Field Trip - Deception Pass State Park, West Beach, Saturday, May 16, 2026

By James DeForrest

Photo by Jim DeForrest
Birders at the Wetland Overlook at West Beach, Deception Pass State Park.

Great time of the year to see the park! A nice mild spring day with broken clouds provided soft light for our walk. The six of us met up with State Park AmeriCorps Interpretive Naturalist Lyla Biddle. Right off the bat, a couple of Killdeer were guarding their nest in the nearby rocks next to the parking lot. A pair of Canada Geese tended to their young in the swimming area of Cranberry Lake. Barn, Tree and Violet-green Swallows put on a show with their acrobatic moves. Several Bald Eagles patrolled the area.

We took the group down the beach to see what we could find. Common Loons and cormorants could be spotted offshore but there was not much bird activity on the beach.

Eventually we found the Sand Dune Trail which leads to the Wetland Overlook in the nearby woods. Absolutely amazing! A chandelier of moss covers the trees throughout the woods — a taste of what can be found on the Olympic Peninsula on a greater scale. The Sand Dune Trail is a must see! It is a landscape photographer’s paradise! The woods were full of bird activity: sparrows, creepers, wrens and an Olive-sided Flycatcher, just to name a few.

Wetland Overlook was our final destination. It provided a great view of wetlands next to Cranberry Lake — an observation deck sheltered by a canopy of trees offering a view of tall wetland grasses and cattails filled with calls of Red-winged Blackbirds.

Great bird walk. Great place to explore this time of the year!