Showing posts sorted by date for query for the birds. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query for the birds. Sort by relevance Show all posts

October author events virtual and at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park

Friday, September 30, 2022

Photo by Steven H. Robinson
Third Place Books 
Lake Forest Park
October 2022 EVENTS
 
Please note: all times below are Pacific Time.
 
Both virtual and in-person events require registration in advance. Unless ticketed, events are free and open to the public. See thirdplacebooks.com for details.

17171 Bothell Way NE, #A101, Lake Forest Park WA 98155. (206) 366-3333 
() – denotes ticketed event
() – denotes event for children or middle grade readers
 
 
Saturday, October 1 at 11am (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park)
Kids Storytime with Steve Scher and Sarah Waller
The Moon Bear 
Storytime with this local author/illustrator duo will include additional arts and crafts activities inspired by the book.
 
Monday, October 3 at 7pm (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park)
Andrew Sean Greer
Less Is Lost
The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Less sends his titular character on another "wild road trip through a wilder America" (Marlon James). Less Is Lost is a profound and joyous novel about the enigma of life in America, the riddle of love, and the stories we tell along the way. Tickets required. See thirdplacebooks.com for details.
  
Tuesday, October 4 at 7pm (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park)
Molly Hashimoto
Trees of the West: An Artist’s Guide 
World-renowned nature artist and teacher Molly Hashimoto presents her sequel to the popular Birds of the West: An Artist's Guide and Colors of the West: An Artist's Guide to Nature's Palette.
 
Wednesday, October 5 at 6pm (Virtual)
Victor Manibo and Elijah Kinch Spector
The Sleepless and Kalyna the Soothsayer
In The Sleepless, a mysterious pandemic causes a quarter of the world to permanently lose the ability to sleep—without any apparent health implications. Kalyna the Soothsayer tells the story of a woman born without the Gift of future sight that has been her family’s legacy for generations.
 
Tuesday, October 11 at 7pm (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park)
Patricia Grayhall with Donna Cameron
Making the Rounds: Defying Norms in Love and Medicine
A chronicle of coming of age during second-wave feminism and striving to have both love and a career as a gay medical doctor, Making the Rounds is a memoir of what it means to seek belonging. Donna Cameron, author of A Year of Living Kindly, joins in conversation.

Tuesday, October 18 at 7pm (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park)
Maya Prasad with Martha Brockenbrough, Jake Arlow, and Joy McCullough 
Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things
A star-studded debut launch event! Perfect for fans of Jenny Han's To All the Boys I've Loved Before, this sparkling YA rom-com celebrates sisterhood, family, and the love all around us.
 
Wednesday, October 19 at 6pm (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park)
Chelsea Clinton with Tae Keller
Welcome to the Big Kids Club: What Every Older Sibling Needs to Know! (illustrated by Tania de Regil)
From the bestselling author of the She Persisted series comes a humorous picture book that gives children an idea of what to expect when they get a new sibling. Newbery Award–winning children’s book writer Tae Keller, author of She Persisted: Patsy Mink, joins in converation. Tickets required. See thirdplacebooks.com for details.
 
Thursday, October 20 at 7pm (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park)
Adam M. Sowards
Making America's Public Lands and An Open Pit Visible from the Moon
What makes wilderness wild? What does America have to do with it? Local environmental historian Sowards presents two investigative works of nonfiction: one on our public lands, another on a historic struggle to define the contours of the 1964 Wilderness Act in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area.
 
Monday, October 24 at 6pm PT (Virtual)
Andrea Chapela and translator Kelsi Vanada
The Visible Unseen: Essays
From one of Granta's Best Young Spanish Novelists of 2021, who is a chemist but also poet and novelist, this compact collection of essays draws on the properties of glass, mirrors, and light to navigate the overlapping borders of science, literature, and self. The book’s translator Kelsi Vanada joins in conversation.
 
Tuesday, October 25 at 7pm (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park)
Leslie Budewitz
Blind Faith: A Novel 
Agatha Award-winning author Leslie Budewitz (aka Alicia Beckman) reads from her latest thriller, about long-buried secrets returning with a vengeance in a cold case gone red-hot.
 
Thursday, October 27 at 7pm (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park)
Erin Jeanne McDowell
Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between 
From the bestselling author of The Book on Pie and The Fearless Baker, a savory baking book for delicious baked goods at any time of day.
 
