lot was full and people were parking on the streets. Porta-potties were in heavy use but well-stocked when I visited.
The park is obviously highly loved. We did a figure 8 loop from the south parking lot so we could walk the shore northbound. Someone said marbled murrelets had been seen earlier in the day but we only spotted pigeon guillemots and lots of gulls.
The north path has some muddy spots and it looks like a few bridges are new - perhaps since windstorms late 2024? Bird blind/pullouts have been graffiti-covered and wood paths are in disrepair in spots - watch your footing.
The park has a little something for everyone: joggers, birders, families enjoying picnics, dog walkers, beachcombers, photographers.
Among the 40 bird species we enjoyed were 2 pigeon guillemots, some male American goldfinches, our first 4 Caspian terns of the year, lovely orange-crowned warbler song, a hairy woodpecker, northern flicker, and downy woodpecker, and four bald eagles, including one with a juvenile companion on the shore while geoducks spouted fountains to a silent concert.
All in all a nice outing; I could have done without the heavy traffic (the Ballard bridge was closed which led to log jams into and out of the park area) but I loved seeing all the birds in a park I don't visit very often. Only on special occasions. My track had us at 4.8 miles, roughly a 1.7 mph pace that included a pause at the "Utah wetlands" spot (according to my Master Birder husband) where we spent time with the goldfinch above and black-headed grosbeaks, our first of the season.