Olympic National Park

National Park · United States

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Photo © Bernd Thaller from Graz, Austria

Photo © Bernd Thaller from Graz, Austria — CC BY 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Where temperate rainforest meets alpine wilderness, Olympic National Park sprawls across nearly 11,000 square kilometers of the Pacific Northwest's most pristine landscape. The park's three distinct ecosystems—a dramatic coastal strip carved by tidal forces, the temperate rainforests of the western slopes, and the snow-capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains—create a sanctuary of extraordinary ecological richness. The lush, moss-draped oldgrowth forests shelter forest mammals both large and small, while streams teeming with migratory fish species flow downslope toward the sea. Birds of prey ride the thermals above rocky ridges and alpine meadows, while in the coastal intertidal zones, seabirds and marine mammals make their living among kelp forests and rocky outcrops. This patchwork of habitats, shaped by oceanic moisture and elevation, sustains wildlife that has remained largely unchanged for millennia—a window into the Pacific Northwest as it existed before industrial transformation.

Wildlife observers and photographers seeking genuine wilderness encounters find Olympic National Park an unparalleled destination. The temperate rainforest offers intimate encounters with forest songbirds and small mammals in an emerald cathedral where light filters through ancient canopy, while autumn and spring migrations bring waves of traveling birds that feed voraciously before or after their transoceanic journeys. The high country rewards hikers with sightings of alpine-adapted ungulates and predators, particularly during summer months when snow recedes from meadows and ridges. Coastal access reveals the full drama of marine and terrestrial life intersecting—a realm where seabirds wheel overhead and larger marine mammals surface in the cold, nutrient-rich waters. The park's scale and relative accessibility from Pacific coastal centers make it indispensable for anyone serious about witnessing the full spectrum of temperate North American wildlife in a landscape that still feels genuinely remote.

Website nps.gov/olym/index.htm

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Aquila chrysaetos

Perisoreus canadensis

Dendragapus fuliginosus

Dark-eyed Junco

Cyanocitta stelleri

Turdus migratorius

Anas platyrhynchos

Troglodytes pacificus

Corvus brachyrhynchos

Hairy Woodpecker

Leuconotopicus villosus

American Dipper

Cinclus mexicanus

Pelecanus occidentalis

Ixoreus naevius

Eremophila alpestris

White-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys

Melospiza melodia

Western Sandpiper

Larus occidentalis

Great Blue Heron

Wilson's Warbler

Cardellina pusilla

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta canadensis

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus ruber

Pileated Woodpecker

Dryocopus pileatus

Band-tailed Pigeon

Patagioenas fasciata

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Rufous Hummingbird

Selasphorus rufus

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Regulus satrapa

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

Double-crested Cormorant

Nannopterum auritum

Anthus rubescens

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Pandion haliaetus

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

Brown-headed Cowbird

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Downy Woodpecker

Dryobates pubescens

Certhia americana

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Corthylio calendula

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia atricapilla

Townsend's Solitaire

Myadestes townsendi

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Western Bluebird

Sialia mexicana

Pipilo maculatus

Anna's Hummingbird

Black-footed Albatross

Phoebastria nigripes

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Red Fox Sparrow

Passerella iliaca

Common Nighthawk

Chordeiles minor

Gallinago delicata

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

Rhinoceros Auklet

Cerorhinca monocerata

Cassin's Auklet

Ptychoramphus aleuticus

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Salpinctes obsoletus

Haemorhous purpureus

American Wigeon

Mareca americana

Black Oystercatcher

Haematopus bachmani

Glaucous-winged Gull

Larus glaucescens

Pelagic Cormorant

Urile pelagicus

Pigeon Guillemot

Cepphus columba

Short-billed Gull

Larus brachyrhynchus

Fratercula cirrhata

Bonasa umbellus

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Poecile rufescens

Mountain Pygmy Owl

Glaucidium gnoma

Brandt's Cormorant

Urile penicillatus

Eastern Warbling Vireo

Black-capped Chickadee

Poecile atricapillus

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

Melanitta perspicillata

Branta canadensis

Bombycilla cedrorum

Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifrons

Barrow's Goldeneye

Bucephala islandica

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Bucephala albeola

White-winged Scoter

Melanitta deglandi

Hirundo rustica

Setophaga coronata

Violet-green Swallow

Tachycineta thalassina

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Catharus guttatus

Townsend's Warbler

Setophaga townsendi

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Western Flycatcher

Empidonax difficilis

Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Hammond's Flycatcher

Empidonax hammondii

Black-throated Grey Warbler

Setophaga nigrescens

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi

American Yellow Warbler

Setophaga aestiva

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Histrionicus histrionicus

California Gull

Larus californicus

Loxia curvirostra

Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

Heermann's Gull

Larus heermanni

Black Turnstone

Arenaria melanocephala

Northern Pintail

Calidris virgata

Red-throated Loon

Northern Fulmar

Fulmarus glacialis

Branta hutchinsii

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Melanitta americana

Common Goldeneye

Bucephala clangula

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Aechmophorus occidentalis

Pluvialis squatarola

Pacific Golden Plover

Pluvialis fulva

American Golden Plover

Pluvialis dominica

Charadrius vociferus

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

Short-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus griseus

Wandering Tattler

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Calidris alpina

Hydroprogne caspia

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Larus hyperboreus

Larus glaucoides

Marbled Murrelet

Brachyramphus marmoratus

Ancient Murrelet

Synthliboramphus antiquus

Sooty Shearwater

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Aegolius acadicus

Falco columbarius

Sayornis nigricans

Western Wood Pewee

Contopus sordidulus

Eastern Kingbird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Evening Grosbeak