Thursday, October 27 from 5–9pm (Stoup Brewing in Kenmore)
Stoup Brewing // Third Place Books Book Fair
An adult book fair, this time in Kenmore! Join us as we unveil our first-ever bookstore-themed beer at Stoup Brewing’s Kenmore location.
 
Friday, October 28 at 6pm PT (Virtual)
Colin Meloy with Daniel Handler
The Stars Did Wander Darkling
Bestselling children’s book author and Decemberists’ singer-songwriter Colin Meloy talks about his new book, a suspenseful and atmospheric horror set in 1980s Oregon, perfect for fans of Stranger Things. Daniel Handler, best known for A Series of Unfortunate Events, joins in conversation.
 


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Kids' Garden event at Kruckeberg October 1 and 2, 2022

Friday, September 16, 2022


FALL KIDS GARDEN OCTOBER 1ST and 2ND from 10AM - 2PM

In collaboration with the Edmonds Floretum Garden Club, Kruckeberg Botanic Garden is excited to offer a new Kids Garden event on October 1 and 2, 2022!

This time, it’s all about BIRDS! Learn how the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden cares for its feathered friends and ways you can make your home and garden bird-friendly this winter.

Photo courtesy KBG
This event features fun activities for youth and adults as well as a take-home craft, while supplies last.

This event is free and all ages!

Parking at the Garden is extremely limited, please consider carpooling or using alternate forms of transportation for this event!

For more information visit: www.kruckeberg.org/gardening-for-birds



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Garden Guy: Adding late-season color to the landscape

Monday, September 5, 2022

By Bruce Bennett

After a full season of flowering and surviving yet another sort of record heat wave, how have the flowering plants in your garden beds held up? If your annuals peaked too soon and now have one foot in the compost pile or your perennials have bloomed-out and left you with a mass of nice greenery, but no color, it might be time to think about adding some late-blooming perennials to your current plant mix. 


September is a good time to begin evaluating your flower beds and determining if and where color spots are most needed. It is also a good time to start looking for those plants at end-of-season garden center sales. Don’t worry if these leftovers look a little ragged and long in the tooth. Next spring, they will arise fresh and new. Perennials are good like that.

courtesy of rojgar aur nirman
When editing your garden beds, consider adding some perennials with longer bloom times than what you currently have. While most perennials bloom for about a month, several do their best to keep the color turned on for two, even, three months. 

A handful will continue to bloom from springtime until a heavy frost hits them. 

As an added benefit, most of these plants will do well planted in containers and can be moved around when out of bloom in your public spaces. There are fewer perennials that blossom in fall rather than spring, but there are enough to keep your garden blooming until the first frost. Many fall flowers, especially herbaceous perennials, are in fact late bloomers.

If you want to make the best of these flowers on your plants in the autumnal season, you will find that they often lack the “right setting”. This is especially true for informal borders and flower beds. Remember those green foliage plants mentioned a minute ago? They can become a great backdrop for your new late-season blooms. This will also keep your floral composition fresh and lively, even as the first frost approaches. 

Fall flower gardens, with eye-catching combinations of jewel-toned colors, including purple, rust, scarlet, and gold will enliven your yard for the rest of the season. From among my many favorites, I can recommend several possibilities to you:

Asters. Courtesy of GreatPlantPicks.org
Asters will always provide a pop of color and add a sweet softness to the landscape. In addition to the tried-and-true favorites such as ‘Purple Dome’ and bright pink ‘Alma Potschke’, consider the softer-looking Aster Frikarti ‘Monch’ (Shown)

Catmint (Nepeta) delivers clouds of tiny blue flowers from mid-spring to fall above mounds of aromatic foliage. These flowers will attract pollinators of all sorts and hummingbirds to your yard all season long. 

You will find two sizes with this plant. ‘Six Hills Giant’ and ‘Walker’s Low’ give you an idea of the height differences. The cost of a plant is a pretty inexpensive price for a show outside your windows all season long.

Tickseed Coreopsis. Courtesy of lichtenelke.de
Tickseed (Coreopsis verticulata) has delicate foliage with flowers in shades of yellow, pink daisies, peach and even bi-colors that bloom from midsummer to autumn. 

These plants are native to the American prairie and are popular because of their colors and tough constitutions. Watering during the hot parts of summer is a twice a month proposition. 

If you prune back your plants after the initial flush of flowers, they will continue their spectacular fall floral display until the end of the season. 

