With winter fast approaching, West Sound’s waterways are increasingly teeming with ducks that breed in the Arctic. For them, the ice-free waters of Washington feel like the tropics. Ducks come in various shapes, sizes and colors. They are split into two groups: dabbling ducks and diving ducks. Dabbling ducks feed in shallow water on aquatic […]
birds
Posted inGarden
West Sound’s ‘Blue Jays’ Aren’t Blue Jays
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 southern Canada, but a rarity in Washington. Occasionally, an actual blue jay […]
Posted inCommunity News
Two Local Groups Partner to Preserve Scenic Shoreline and Forest
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 land trust working in Kitsap, north Mason, and west Pierce counties — […]
Posted inGarden
It’s the Season to Tern, Tern, Tern
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 that winter in the South are here for the summer. Among the […]
Posted inGarden
This Forest Icon is the Last of its Kind
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 timber and farm the land. Having lost their habitat, the world’s two […]
Posted inThe Outdoors
Chemical-Free Options for Managing Mosquitoes in Your Landscape
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 tires and clogged gutters and downspouts that hold water needed for mosquitoes […]
Posted inGarden
The Pint-Sized Powerhouse of Structural Engineering
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 a brown pelican for the first time may think it’s huge. That […]
Posted inGarden
The Varied Thrush Provides a Respite from the Winter Doldrums
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 grab the binoculars. For birds that breed in the Arctic, a West […]
Posted inGarden
The Aquatic Songbird that Makes a Splash
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 songbird splashing in shallow water is a common sight. But is it […]