Birding & Breakfast, December 6, 2025
By Bruce Jacobs
Trip leaders were Bruce Jacobs and Jean Spinazola.
On a quiet, overcast December day, nine of us enjoyed a pleasant field trip at Pioneer Park in Tumwater. This is a very popular urban park, just south of Olympia off of Henderson Avenue, with playing fields, picnic areas, and trails for dog-walking, jogging, and enjoying nature. It is also used by anglers sporting fishing gear and occasionally artists doing landscape painting. For birders, the main features are the orchards, wetlands, and riparian area along the Deschutes River.
The rain, which had been forecast for days, did not arrive until later than expected, and the temperature was warm for the season. When we started, there wasn’t much activity. Going from the parking lot through the orchard to the Deschutes River we heard Canada Geese, saw American Robins and a California Scrub-Jay perched, and Golden-Crowned Kinglets and wrens were calling. An Annas’s Hummingbird zipped by. The river itself was swollen and running fast from the recent rains; all we saw on it were six Mallards. We then walked the trails west to the far end of the park and returned by the same route. By that time the sky had cleared a little and we found a good number of birds, including a Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, a Steller’s Jay, both a Pacific and Bewick’s Wren, and a Brown Creeper. We got excellent looks at both Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets as well as both Chickadees and a Spotted Towhee. A Downy Woodpecker and Fox Sparrow were heard and we got a glimpse of a Song Sparrow. We continued along the river, stopped in a clearing to look and listen, and then headed across the playing fields to the north side of the park. We picked up Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Sparrows, European Starling, and Red-Winged Blackbird along the way. We were treated to a brief look at a rainbow before leaving for breakfast, either at The Spar or at home. Although none of the birds were unusual, by my count we logged a respectable 22 species on the morning, and I wasn’t sure if we heard Dark-eyed Junco’s or not. However, by the next week heavy rains caused extensive flooding and many of the trails were closed.
Photo: Spotted Towhee taken at Pioneer Park a month prior to the walk, by Bruce Jacobs
