Sands Of Life Thin Strip Of Land Is Home For Wide Variety Of Wildlife
Dungeness spit is one of the longest natural sand spits in the world. Yet at high tide, this bow-shaped, 5.5-mile long ribbon of land is only 50 feet wide in spots.
The sand, gravel, grasses and pieces of tumbled driftwood that make up the spit rise but 15 feet above the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
And during big winter storms, waves can crash over some parts of the spit as if it weren’t even there.
But the diminutive size of this narrow strip of land doesn’t lessen its attraction for walkers - especially in the summer - or dim its importance to the thousands of critters that flock here.
“You can see hundreds, sometimes thousands of birds out there at certain times of the year,” said Jackie Swisher. A retiree, she moved to Sequim from Pullman four years ago.
“We try to remember to take our binoculars. But even if we don’t, it’s nice to go out and walk. It’s so quiet. Sometimes we sit there and just watch the water break on the beach.”
Declared a National Wildlife Refuge in 1915 to preserve black brant habitat and eelgrass beds in Dungeness Bay, the spit protects birds from all but the most ferocious storms.
The bay and the Dungeness River Estuary produce microorganisms that form the base of the aquatic food web - feeding clams, crabs, oysters, fish and other forms of sea life.
The tide flats attract large numbers of almost every kind of waterfowl that winters in western Washington, including harlequin ducks and scaup. Many black brants, the species of goose for whom the refuge was largely created, are present year round. This bird depends almost entirely on eel-grass for food.
Steelhead, chinook, coho and chum salmon also call the bay home for part of their lives. After hatching and swimming down the Dungeness River, they feed on plankton, larval crustaceans and mollusks for about a year before heading out to sea.
Because the spit is growing at a rate of 10 to 15 feet annually - bolstered by sand that is washed onto the spit from bluffs to the west - wildlife has an ever-increasing area to find refuge every year.
As many as 30,000 migrating shorebirds, including plovers, dunlins and sandpipers, stop at the refuge in the spring and fall to rest and feed in the bay and mud flats. Their next visit will be in September and October when they head from Alaska to warmer climes in the south.
Harbor seals often swim in the strait and bay, and haul out on the spit. Whales also can be seen cruising in the strait. Nearby Protection Island, which is closed to the public, has attracted a colony of tufted puffins.
Bald eagles often nest in the trees overlooking the spit. Lucky visitors might even spy an occasional peregrine falcon looking for prey.
Though few in numbers, cormorants, great blue herons and loons often linger through the summer around the spit.
As many as 2,000 tourists might pour onto the spit in a warm summer afternoon.
“It can be crowded for the first half mile, where lots of people just like to spread their blankets and have a picnic,” said refuge manager Robert Edens.
“This is the only beach like this within 30 miles, so we get lots of people. But the further out you go on the spit, the more wild it gets. You really do get the feeling of wilderness out there,” he said.
At the end of the spit is the white clapboard, red-roofed Dungeness Lighthouse. No longer staffed, it still is maintained by the local chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.
Though the refuge is managed for humans as well as wildlife, Edens said it is not run as a park. Activities such as jogging, kite flying, board sailing and riding personal watercraft are prohibited because they disturb animals.
On the other hand, Edens said people are encouraged to bring binoculars, spotting scopes and telephoto lenses to observe and photograph birds and other critters.
“We have to err on the side of protecting the birds,” he said. “People should remember that they are guests in the home of wildlife and should be careful not to disturb the critters.”
Hikers may be restricted from walking along the in-side of the spit next to the bay during the winter when most of the birds are in residence.
“Well-meaning people can push a lot of birds off their feeding and nesting areas if they approach the birds, and that’s not good,” he said, Though horses are allowed on the spit, he said mountain bikes, dogs and vehicles are prohibited.
“Sometimes dog owners get mad because they see horses and think we are discriminating again them. Well, the answer is that dogs are predators and they chase animals. Horses don’t do that.”
Even on chilly winter days, Edens said there are usually at least a few hikers or bird watchers out on the spit.
“I think many of the retirees who live near Sequim first came to the area to see the refuge and the Olympic National Park.”
In early April, Denis Bradley and Nova Lockhart, sat on a huge weathered log out of the wind, gazing at birds in Dungeness Bay.
“It’s nice here,” said Lockhart, who lives in Vancouver, B.C. “You’ve got the beach and the waves and the sand and the wildlife. It feels like you can walk right out onto the Strait of Juan de Fuca here.”
Map of area
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Dungeness details Getting there: The Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge is 115 miles from Olympia on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula. To reach the park, go through Sequim on Highway 101. Continue 5 miles and turn right on Kitchen-Dick Lane. Go 3 miles. Turn right on Lotzgesell Road and look for signs to the refuge. Information: (206) 683-5847.