Oscar the Bird King is a giant recycled-wood troll sculpture by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, sitting on a log throne in a shaded grove at Point Robinson Park on Vashon Island, Washington. He’s the sixth and final troll built in Dambo’s “Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King” series, and in the story that ties all six sculptures together, he’s the character everyone else is walking toward — which is why locals call him the one who started it all, even though he was technically the last to go up.
If you’ve been chasing down Dambo’s trolls around the Puget Sound, you already know the drill: ferry ride, a walk through the woods, and then suddenly you’re standing under something that looks like it grew there. Oscar is the payoff at the end of that trail, literally and narratively.
Who Is Oscar the Bird King?
Oscar is part of a six-sculpture project scattered across the Pacific Northwest. Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King is a public art project featuring sculptures of Nordic trolls made from recycled materials by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, with statues installed in Bainbridge Island, Issaquah, Portland, and Vashon Island, and Seattle installations in Ballard and West Seattle. Dambo has planted more than a hundred of these trolls around the world, but Oscar isn’t just another one in the lineup.
According to the project director, “the most complicated and the most magnificent” of the six local trolls, said Fidelma McGinn, president of the Seattle-based Scan Design Foundation and project director for the overall troll project in the Pacific Northwest. And there’s a reason for that extra effort: Oscar is also the eponymous figure in the story behind the “Way of The Bird King” series.
Dambo actually spelled this out himself. Oscar was the last troll he made on his 100-day road trip tour titled Way of the Bird King, and Oscar himself is the main character of the book named after the project — a story about his travels meeting the other trolls, following the same path Dambo took across the country. So while Oscar physically came last, he’s the hero the whole tale was built around — the troll all the others are, in some sense, walking toward. That’s the “started it all” part: the concept, the character, the reason the road trip existed in the first place.
What Makes Oscar Different From the Other Trolls
Every Dambo troll has a personality, but Oscar got the royal treatment. Unlike the other trolls in the exhibition, Oscar is the King, and as such, he has some unique features — the Bird King’s colossal head wears a crown composed of birdhouses. Those birdhouses aren’t decorative filler either. They’re made of wood scraps and leftover materials from the fur and cladding built for the trolls, underscoring the project’s whole point about turning scraps into something useful.
His face has its own reputation. Visitors keep mentioning the same thing: no matter where you stand, the troll seems to be watching you, stern yet thoughtful. In Dambo’s storytelling, the Bird King is a character admonishing humans to be good stewards of their environment, and Oscar’s finger points downward toward the earth and viewers, challenging them to reflect on their own role in it.
Then there’s the beard. His beard is a twisting thicket of madrone branches, and his crown features birdhouses, as do stakes driven into the ground surrounding his court. Locals pitched in on the finishing touches too — residents donated strands adorned with natural objects like driftwood, shells, feathers, and stones to dress up his throne.
How Big Is Oscar the Bird King?
He’s genuinely massive for a wooden sculpture tucked into a forest grove. Sitting more than 20 feet tall, Oscar is located in a grove at upper Point Robinson, speckled by sunlight filtered through the trees. The build itself was a serious undertaking, not just a big carving project. The Bird King and his nearby decorations were constructed using 275 recycled wood pallets, 26 logs each 18 feet long and 18 to 24 inches in diameter, and many pounds of recycled wood and other materials — extra logs allowed the team to build more than 200 birdhouses and benches, with help from volunteers.
And it really was a community build. Hundreds gathered at the ribbon cutting and grand opening for Oscar the Bird King, constructed by Dambo and a small army of 70 volunteers. That unveiling happened on Sunday, Sept. 17, when hundreds gathered at Point Robinson to witness the unveiling of Dambo’s latest troll sculpture, back in September 2023.
Why “Trash” Is the Whole Point
Dambo isn’t shy about where his artistic obsession started. Speaking on Vashon, he put it plainly: “Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve loved trash,” Dambo said, explaining that trash is free and ubiquitous, so it became an early creative building block for him — from broken bottles to books, bicycles and bags, he found new life for old discarded things. That childhood habit eventually turned into a global mission. It flowered into an artistic mission to create sculptures out of trash and recycled materials all around the world, expressing his dream of “saving the world from drowning in trash.”
Oscar carries that message in miniature. As Dambo puts it, “In nature, there is no landfill. Nature is circular, everything has a meaning and everything is recycled.” Every pallet plank and leftover log on his throne is doing double duty — sculpture and sermon at once.
Where to Find Oscar the Bird King on Vashon Island
Oscar lives at Point Robinson Park, a small shoreline park at the eastern tip of Maury Island, which connects to Vashon by a paved isthmus road. Point Robinson, located roughly 12 miles from the Vashon ferry terminal, is a 10-acre shoreline park and historical marine conservancy. Getting there requires a boat, one way or another. Vashon Island is accessed by ferry only, with ferries departing from Fauntleroy in Seattle, Point Defiance in Tacoma, or Southworth near Port Orchard.
Once you’re parked, the walk is easy. There are two parking lots, Upper and Lower, and two short trails through the park — the walk from the upper parking lot is less than 0.5 miles. Oscar sits in a small grove a short, easy stroll from the upper parking lot. Best of all, admission is free and available during daylight hours.
While you’re there, don’t just snap a photo of Oscar and leave. Point Robinson is one of those quietly historic corners of Puget Sound. The lighthouse tower itself was constructed in 1887, and the current light first shone in 1915, standing 38 feet tall with an octagonal shape and an attached dwelling. After visiting Oscar, it’s worth spending time exploring the 10-acre park — an easy 1.2-mile hiking trail loops through the woods, past picnic tables and a couple of campsites, before leading down to the lighthouse.
Quick Tips Before You Go
- Bring cash or a card for ferry fare — there’s no bridge to Vashon.
- Wear real shoes. The trail down to the lighthouse has an incline that’s easier going down than coming back up.
- Lighthouse tours run seasonally — Sunday tours of the lighthouse are generally available from mid-May through mid-September.
- Bring something for the birdhouses — Oscar’s crown was built for actual nesting birds, not just for looks.
The Bigger Picture
Oscar isn’t a one-off roadside oddity. He’s the capstone of a project that stretched across an entire region — this series of publicly accessible sculptures, spread across Portland, Bainbridge Island, Issaquah, West Seattle, Vashon Island, and Ballard, epitomizes the harmony of art, nature, and sustainability. If you’ve already tracked down his siblings elsewhere in the Sound, Oscar is the reunion at the end of the story. If he’s your first troll, he’s a pretty spectacular place to start — a king holding court in the trees, daring you to think a little harder about what you throw away.
NOTE TO THE ADVENTURER: This guide is meant to spark curiosity for what lies beyond the horizon — not to serve as a guarantee. Roads fall into disrepair, buildings are torn down and rebuilt, and properties change hands; 'tis your responsibility to do your own research before setting out. Always heed local and regional law, and always respect ground that isn't your own. Take every entry here as a suggestion, not a decree. This guide's contents were gathered with the aid of artificial intelligence, and like any scout, it will from time to time lead you astray. You assume all risk in following its counsel, and neither this blog nor its author is liable for any loss, injury, or misfortune that results.
