Common Mergansers—Photo: Mick Thompson
Through the Seasons: Elwha River—End of Spring
Leader(s): Ben Hannah and Kathy McCoy
Date and time: June 14, 2026 - 9 a.m.—noon
Limit: 15 participants.
Registration required—register below.
Meeting Place: Meet at the Madison Falls parking area on the Elwha river.
Liability Form: The OPAS field trip liability release form will now be included in the Eventbrite registration. It will require a check mark that indicates you have read and agree to the liability form language before registration continues. Important! Please provide your first and last name and other participants’ names, if applicable, during registration. This requirement will free up your time and the field trip leader’s time to collect signatures.
Directions from Port Angeles: follow highway 101 west from town and turn left onto Olympic Hot Springs Rd just before crossing over the Elwha. Continue on this road until you reach the gravel parking area, just after entering Olympic National Park.
Features: This will be the second of four planned trips this year to the Elwha Valley, one in each season. We’ll follow the same route as in March—starting at the Madison Falls parking lot and checking the river for American Dippers, Canada Geese, and Common Mergansers, which were present in March and now may be joined by Harlequin Ducks and Wood Ducks. We’ll again explore the bigleaf maple grove just across the parking lot for woodpeckers and songbirds; warblers have returned. Then we’ll walk about one mile south along Olympic Hot Springs Road to the washout from the 2017 flood. This closure offers a rare chance to stroll a normally busy park road in near‑total peace, with the river beside us for much of the way. Habitats along the route include riparian forest, deciduous forest, conifer forest, and open fields.
By June, we should have at least eight species of warblers in the region, and all have been recorded here in previous years. They may be joined by our five local flycatcher species, as well as Turkey Vultures, swallows, swifts, tanagers, Swainson’s Thrushes, Band‑tailed Pigeons, American Goldfinches, Western Tanagers, and more.
This area is still relatively under‑birded in spring and summer, so eBird data is limited—though better than in winter. Maybe we can add to the body of citizen‑science knowledge.
What to bring: Binoculars (and/or other optics you may have) and weather-appropriate clothing. It should be much warmer than it was in March, but still may be rainy (it is the PNW, after all). If you don’t have binoculars, please come anyway—there will be spotting scopes for all to view through as well. And if you have a spotting scope and want to share with others, they're always a welcome addition.
Further information: contact Ben Hannah at OlympicTransplant@gmail.com.
Note: A waitlist has been enabled for this trip. If you need to cancel your reservation, please email webmaster@olympicpeninsulaaudubon.org.