Heard any Pikas this summer in the mountains? Seen any? This cute rabbit relative that inhabits western U.S. and Canadian mountain talus slopes announces its presence with a loud nasal “beep” or “eenk.” It is heard more often than seen. As the atmosphere warms, the American Pika, aka Rock Rabbit […]
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Babies – the bird version – is now playing at an outdoor theater near you. These babies are visible and audible everywhere. Listen for repetitive buzzy sounds, like infant children make with a persistent demanding tone of voice. Then scan nearby power lines, tree branches, or fence tops to find […]
One small section of abused and neglected shoreline along Seattle’s Lake Union was just restored into a beautiful waterfront green space. The site is Waterway 18 or Northlake Beach, just east of Gas Works Park. Restoring it is a quadruple-win for Seattle. How? The people win, the fish win, habitat […]
Our north Seattle neighborhood has the first and one of the largest traffic circles in the City. Over the years, it was taken over by invasive English Ivy and drug abusers who discarded their syringes and other drug paraphernalia in the thick ivy foliage. Led by volunteers Susan Samuelson, Eleanor […]
May is a great time of year this is to observe birds and bird migration! A recent arrival to my back yard was the charismatic and colorful Western Tanager. If you click on the image above to make it larger and clearer, you will see why I call it the […]
Recently, I marveled at the sight of Bushtits squeezing in and out of a perfectly-sized hole in one of their remarkable thatched nests. These very small drab, gray birds with long tails build incredible nests like the one shown at the top of the page. Picture these little birds fabricating […]
“Looking up from the flatlands, birds and clouds floating by…I’d say that heaven’s a thousand feet high. It’s my home in the sky, my home in the sky, hawk makes a circle through which swallows fly.” -Greg Brown A lot of people look down these days, at phones, IPODs and […]
Each year, some 150,000 Magellanic Penguins nest on Magdalena Island in the Straits of Magellan off the southern tip of South America. To see them, my family and I took a covered zodiac on a rough 10-mile or so crossing to the small windblown island. Thanks to Dramamine and […]
Since the massive earthquake that struck Chile last month there are still daily aftershocks. We felt four of them during our recent stay in the Valparaiso area (damage from big quake shown in top photo). One particularly strong aftershock triggered an interesting reaction from some local avian residents. At 4:35 […]
What was a cute little owl like this doing in a place like downtown Renton? This Burrowing Owl spent several days perched in a small cherry tree nestled up against the Renton Post Office. Many people paid it a visit ranging from postal workers (who apparently reported it on Tweeters.com), […]