Pet Dish
If you listen to KPLU (88.5 FM) in the morning, you know all about the nature oasis at 8:58 a.m. If you don't, set your alarm.
By Lisa Wogan | May 1, 2008
Pet Dish
My friend David Williams, author of "The Street Smart Naturalist," a field guide for Seattle, loves birds and knows a lot about them. (His book provides local perspective on geese, eagles and crows. While not exactly on top of rare species lists, fascinating flyers nonetheless.) David also loves a good microbrew. So this notice is for him -- and all the other bird-watching, craft-beer-loving, tree-hugger types out there.
By Lisa Wogan | April 24, 2008
BLAINE, Whatcom County — Hanging out with birders from the Pilchuck Audubon Society is like hanging out with superheroes whose special power is the ability to spot interesting birds where you and I see only the ordinary.
See that black line bobbing up and down way out in that choppy bay water there? Surely, just a couple of floating logs, right? Wrong.
By Mike McQuaide | November 30, 2006
Short Trips
A couple of weeks ago, a small, collapsible chalkboard sign on the sidewalk in front of Abracadabra and Summer House -- two quaint gift shops on Water Street in downtown Port Townsend -- said it all, "Think Spring." Well, spring blossoms next Monday, March 20, so it's time for Northwest travelers to "Think Port Townsend."
By Jeff Larsen | March 16, 2006
Hike of the Week
Visiting Semiahmoo Park required the longest drive to the smallest park we've ever day hiked. In case you doubt us, take the time to go there and see why it's worth it. Must-takes are a bird guidebook, binoculars and a camera. Bring rain gear and dress warmly, as it often is windy on the park's 1.5-mile spit.
By Karen Sykes | February 9, 2006
Hike of the Week
Sooner or later hikers either must come to terms with rain or become fair-weather hikers, held in slight disdain by those who grumble but lace up their boots anyway.
It can be a challenge to get motivated when it rains an inch in a day -- but hike anyway. Believe me, it's the only solution.
By Karen Sykes | January 26, 2006
CONCRETE, Skagit County — The Skagit River offers a twofer to wintertime visitors.
Come for the area's famed gathering of eagles, and get a dose of the Northwest's iconic fish as well.
"Eagles and salmon go together," explained Christie Fairchild, who leads guided hikes for the seasonal Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center. "Like peas and carrots, as Forrest Gump said."
By Stephanie Dunnewind | January 12, 2006
Take a Walk
Location: Anacortes.
Length: About a 2-mile loop.
Level of difficulty: Level-to-moderate dirt/gravel trail, somewhat muddy in places after rain. Many roots/rocks make trail slippery in winter, so wear sturdy footwear and use caution (not difficult in places to take a misstep into the shallow lake).
Setting: Set off for a hike in the Anacortes Community Forest Lands (ACFL), a splendid 2,800-acre preserve in the heart of Fidalgo Island within the city limits of Anacortes.
By Cathy McDonald | January 5, 2006
Short Trips
The eagles have landed at Goldstream Provincial Park on Vancouver Island, and for good reason -- their fall and winter feast has arrived.
For the rest of this month, bald eagles flock to parts of the Goldstream River -- just 12 miles north of Victoria -- to feast on the dead and dying carcasses of thousands of chum, coho and chinook salmon that return to spawn each year from mid-October until the end of December. One Canadian naturalist predicted 30,000 chum salmon would make the migration this year.
By Jeff Larsen | December 8, 2005
Any day when rain isn't pouring, all manner of human motion circles the last big remnant of deep and dark native forest that once covered the hills around Seattle. Joggers and walkers and wheel spinners huff, puff, pedal or push, feel the breeze blow in off Lake Washington, watch wigeons and mergansers dabble and dive, or even eagles wing and soar.
On a clear day, Mount Rainier visually leaps from the horizon in the southeast.
By Greg Johnston | November 24, 2005
