#WILDSIDEWA

10. Kennedy Creek Preserve

Kamilche, WA | 1350 SE Old Olympic Hwy

IBA (Important Birding Area)

340 acres of salt flats on Oyster Bay at its confluence with Kennedy and Schneider Creeks. Inlet has one of Puget Sound’s largest flocks of wintering black-bellied plovers. Kennedy Creek produces up to 80,000 spawning salmon. The salmon carcasses wash downstream to the estuary providing food for eagles, and other animals. DISCOVER PASS

Olympic Birding Loop

The Olympic Peninsula region is the ideal destination to explore unique places that these birds call home. Trail advocate, Craig Romano, shared 25 of his favorite bird viewing destinations around the Olympic Peninsula loop: olympicbirdtrail.com

ROOSEVELT ELK of this area tend to congregate close to where Lake Cushman meets the Skokomish during the fall, winter and spring months, when the snowpack limits travel upriver, the elk. Those who frequent Dosewallips State Park and the town of Brinnon in the fall, winter and spring months commonly see elk roaming the open areas, even crossing Hwy 101.

THE OLYMPIC MARMOTS,

typically live above 4,000 ft in elevation and tend to thrive in the Olympics at around 5,000 to 6,000 ft. Marmots hibernate during the cooler weather seasons, giving you just a few months over the summer to catch a glimpse of these endemic giant ground squirrels.

BLACKTAIL DEER, a subspecies of the mule deer (named for their ears which are large like those of a mule). Blacktail deer feed on grasses, lichens, plants, and sometimes berries. Oddly enough, around the Staircase Entrance to the National Park they are particularly unbothered by humans. They will stand in the middle of the road, as in this photos, and gaze calmly at you. Don’t be fooled, though, they are very much still wild and you must always give them space.

Bear And Cougars

Although sightings are rare, the trails and communities near Lake Cushman and Mount Rose have spotted mountain lions in recent years, especially during the spring and summer months. Bear generally visit river and creek drainage areas, especially in fall.