On 22 Mar 2002, eph4 at cornell.edu wrote:

> I am looking for any suggestions on good loon places within 2 hours of
> Olympia. Particularly, red-throated but common is good too! I am new
> to Olympia and any help would be GREATLY appreciated (:

There are a number of possibilities Erin, depending on the time of
year. Locally, Nisqually Reach can be good, with the best viewing
from Luhr Beach. For driving directions, go to
http://www.nisquallyestuary.org/ and click on "Find Us"

When I lived on Long Lake (east of Lacey) I would often see Common
Loon this time of year -- try any of the larger local lakes.

Traveling farther afield, a drive up Hood Canal can be productive, at
least for Common Loon. My favorite stops along the way for loons are
at: Annas Bay/Potlatch State Park (DeLorme 61 B7); Lilliwaup Bay and
adjacent Hood Canal (turnouts on north side of bay and a few tenths
of a mile further on - DeLorme 61 A8); and Eagle Creek Delta, about 2
miles north of Lilliwaup Bay. North of Eagle Creek there's good
general birding at the major river deltas, but not necessarily for
loons.

A fairly reliable place to find Red-throated _and_ Common Loon is
Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge (DeLorme 93 C7), a bit beyond your
2 hour criteria. For additional information on birding the north
shore of the Olympia Peninsula go to
http://www.olympus.net/opas/where-to.htm

For general information on birding in the Thurston County area go to
http://www.blackhillsaudubon.org/bestplaces/

Another general information source is http://birdnotes.net/ (which,
unfortunately, still lacks a geographical interface). Here, I have
entered all the major (and some minor) Thurston County birding places
into the database along with Site Guide information on Directions and
site Description. To make effective use of the BirdNotes resource
you'll have to register as a user.

(The DeLorme references are to the page number and grid reference for
the DeLorme Washington Atlas & Gazetteer.)

If you have any questions, please feel welcome to e-mail me directly.


*****************************
Douglas Canning
Olympia, Washington
dcanning at nisquallyestuary.org
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