Every West Sound birder has heard it. Someone claiming to have seen a blue jay. Yes, the individual saw a “blue jay,” but it was likely not a bona fide blue jay, a common species in the central and eastern United States and … read more

Great Peninsula Conservancy has partnered with Friends of Miller Bay to save 13 acres of critical forest and shoreline habitat on Miller Bay in north Kitsap County. The preserve connects conserved lands in the Grovers Creek Watershed. Great Peninsula Conservancy (GPC) — a … read more

The summer months bring numerous visitors to West Sound’s shorelines. Some enjoy beach walks, while others prefer a picnic. Boats abound and kites fly high. The wintering waterfowl have long since departed and are raising their families in the sunny Arctic. Marine birds … read more

When it comes to majestic birds, people often think of bald eagles and trumpeter swans. But would anyone call a woodpecker majestic? The 1800s and early 1900s were a period of unprecedented destruction across North America. Colossal forests were completely decimated to harvest … read more

It’s time to get outside and enjoy summer barbecues, gardening, hikes and much more. Don’t let mosquitoes keep you inside. Instead, enlist chemical-free strategies to manage these pests in your landscape. Start by eliminating the mosquitoes’ breeding grounds. Drain the water out of buckets, old … read more

Small songbirds are easy to overlook. Most people will notice a bald eagle on a pole but will miss a little gray bird in a nearby shrub. In the world of birds, the largest ones will always make a lasting impression. Someone seeing … read more

Some people look forward to winter because they enjoy snow sports. Fans of NFL football love the playoffs. Others appreciate a reason to wear flannel and sip hot chocolate by a cozy fire. Birders see winter as the time to bundle up and … read more

Songbirds are not just frequent visitors to gardens and birdhouses. They are everywhere. Some species, like the dark-eyed junco, are ubiquitous, adapting to various environments. But others have special habitat requirements. For example, marsh wrens need marshes and sagebrush sparrows need sagebrush. A … read more

Lynn and Jim McIntyre’s garden is a bird sanctuary. Cedar waxwings visit each year to feed on red elderberry fruit. Nuthatches hop along the trunks of trees looking for insects. Pileated woodpeckers tear apart rotting wood in search of a meal, and sapsuckers … read more