This week (Sunday morning at dawn) I revisited Dog Marsh on the Grays Harbor bay.
Dog Marsh is Hoquiam, Wash.'s, unofficial dog park. The site is 44 acres of undeveloped Port of Grays Harbor property situated on the bay just west of the mouth of the Hoquiam River. Much of the year, the land there is saturated and dotted with pools of water, hence the nickname "Dog Marsh." In the summer, it's mostly just a broad grass field, though certain areas have been designated as wetlands.
The land is bordered on three sides by water: the Hoquiam River on the east, a small tidal inlet to the west, and the bay on the south. A jumble of steep riprap leads down to the water on all three sides: I spent my time this week on the narrow bay shoreline, at the edge of the rock next to the submerged tidal mudflat. Rennie Island, a wooded, undeveloped spit of land, lies to the south across the channel used by ocean vessels coming to dock at the port.
Sounds of note in this episode include an owl (tentatively identified as a Western screech owl), which called from Rennie Island just as I started filming. I never saw the owl, but it's call was clear as day coming across the water. Later, a sea lion came up for a blow. I did manage to catch the sea lion on film, at a distance. You'll also hear tweeting birds from the marsh, some Canada geese, and the ubiquitous sea gulls, as well as see and hear fish splashing.
This is the second episode of "Sunday Morning Sounds," and the first one that can be considered full-length, clocking in near 5 minutes long. You can view the first episode, with otters and a Savannah sparrow, here. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it out every Sunday for a new episode, but I definitely plan to produce "Sounds" as a recurring feature of my blog.
Watch for it!
▶️ 3Speak