Between morning and afternoon North Sound Leadership Conference sessions at the Program Center, I did some birding with my dog so he could stretch his legs and get some fresh air. We were parked near the western part of the park (virtually on Sand Point Way) and walked to the southeast waterfront via the wetlands, north along the lakefront, then back due west through the offleash dog park area.
There were TONS of people enjoying the park: soccer games, kite flying, wind surfing, visiting the off-leash dog park, jogging, walking. I don't usually go to public parks on weekends (and now I remember why). Fortunately, on the wetland trails, there were hardly any visitors, so I got to enjoy 24 bird species including belted kingfisher, gadwalls, a few northern flickers and downy woodpeckers (appropriate as I'd just listened to Paul Bannick give a delightful presentation on woodpeckers around the world), Canada geese (on the waterfront), buffleheads, and mallards.
The wind was gusting something fierce, so we didn't spend much time scanning the lake - no huge flotillas of coots or other waterfowl were visible when we strode by.
The trails we walked on were in good shape, all except for one muddy wetland trail we had to cross to get back to the road. We saw clear evidence of beaver activity all over the place, along with a few downed trees across the paths, but nothing that prevented access.
A lovely, beautiful sunny mid-day. Stats were 3.25 miles in 1:26, a nice little birding outing before a resilience track talk.
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