I particularly like the soft yellow ‘Moonbeam’, the brighter yellow ‘Zagreb’ and the scarlet ‘Red Satin. (Shown)

Gaura / Wandflower (Gaura lindheimer) 
Gaura/Wandflower (Gaura lindheimer)i is one of my all-time favorites, delivering tall wands of dainty blossoms from June to October in shades of pink (dwarf) and white. 

Its butterfly-like blooms move in the slightest breeze, giving motion and a delightful airy texture. 

The most common white cultivar is actually called "Whirling Butterflies" (Shown).

Cone Flowers (Echinacea purpurea) 
Courtesy of iscapeit.com
Cone Flowers (Echinacea purpurea) come in a myriad of colors these days. 

Can you have a perennial garden without coneflowers? Yes, but I wouldn't recommend it. 

These prairie perennials are a staple of the autumn garden and will bloom from June to frost. 

Remember not to deadhead the seed heads the spent flowers on these plants until spring as they will feed the birds and add more visual interest to your winter landscape.

Goldenrod. Courtesy garden.org
Goldenrod (Solidago)
is one of the last flowers to bloom in the fall, with its bloom period generally stretching from August to October. These are NOT the ragweed of old. 

The plants typically reach around five feet tall and display clusters of tiny yellow flowers at the tops of their stems when they are in bloom. Bees and butterflies love these flowers. 

Like the Catmint and Gaura, you can find two sizes of this plant. My favorites of the two-foot tall ‘Golden Fleece’ or the four-foot tall ‘Fireworks’ (Shown).

Russian sage. Courtesy thespruce.com
Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) is another autumn overachiever. It has aromatic silver foliage and pale blue flower spikes that add color and drama to an autumn garden for 10 – 15 weeks with the plant typically blooming at the end of the summer to early fall. 

The bloom begins slowly, with the color increasing as the small blooms fully open. . My first choice here would be ‘Blue Spire’ (Shown). The combination of this sage with the yellow Goldenrod , Coreopsis and most of the Cone Flowers make for long-term visual interest.

As you may have guessed, all of the above plants prefer it hot and sunny. But, shade gardeners can rejoice as there are, indeed, long-blooming perennials for shadier spots in the garden as well. If you are interested in having a future column dedicated to this shade perennials topic, let me know and an article will be written. 

Whether sun- or shade-loving, all perennial gardens can be spectacular. By showcasing long-blooming perennials and late season performers, you can have great color, texture and fragrance right up to the first crystalline touch of late autumn’s frost.

Garden Guy Bruce Bennett will be at
the Woodinville Library Sept 17
Final Note:
If you have an interest in growing herbs suited to our part of country that are culinary staples in the worlds of Asian, Mexican and Mediterranean cooking, think about joining me for a talk on Herbs for the Pacific Northwest, sponsored by the King County Library System and being held at the Woodinville Library, 17105 Avondale Road NE, on Saturday, September 17, 2022, at 10:30am. 

Feel free to bring your other gardening questions as well. We should have time after this free program to answer many of them. Seating is limited, so, contact the library, at (425) 788-0733, concerning pre-registration for this talk.

Contributing columnist, Bruce Bennett, is a garden designer, consultant and lecturer. Send your gardening questions and suggestions for future column topics to him at gardenguy4u@gmail.com



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Backyard Birds: When an osprey takes up residence

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Photo by John Wolfe

An osprey has chosen the very top of our fir tree as the best place to enjoy its snacks.

Photo by John Wolfe

The crows always hope for some remnants.

Photo by John Wolfe
Ospreys like to perch at the top of very tall trees.

Story by Lee Wolfe




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Gloria's Birds: I can always count on Mom, thought Judy the Dark-eyed Junco

Friday, August 26, 2022

 
Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler

(In our yard last week. I'd been waiting and watching for weeks, hoping to catch the juvenile junco in the act!)

Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler

--Gloria Z. Nagler



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Backyard Birds: Raindrops keep falling on my head

Friday, August 12, 2022

Photo by Wayne Pridemore


Raindrops keep falling on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes
Will soon be turning red
Crying is not for me cause
I'm never stop the rain 
By complaining 

   Lyrics by Hal David 



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For the Birds: Water the Birds, not your lawn

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Chestnut-backed Chickadee cooling off. Photo by Craig Kerns

By Christine Southwick

Your dormant lawn will recover this fall — dehydrated birds may not!