Hesperiphona vespertina

American Goldfinch

Plectrophenax nivalis

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

Branta bernicla

Anser caerulescens

Cygnus buccinator

Cygnus columbianus

Mareca strepera

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalis

Oxyura jamaicensis

California Quail

Callipepla californica

Common Pheasant

Phasianus colchicus

American Black Swift

Cypseloides niger

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Rallus limicola

Porzana carolina

Fulica americana

Antigone canadensis

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

Red-necked Grebe

Podiceps grisegena

Podiceps auritus

Black-necked Grebe

Podiceps nigricollis

Aechmophorus clarkii

American Avocet

Recurvirostra americana

Long-billed Curlew

Numenius americanus

Phalaropus fulicarius

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpres

Calidris canutus

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Calidris subruficollis

Baird's Sandpiper

Calidris bairdii

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

Sterna forsteri

Thalasseus elegans

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

Leucophaeus atricilla

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Parasitic Jaeger

Stercorarius parasiticus

Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinus

Fork-tailed Storm Petrel

Hydrobates furcatus

Leach's Storm Petrel

Hydrobates leucorhous

Short-tailed Shearwater

Ardenna tenuirostris

Pink-footed Shearwater

Ardenna creatopus

Manx Shearwater

Puffinus puffinus

Butorides virescens

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Rough-legged Buzzard

American Barn Owl

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Western Screech Owl

Megascops kennicottii

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Picoides dorsalis

Sayornis phoebe

Willow Flycatcher

Empidonax traillii

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus forficatus

Clark's Nutcracker

Nucifraga columbiana

Bohemian Waxwing

Bombycilla garrulus

Riparia riparia

Tachycineta bicolor

American Bushtit

Psaltriparus minimus

Cistothorus palustris

Thryomanes bewickii

Northern House Wren

Troglodytes aedon

Mountain Bluebird

Sialia currucoides

Passer domesticus

Grey-crowned Rosy Finch

Leucosticte tephrocotis

Haemorhous mexicanus

Two-barred Crossbill

Loxia leucoptera

Lapland Longspur

Calcarius lapponicus

White-throated Sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis

Pooecetes gramineus

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Western Meadowlark

Sturnella neglecta

Brewer's Blackbird

Euphagus cyanocephalus

Tennessee Warbler

Leiothlypis peregrina

MacGillivray's Warbler

Geothlypis tolmiei

Northern Parula

Setophaga americana

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Setophaga caerulescens

Setophaga palmarum

Setophaga occidentalis

Black-headed Grosbeak

Pheucticus melanocephalus

Spatula cyanoptera

Aythya valisineria

Golden Pheasant

Chrysolophus pictus

Chaetura pelagica

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosus

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

Lewis's Woodpecker

Melanerpes lewis

Red-naped Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus nuchalis

American Dusky Flycatcher

Empidonax oberholseri

Northern Shrike

Lanius borealis

California Scrub Jay

Aphelocoma californica

White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensis

Haemorhous cassinii

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Passerina amoena

Megaptera novaeangliae

Townsend's Chipmunk

Neotamias townsendii

Odocoileus hemionus

Cervus canadensis

Yellow-pine Chipmunk

Neotamias amoenus

American Black Bear

Ursus americanus

Lepus americanus

North American River Otter

Lontra canadensis

Rocky Mountain Goat

Oreamnos americanus

North American Beaver

Castor canadensis

American Ermine

Mustela richardsonii

Ondatra zibethicus

Western Deermouse

Peromyscus sonoriensis

Bushy-tailed Woodrat

Neotoma cinerea

Marmota olympus

Douglas's Squirrel

Tamiasciurus douglasii

Mountain Beaver

Aplodontia rufa

European Rabbit

Oryctolagus cuniculus

Northern Pacific Jumping Mouse

Zapus trinotatus

American Shrew Mole

Neurotrichus gibbsii

Northwestern Deermouse

Peromyscus keeni

Steller Sea Lion

Eumetopias jubatus

California Sea Lion

Zalophus californianus

Northern Elephant Seal

Mirounga angustirostris

Eschrichtius robustus

Dall's Porpoise

Phocoenoides dalli

Cuvier's Beaked Whale

Ziphius cavirostris

Southern Red-backed Vole

Clethrionomys gapperi

Common Killer Whale

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