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 riddle the ghostly birch trees with rows of sap-filled holes. Chattery flocks […]
wildlife
Posted inAround West Sound
Endangered Orca Recovery Focus of Regionwide Day of Action
Ten of Puget Sound’s conservation districts have teamed up for a first-ever region-wide day of action to connect people to Puget Sound, the critically endangered southern resident killer whales and the work that needs to be done to save them. The conservation districts will host events focusing on this most-iconic species of the Pacific Northwest […]
Posted inGarden
Not Your Average ‘Seagull’
A little-known fact, outside the world of birding, is that there is no such bird as a “seagull.” Rather, the term “seagull” is an informal name given to any member of the Laridae (Greek for “ravenous seabird”) family. Gulls, as they are correctly called, are most closely related to terns. They hold little interest to […]
Posted inThe Outdoors
Wasp Numbers on the Rebound — Avoiding the Stings
Ask any gardener, hiker or picnicker — the region’s wasp population got its sting back. “Compared to recent years, the number of wasps is considerably up,” said Richard Zack, Washington State University entomologist. Equipped with sharp stingers, craving sugar and searching for water sources in a parched landscape, yellow jackets and paper wasps have been […]
Posted inThe Outdoors
Best Hikes With Kids around Western Washington, Part 1
Editor’s note: While the weather is still gorgeous, are you trying to pack in as much outdoor times as possible? If you have little ones, hiking can be a challenge. This excerpt was adapted from hiking expert Susan Elderkin’s book, “Best Hikes With Kids: Western Washington” (Mountaineers Books, April 2018), recommends several hikes around our […]
Posted inPeople & Places
Shining Sri Lanka
The name means “shining” or “glittering island.” Sri Lanka. When you step off the plane in Sri Lanka, you’ll know you are on a tropical island. The air is perfumed with the scent of tropical flowers and pungent spices like turmeric, cinnamon and cardamom. The sun kisses your face and you can feel the moist […]
Posted inPeople & Places
How to Camp like a Scout
A tradition dating back a hundred years, summer camping is the quintessential family experience. For some, it’s the allure of a cheap getaway, as far as vacations go. For others, what makes the idea appealing is the promise that at the end of a short road trip is a wondrous place where time crawls. Where […]
Posted inGarden
Finding the Furtive Bird of the Forest
If a hiker in a Kitsap forest were to come upon someone looking through a pair of binoculars, it is only natural to ask what he or she is seeing. If the response is “brown creeper,” some people may think the individual is watching an insect. Actually, the brown creeper is a small songbird that […]
Posted inGarden
The Orchard Mason Bee
The orchard mason bee, also known as the blue orchard bee, is the Western native pollinator that appears each year in late winter and early spring to pollinate the early-blooming fruit trees and flowers. Its scientific name, Osmia lignaria propinqua Cresson, describes the insect order to which it belongs and also includes ants, bees and […]