It’s easy to provide water for birds, ranging from ponds, fountains and bird baths down to a plastic plant pot liner placed where you can watch it.

Wilson's Warbler bathing. Photo by Chris Southwick
All you have to do is keep the water reasonably clean, and make sure that the water doesn’t get too hot if you use a shallow bowl that sits in the sun.

Moving water, especially falling water, will attract migrants as they fly near your property and hear the welcome sound of often hard to find water.

They will veer toward your yard, stop, and fill up with much needed water, often saving their lives, especially now that many of their migration drinking stops have become dry. 

Some may even take a quick bath, allowing them to cool down, refresh and take a much-desired rest before continuing on. 

And if your yard offers food by having native plants with bird-enticing bugs or fruits, or bird feeders, many birds will add your yard to their migration rest stops both going and returning.

Evening Grosbeak drinking water. Photo by Craig Kerns
A birdbath can be as small as a plate, as long as it is in a safe location from cats and isn’t too deep. 

Birds don’t swim, so a couple of large rocks will allow them to stand, splash and drink. 

My dripper/mister drips down into two ground bird baths, around which I have a decorative metal fence on three sides to discourage wandering cats, and on the back side of this waterfall I planted salmonberries for the same reason.

Migrants like MacGillivray’s Warblers, Western Tanagers, and Swainson’s Thrushes have stopped at my water setups during many of their migrations. Resident birds use my fountains daily, year-round.

Red-breasted Nuthatch drinking at a fountain.
Photo by Craig Kerns
Fountains will attract birds because they can hear and see moving water. 

Fountains recirculate the water, which is good conservation, and offers a pleasant babbling sound. 

They are easy to set up, can be moved if you so desire, and offer beneficial and enjoyable decoration.

A small pond will often attract different birds than a bird bath, especially if there is a small moving element. 

A waterfall or pond is a major investment in work, but oh, the birds it will bring in!

Make your yard a bird magnet. Both you and the birds will be glad you did.

See previous For the Birds articles here



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AG Ferguson: Court rules Navy failed to consider the damaging impacts of its Growler jet program

Saturday, August 6, 2022

Growlers over Shoreline. Photo by Jan Hansen
Navy unlawfully expanded its Growler program without considering impacts of frequent, noisy flights

SEATTLE — A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Navy’s environmental review process for the Growler jet program expansion on Whidbey Island illegally failed to analyze the impacts of the noisy, often low-flying jets on classroom learning and local birds — a violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. This is the latest legal setback for the Navy in Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit challenging the Whidbey Island Growler expansion.

The Attorney General’s Office is challenging the Navy’s March 2019 decision to authorize a significant expansion of its Growler program, increasing flight operations on Whidbey Island to more than 110,000 per year.

“The Navy has an important job,” Ferguson said. “But that does not relieve the federal government of its obligation to follow the law and take a hard look at the public health and environmental impacts of its programs. Today the judge ruled that the Navy fell short of its obligation.”

More information here



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Osprey - spread your wings

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

 
Photo by Tim Davis

A treetop bird, rather than a backyard bird, ospreys are common around here. They nest in the tops of tall trees near water so they can easily dive to catch fish. They are happy with both freshwater and saltwater fish.

Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. 
These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons.

--All About Birds




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Backyard Birds: Merlin nests in Lake Forest Park

Thursday, July 21, 2022


Story and photos by David Walton

We have at least six Merlin falcons in our Lake Forest Park neighborhood, likely in at least two nests.


They make a quite loud call that typically sounds constantly for several minutes at a time and can be heard city blocks away. 

They are quite the aerial predator, feeding mainly on birds captured in flight. These specific birds primarily have been in the tops of tall Douglas firs (making photography a challenge). 


These photos were taken early morning and late afternoon ('golden hour'), so that the light would highlight the birds from the side. 


Last year the Merlins stayed in the neighborhood until August, before migrating, so expecting similar this year.

The nests are between 32nd Ave NE and 33rd Ave NE, north of NE 160th St.



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For the Birds: Baby Birds are still a Happen’ Thing

Friday, July 1, 2022

American Robin. by Elaine Chuang --
notice the gape (colored area at base of bill)
newly fledged - still begging for food
By Christine Southwick

Three Dark-eyed Juncos just hatched in my hanging fuchsia plant just a week ago. Oh, Happy Day!

