PNW Birding where to go · what you'll see · how far you'll walk 23 spots

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19 · Seattle

Discovery Park

Forest, bluff meadow, beach, saltwater

Five hundred acres of forest and bluff meadow with the Sound at the bottom of it — the widest habitat range of anywhere on this list. Budget the extra descent to West Point; the lighthouse beach is where the loons and alcids are.

Effort Moderate · 2.8 mi loop Loop trail rolls; add 1.5 mi round trip and 200 ft of climb for West Point beach.
When to go Morning for songbirds, falling tide for the beach.
Access Free. Three lots; the south lot is closest to the bluff. Directions eBird hotspot

Birds by season

Curated highlights · the current season is marked

Spring

  • Rufous Hummingbird
  • Orange-crowned Warbler
  • Pigeon Guillemot
  • Caspian Tern

Migrants drop into the forest edges; terns return to the Sound.

Summer

  • Bald Eagle
  • Barn Owl
  • Cliff Swallow
  • Heermann’s Gull

Guillemots and auklets fish off West Point; martins use the snags.

Fall

  • Red-throated Loon
  • Parasitic Jaeger
  • Townsend’s Warbler
  • Sooty Shearwater (rare)

Seawatching picks up; sparrows flood the meadows.

Winter

  • Harlequin Duck
  • Marbled Murrelet
  • Snowy Owl (rare)
  • Brant

The best season at West Point: loons, grebes, and sea ducks close to shore.

Reported here in the last 30 days

● Live from eBird

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Sources

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Live sighting data from eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology · Location research: Washington Trails Association, Eastside Audubon, Birds Connect Seattle, Washington Ornithological Society, Birdful · Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors