Three Parks for the Birds

Joe Meche is president of the North Cascades Audubon Society and also serves the chapter as newsletter editor and birding programs coordinator. He has been watching birds for more than 50 years and photographing birds and landscapes for more than 30 years.

This time of year many of us begin to contemplate a short list of new places to visit, as we give in to the age-old malady known as spring fever. This widespread affliction has the power to render us somewhat ineffective when it comes to completing tasks in our day-to-day routines. To add to this pressure, the recent weather has been tantalizingly reminiscent of the longer and warmer days to come.

A big part of the dilemma in deciding where to go comes from dealing with the logistics of getting from point A to point B. The decision to return to point A, on the other hand, is a dilemma of a different feather.

Much has been written about the far northwest corner of Washington state, the place we call home. From tidewater to the spectacular, glacier-clad North Cascades, we have it all—most of which the rest of the country can only envy. The recreational opportunities to be found here are difficult to imagine for much of the U.S. populace. It goes without saying that Bellingham is a wonderful place to live, with numerous prospects for any endeavor you care to pursue, and especially those with avian connections.

Along the lines of different feathers, those of us who enjoy watching birds take pleasure in the idea of visiting places where we can see a good variety of birds. But then the plot thickens as we try to keep costs down without forfeiting a quality experience. So, when considering new places to visit or explore, and if you’re hoping to keep the costs to a minimum, stay closer to home and look within one of the nation’s finest systems of city parks. If you look closely and explore locally, you might be impressed by Bellingham’s parks. On the city’s Web site, you’ll see an attractive array of parks that present diverse landscapes and offer an equal diversity of birdlife.

Whatcom Falls, Lake Padden, and Cornwall Parks are three of the outstanding areas for bird watching within the city, and all are easy to reach by any mode of transportation and totally accessible to everyone. Given the moderate climate of this part of the country, these are parks that can be enjoyed for 365 days of the year and no special clothing or footwear is required. They can all be toured on foot or on your bike, and within these parks you might often forget that you’re in the middle of a fairly large population center.

Whatcom Falls Park is Bellingham’s own version of Vancouver’s Stanley Park, and in some respects is much wilder and certainly less crowded. With a history dating back to the 1890s, this park has been earmarked for preservation. Numerous private and civic groups persevered through the tough times of the Great Depression to leave us with a magnificent urban setting for recreation and relaxation. Federal funding was used to purchase most of the present 241 acres in the park and to build the Chuckanut sandstone bridge that has become the park’s landmark.

The park is laced with trails, including one that connects the park to Scudder Pond, an urban nature reserve owned by the North Cascades Audubon Society. Scudder Pond is a regular haunt for birds ranging from wood ducks and Virginia rails, to nesting bushtits, Bullock’s orioles, and black-crowned night herons.

The park itself has potential for owls and other woodland and riparian species as you follow the creek downstream. Bridges downstream from the main falls allow you to take other trails that border Bayview Cemetery all the way to Woburn Avenue.

On a Sunday post-breakfast walk from downtown to Scudder Pond in early March, we stopped for a break on the old bridge to see if any dippers were about. In no time, this unique blue-gray bird flew under the bridge and directly to an outcropping below the falls. It then disappeared behind a veil of water and into a nesting chamber—with its beak filled with nesting material. Historically, dippers have been known to nest at the falls, but to confirm a nesting site is a different matter altogether. It would be a major understatement to say that the dipper was our bird of the day!

Lake Padden Park is a gem of a city park with something for the entire family. The park was established in 1972 at the lake which was at one time the source of drinking water for early Bellingham. Some of the pertinent amenities of this fantastic playground include a 2.6 mile loop that closely follows the perimeter of the lake. This trail provides great views of waterfowl that utilize the lake, especially in winter when ice-free fresh water is often at a premium.

To add to your day and lengthen your hike, 5.1 miles of trails extend above the main loop and down the Padden Creek Gorge. These areas are tucked away from the majority of human traffic and provide a wonderful opportunity to hear and see barred owls, pileated woodpeckers, warblers, and a variety of other woodland species. In early spring, you will be treated to a symphony of bird song.

On the slight rise of sandstone bluffs on the south shore of the lake and isolated just enough from most human activities, belted kingfishers have dug nesting burrows into the soft bank. On one particular canoe trip around the lake, Cindy and I observed four recently-fledged youngsters learning the ropes from the adults. If you know kingfishers at all, you can imagine the amount of chattering that was going on at the time.

Cornwall Park began as a gift of 65 acres donated to the city in 1909. The major attractions here are the large Douglas firs, western red cedars and hemlocks that keep the park cool on even the warmest summer days. Many trees were cleared in a contentious move a few years back, but a little time for healing goes a long way. The resulting open spaces not only provide for numerous human activities, but also create hunting space for owls that frequent the park. I have observed and heard western screech, great horned and barred owls in the park.

Squalicum Creek flows through the park on its way to Bellingham Bay and salmon runs are returning to the park. Where there are spawning salmon, there’s always an opportunity to see dippers. The creek flows from east of Bellingham and its waters form Sunset Pond and Bug Lake on the east and west sides of the interstate, respectively.

Bug Lake is a logical extension of Cornwall Park and can be reached by following a trail out of the park and behind St. Joseph Hospital. This lake has yet to feel the pressure of development and hosts a variety of birds in winter. Wood ducks, hooded mergansers, ring-necked ducks, buffleheads, pied-billed grebes, and double-crested cormorants are regular visitors.

There are 30 parks of varying sizes within the Bellingham city limits that offer a variety of settings and recreational opportunities. To see a map and comprehensive guide to the city’s parks, visit their Web site at www.cob.org, type “city parks” into the search function, and then click on the “Parks Guide.” Or, you can stop by the Parks and Recreation Department office on Meridian Street, on the north side of Cornwall Park. Pick a park or two to visit between now and October, and keep in mind that these parks offer year-round access. §