Many local birds have second broods. This year because of the cool wet spring which made bugs and caterpillars scarce, many of our birds are trying again if their first brood didn’t make it, or not all the nestlings survived.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee by Craig Kerns
gape still showing--first bath?
Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadees routinely have second broods. 

So do our local birds like juncos, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, and Red-breasted Nuthatches. 

Our native woodpeckers, and raptors do not.

When birds leave their nest, they are the full size of their parents, unlike ducks and waterfowl. 

Indeed, most fledglings appear a little larger because their fresh feathers are fluffy, whereas their harried, overworked parents are somewhat bedraggled.

Now is the time to be watching for nests in tall weeds, young birds with extra color at the base of their beaks, and fledglings that have awkward flying, especially after taking their first couple of baths.

Dark-eyed Junco feeding fledgling
photo by Christine Southwick
It is so fun to watch the newly fledged babies following their parent, fluttering their wings, and loudly begging for food.

That only happens for the first few days. Then the parents start teaching their young how to feed themselves, often bringing their young to feeders, and suet.

Northern Flickers, Downy, and Hairy and Pileated Woodpeckers will bring their offspring to my suet feeders. 

The parents start out hanging on the suet, getting a bill-full and flying over to the waiting youngsters, sticking the suet into their mouths. 

This is repeated until the parent thinks that they have had enough instruction, where upon they wait for the youngsters to come get their own suet. As with most youngsters, some “get it” sooner than others.

What are these birds? Juvenile junco on left,
juvie Spotted Towhee on right
Photo by Christine Southwick
The three leading causes of bird demises are:
  1. Loss of Habitat; Keep tall trees, plant native shrubs, trees and flowers-native plants support the bus that our birds need.
  2. Death by cats; Keep your cats inside, or build/buy them an indoor-outdoor run. Ground nesters, like Juncos, Towhees and Song Sparrows nest in tall grass, bases of ferns, or weeds until early August.
  3. Window collisions and other objects; Position your feeders either within three feet of your windows, or more than ten feet away. If you have a window that gets hit, put up window cling-designs, visual distractors, anything to break up the reflection of an inviting habitat.
See previous For the Birds columns here



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Birders needed for local monitoring project

Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Northern flicker in Lake Forest Park
Photo by Lynne Hakim
By Douglas Wacker

Attention birders! The Lake Forest Community Bird Project https://www.lfpbirds.org/ needs your help. 

This long-term monitoring project, coordinated by Dr. Doug Wacker of the University of Washington Bothell in collaboration with the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation, aims to better understand human impacts on the species diversity and behavior of birds that frequent our local parks and green spaces. 

Researchers are finishing their second year of seasonal surveys at 24 sites throughout the Puget Sound region, many in Lake Forest Park, WA, and are initiating a citizen scientist component of their project.

Specifically, bird watchers are needed to walk the survey sites, use Cornell’s eBird app to submit the birds they see and hear on their smartphone, and fill out a short webform letting the researchers know which areas they visited https://lfp-birding-project.webflow.io/get-involved/how-to-help-with-surveys 

The researchers will then aggregate those data and see how their surveys match up with those conducted by local residents. It is particularly important to get surveys from some of the parks that are not normally visited by bird watchers. 

If you’re up for a challenge, you can visit all of the sites. There are 11 in Lake Forest Park, 4 in Seattle, 6 in Eastern King County, and 3 in Snoqualmie Ridge. 

You can find a list of the locations here, https://www.lfpbirds.org/get-involved/survey-locations 

If you’re staying local, only Grace Cole, Horizon View, Whispering Willow, and Lyon Creek Waterfront Parks are currently considered birding hotspots on eBird. 

It would be great to get more observations from the other sites, too! As species distributions change over the year, the researchers would be happy to receive surveys from all seasons.

If you're new to birding and want to help out, start here, https://www.lfpbirds.org/get-involved/new-to-birding



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LFP Garden Tour for Stress Relief…

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Stress relief

Lake Forest Park Garden Market and Tour of six LFP gardens - Saturday, June 18, 2022 from 9am to 3pm

By Beth Weir

When asked about stress relief, gardeners will roll their eyes and tell you being outside with their plants provides it without doubt. That comment is usually followed by one about shopping for said plants. 

Buying them provides gardeners the pleasure of wondering where to put them, especially when the garden is already full.

