Muddy Waters: Nature thrives in estuaries

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March 4, 1999

Muddy Waters: Nature thrives in estuaries
Where river meets sea, there's much to see

By GREG JOHNSTON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The aroma of the mudflats is not pleasant, but it lends a dank, primal ambience to the land where river meets sea.

Walking along a muddy tidal slough where ducks dabble, noisy geese poke at marsh grass and eagles soar overhead, you feel a sense that life might well have begun eons ago in some similar primordial glop.

"It's that interface, of fresh and saltwater coming together, that creates really what is one of the most productive kinds of habitats," explains Jean Takekawa, deputy manager of the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.

"Being in nature and getting to see part of Puget Sound and that kind of habitat is very popular. It's a bit different type of experience than a park in other parts of the community."

They're called estuaries, and I came to know and enjoy them during the five years I lived and worked along Washington's south coast. One of my good friends was an avid -- make that rabid -- backpacker and hiker, and he'd get out of sorts when he couldn't walk amid nature at least every couple of weeks.

In winter, when his beloved Olympic Mountains were deep in snow, the most reliable hiking venues were estuaries such as Willapa Bay, Grays Harbor and the Nisqually Delta.

Their marsh meadows, backwater bays, rain-fed ponds, puddles and tidal sloughs are right at sea level and snow-free virtually year-round. They also harbor massive numbers of wintering fowl.

"This time of year you will see ... a variety of puddle ducks, such as widgeons and mallards, a few pintail and also quite a variety of diving ducks: goldeneye, scaup, bufflehead," says Takekawa, referring to the Nisqually.

"Also Canada geese. And then there are small numbers of shorebirds moving through the refuge, a variety of passerine birds, or small forest birds, and lots of raptors: bald eagles, harriers, red-tailed hawks."

Blue heron are ubiquitous and trumpeter swans are sometimes seen. Seals and river otters live in or around the estuaries, and the handiwork of beavers can be detected in chewed-down trees and saplings stripped of their bark.

"The open beaches are ecological deserts when compared to the warm soup of the bays," notes Harvey Manning of Issaquah, longtime local hiking guidebook author and inveterate walker. "That's where the most is going on, where most of the wildlife is."

Perhaps the classic estuary hike in Western Washington is the 5.5-mile loop trail on the Nisqually refuge, which follows the Nisqually River out toward Puget Sound, then traverses a dike along the edge of the bay.

Here eagles roost on the edge of the mudflats, flocks of wigeon shuttle between the bay and marshy flats, and the odd flock of shorebirds rises, flutters and falls in unison.

The trail then leaves the bayfront and heads inland along tide-washed lower McAllister Creek, called "Medicine Creek" when Puget Sound tribes signed the 1855 treaty that gave up rights to their homelands. An old-growth fir still marks the spot. On a recent trip, two bald eagles watched over the delta from its snaggy top.

Although many trails on publicly owned estuaries follow old dikes well above the water level, well-prepared hikers wear boots appropriate for sometimes soggy terrain. At a minimum, wear hiking boots, preferably waterproof ones. Dress warmly, since winds can howl in off the saltchuck.

Stick to dikes as much as possible, since mudflats are not made for walking and have been known to suck the boots right off feet.

Do not forget a pair of binoculars, essential for viewing wildlife. For maximum opportunities, wear clothing of natural colors and walk softly and slowly. Observe from a distance, trying not to disrupt the critters' normal routine.

And respect private property by observing any no trespassing signs you encounter on the edges of public lands.