Accessible Birding Tour at Juanita Bay Park Saturday

Nature lovers who get around by wheelchair or who walk slowly can enjoy a leisurely paced birding tour at Kirkland’s on Saturday morning, Dec. 10.

With an experienced Eastside Audubon field trip guide in the lead, viewers will get close to the bird life of Juanita Bay and its marshes on level boardwalks, and will follow gently sloping, paved pathways to explore meadows and woodland edges.

December is an excellent time to visit the park, where Juanita Bay and its shoreline provide shelter and food for a variety of waterfowl, and the surrounding thickets make a winter home for woodpeckers and songbirds.

“Winter ducks are in their bright breeding plumage, trumpeter swans are landing on the bay, and the bald eagles have been hunting regularly,” said Eastside Audubon president-elect Andy McCormick, who will lead the three-hour tour. “In this season people of all abilities can have a memorable experience at the park.”

Waterfowl that may be seen include wood duck, green-winged teal, American coot, hooded merganser, bufflehead, and pied-billed grebe. Several other species of duck and grebe are likely, as are great blue heron and double-crested Cormorant. In the brush, ruby-crowned kinglet, downy woodpecker, and various sparrows are often spotted.

The free tour will start at 9 a.m. at the Juanita Bay Park parking lot at 2201 Market Street in Kirkland. It will end by noon, and participants can leave the group at any time. Reservations are not required, and it is not necessary to be a member of Eastside Audubon.

Each participant must be independent or have an attendant. A portable lavatory is available, but the park restrooms are closed for the winter.

Weather-appropriate clothing and binoculars are recommended, and the leader will bring a spotting scope to share close-up views.

For more information about the event, please contact Andy McCormick, at (425) 637-0892 or andy_mcc@hotmail.com. 

About Eastside Audubon

Eastside Audubon is the National Audubon Society chapter active in Bellevue, Bothell, Carnation, Duvall, Issaquah, Kirkland, North Bend, Redmond, Sammamish, Snoqualmie, Woodinville, and unincorporated East King County.

The mission of Eastside Audubon is to protect, preserve, and enhance natural ecosystems and our communities for the benefit of birds, other wildlife, and people.

Information from Eastside Audubon.