Twin Peaks Film Location – Opening Credits Bird Branch

According to a 1991 Star Pics trading card, a  Bewick’s Wren (pronounced like “Buick”) supposedly greeted viewers during each Twin Peaks episode in seasons 1 and 2.  In reality, the bird was a varied female Thrush. The film location for this scene was originally identified by Charles from the now defunct InTwinPeaks.com website. It was one of my favorite location reveals, so I’m presenting details from his site below as a tribute.

FEMALE VARIED THRUSH

For the longest time, I believed that the Star Pics card offered the correct identification of the opening credits bird. Thanks to fellow Bookhouse Boy Christian Hartleben and Bookhouse Gal Pamela Tarajcak, I know better.

The bird appears to be a female Varied Thrush. I found this photo of an adult female by Joe Castino on Audubon. org. The bird is described as follows:

The haunting songs of the Varied Thrush echo through the dense humid forests of the Pacific Northwest. Long minor-key whistles repeated after deliberate pauses, they seem like sounds without a source; only a careful searcher will find the bird itself. Although it looks superficially like a robin, the Varied Thrush is far more elusive, usually feeding on the ground among dense thickets. Typical of the far west, it sometimes surprises birders by straying all the way to the Atlantic Coast in winter.

I really wonder how they captured footage of the bird. Were the cameras rolling when the bird landed? Did they attract the bird to the branch with food? Is there audio of the bird whistling? Life is full of mysteries, Donna.

STAR PICS CARD

As mentioned, the bird was mistakenly identified as a Bewick’s Wren in the Star Pics “Twin Peaks” trading card set released in 1991.

On card number 3, the bird’s significance was explained: “The Bewick’s Wren is a bird indigenous to the Pacific Northwest that lives near water.  The beauty of the raw, woodsy nature of Twin Peaks is represented through the images of the opening credits.”

FINDING THE LOCATION

The scene was shot at Kiana Lodge located at 14976 Sandy Hook Road NE in Poulsbo, Washington. The approximate coordinate are 47°41’57.5″N 122°34’55.5″W.

The red circle on the Google Maps image below shows the approximate location of the branch.

Kiana Lodge was also home to several exterior shots of Blue Pine Lodge (the Packard’s Residence), the giant log where Laura Palmer’s body washed ashore, and some interiors of The Great Northern Hotel from the Pilot episode.

The story of how Charles identified the location needs to be preserved in the Twin Peaks community (click on the image to enlarge).

Here are some of the individual images from the former InTwinPeaks website:

JANUARY 22, 2020

I visited this location on January 22, 2020 after a nearly 23 year absence.

It seems these are the same trees that appear in the background of the Pilot episode. With the passage of time they are much taller now.

I believe this branch is the one the crew used. The bark and background details seem similar to the opening credits scene. The branch was hanging down compared to the series (bigger branch today means more weight).

Here’s the view beyond the branch. In the distance is the Agate Pass Bridge which opened in the 1950s.