Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Chehalis Western Trail is a 22-mile paved path, that used to be the Weyerhaeuser Chehalis Western Railroad grade. It is used for cycling, running, and walking for people and their dogs. Although it includes some gentle hills, it’s used by a lot of people with compromised mobility. It passes through a wide variety of wonderful bird habitat.
Thurston County Parks & Trails does an excellent job of maintaining it, and its website provides maps, locations of parking sites and general information.
My favorite part of the trail is in northeastern Thurston County. This past weekend we parked along Shincke Road and walked north to a bench near 56th — our turnaround spot.
A pied-billed grebe.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
Almost immediately beyond Shincke Road, we passed a large shallow lake, informally known as Eagle Lake. Wood ducks and mallards swam peacefully, and lots of swallows dipped and dived above them, but I especially appreciated the loud pied-billed grebe. This little fish-eating bird uses freshwater ponds throughout the county as its breeding grounds. It’s often difficult to see, but it makes up for that by announcing its presence with a loud, long series of bleating whoops.
The trail continues north through alternating patches of deciduous and conifer forest, followed by brushy edges with grassy fields beyond. Beside the trail are plant nurseries, cattle and horses, and a few rural homes. And, everywhere, birds.
This morning, along a part of the trail with smaller cottonwoods and aspen (yes, there are aspens along the trail), there were multiple singing western warbling vireos. Your bird book may identify this species as simply warbling vireo, but last year the ornithologists, following the evidence, divided that species in two, eastern and western.
A western warbling vireo.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
This is a small bird, slightly larger than a chickadee, and appears mostly grayish above and white below, with a yellowish wash on its flank feathers. Also note that white “eyebrow.” It feeds on insects and is usually very busy. Were it not for its song (and, of course, the assistance of the Merlin app in identifying it), one might easily overlook these birds.
Eventually we reach our turnaround spot, a bench near another pond mostly surrounded by forest with a pasture across the way. I like to sit here a while, just listening. This morning there is a small flock of Brewer’s blackbirds hunting along the pond’s edge.
On the return walk, I heard the first willow flycatcher of the year. This species is among the last migrants to reach Thurston County, arriving from its wintering grounds in Central and northern South America only at the end of May.
A willow flycatcher.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
This is a small bird, just larger than a typical warbler, and is olive-brown overall with a lighter almost white wash to its belly. It is usually easy to find, as is hunts from an open perch, often close to the ground. Its vocalization is written “fitz bew,” with accent on the first syllable, and that’s exactly what it sounds like. If you get a good look, you will notice two prominent wing bars and a faint eye ring.
On this Sunday morning in late May, in good weather, we saw or heard 40 species of birds during our 3-mile walk. I suspect this number might be typical for the season almost anywhere along the Chehalis Western trail.
In recent years we’ve had Caspian terns visiting Budd Inlet in early summer. So far this year, about 12 have been on the tide flats north of North Point (near the now-empty KGY building) and flying overhead. This is a wide-ranging species, with large breeding colonies both on coastal sand bars and inland throughout western North America.
A Caspian tern.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
If they are nearby, you will know immediately by their loud raspy call. They are larger that a crow, but smaller than the large gulls. They are light gray with darker gray color on their long, pointed wings. They have a large pointed coral red bill, much larger than any other tern and adults (and all the Budd Inlet birds I saw are adults) have a black crown.
An elegant tern.
Liam Hutcheson | For The JOLT News
There is another large tern that you might see as well, the elegant tern. This tern is strictly found along marine coast lines. It has large breeding colonies in southern California and northern Mexico and disperses both north and south post-breeding. They are considered rare visitors to Washington. However, in recent years they have been seen more often, including this year. Just last week two elegant terns were spotted in Hood Canal’s Skokomish River delta.
Elegant terns are smaller than Caspians and their long, pointed bill is much slimmer. Their vocalizations are vaguely like the Caspians, but not as loud and raspy. You can identify this species on the wing by its slim profile and long pointed wings. They certainly could show up here in Thurston County, likely either Budd Inlet or the Nisqually delta, so it’s worth looking for them.
George Walter is environmental program manager at the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s natural resources department; he also has a 45+ year interest in bird watching. He may be reached at george@theJOLTnews.com
Photos for this column are provided by Liam Hutcheson, a 18-year-old Olympia area birder and avid photographer.
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