Located on Sequim Bay, about .3 miles from the John Wayne Marina, the 4.2 acre Pitship Pocket Estuary (a pocket estuary is just a really, really small estuary), is a wonderful place to look for birds. Ducks, geese, gulls, kingfishers, herons, the occasional red-tailed hawk and bald eagle, and more all come for a visit.
A dike road and a too small (3 foot) culvert blocked the rise and fall of tidal waters, and prevented juvenile salmon from using the estuary in their outward migration from JimmyComeLately and Johnson creeks. A new 28′ foot bridge was built to replace the road bed and culvert, once again reconnecting the bay and the marsh.
It’s also the lowest point in Sequim, and on a windy day nearing high tide, the water was splashing.
You can just see the tip of John Wayne Marina and part of Pitship Point in the background.
Historically, the low flat waterline made this a perfect spot for a log dump. This undated photo (likely prior to 1900 judging by the clothing) from the Bert Kellogg collection at the North Olympic Library System shows a log dump right around this spot, with the marsh on the left and the curve of Pitshop Point in the background. Logs were collected and sorted at various points in Sequim Bay before being assembled into rafts and floated off to sawmills.
Links of Interest:
- Pitship Pocket Estuary Project, construction photos via North Olympic Salmon Coalition
- Pitship Pocket Estuary Bird Guide, via eBird
Location:
More or less between 2800 and 2900 W. Sequim Bay Road, Sequim, WA 98382