Garden Market 

The good news? Visitors to the 2022 Lake Forest Park Secret Garden Tour will be able to plant-shop around touring the gardens on show. Better yet, shoppers will be able to engage with the owners of the nurseries who will be selling their goods. 

These are folks who are really in the know about where you should plant anything you purchase from them and can tell you how much water is too much. Chatting about such matters is, as plant shoppers know, part of the pleasure of the purchase.

Among the horticultural goodies to be found in 2022 are Japanese Maples from Blue Frog Nursery and species rhododendrons from Chimacum Woods. 

If perennials, shrubs, hardy fuchsia, scented geraniums are in your sights, Lee Farms and Nursery will be pleased to oblige. Native and woodland plants are to be found in abundance at the Rosehill Nursery booth. 

Plant starts along with all sorts of seeds, flower bombs, bee houses, decorative row markers and more are yours to be had from Grass to Gardens. And if it happens that you are looking for art to go in your garden, Blue Raven Glassworks will have something that appeals.

Once you are on tour you may spy the plant you have just purchased in maturity and full glory in one of the six gardens you can visit. This year a one-of-a-kind rhododendron will be showing off its peach-colored bloom and you can be sure there will be fuchsia and geraniums of interest besides. 

As a teaser check out some of the gardens that have been on the tour in the past. www.secretgardensoflakeforestpark.com/photos/

Besides plants, visitors will be able to talk to folks from nonprofit and community organizations who will be happy to share with you what they do. 

These are groups such as Dunn Gardens, King County Noxious Weed Control Program, the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation, and Lake Forest Park Water District; all engage in work that that help make our city so livable. 

Also, be sure to stop at the Tilth Alliance booth where you can find someone to talk to about the Garden Hotline. That is where visitors can get splendid advice about plants and natural yard care, not to mention some free seeds.

The Garden Market is open the day of the tour from 9am to 3pm on the lower level of the Lake Forest Park Town Center, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park. 98155.

More information on the tour and tickets at lfpgardentour.com

The Secret Garden Tour of Lake Forest Park looks forward to seeing you on Saturday June 18, 2022 from 9am to 3pm.

Advance tickets: $15.00 
  • LFP Garden Tour 
  • at Wild Birds LFP, 
  • Third Place Books LFP, 
  • Sky Nursery and
  • Sundays at the LFP Farmers Market.
General Admission: $20.00 
  • day of tour at the Town Center lower level entrance.


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Domestic birds are at risk for bird flu - keep them inside, away from wild birds

Sunday, June 5, 2022

Public Health advises keeping domestic birds in coops
Photo courtesy KC Public Health
Several wild ducks and geese in King County have tested positive for bird flu. 

These birds were found both on private property and in public parks in Seattle and Bellevue.
 
Do not approach or touch wild birds, particularly if they appear ill or are dead. 

Do not try to transport wild birds or keep them in your house or yard.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife may be able to pick up the sick or dead birds: 

Report online at bit.ly/sickwildbirds or call 360-902-2200, press 4, and leave a detailed voicemail.

 

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For the Birds: Tree-huggers Supreme - the Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Chestnut-backed eating seeds from a cup
Story by Christine Southwick
Photos by Craig Kerns

Most everyone in this area knows our endearing Black-capped Chickadees, but not everyone has the tree-lover Chestnut-backed Chickadees. 

These noisy ambitious and acrobatic chickadees prefer the wet darker forests but will readily come to nearby feeders.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees have chestnut coloring on their backs and under their wings. 

Their heads are dark brown, not black like the Blacked-capped Chickadees. 

Their song is a little buzzier than black-capped. Some locals say they have a Scottish burr to their calls.

Did you know these handsome chickadees only live in the Pacific Northwest (northern California into lower Alaska)? 

I didn’t. Maybe their coloration evolved to enhance their survivorship in their treeland habitats.

Chestnut-backed finding larvae in flowers
They thrive in the thicker and usually wetter coastal forests, which used to cover all of our area (Ivar’s Acres of Clams song is a great reminder of our timbered past). 

People with tall evergreens in their yards will have these delightful denizens.

These chickadees are cavity nesters meaning they need dead trees, or trees with dead limbs where they make their own holes in these softer spots. 

The male makes the hole, or uses an old woodpecker nest hole, and if the female approves, she accepts vegetation offered by the male.

Chestnut-backed using fur for its nest
She will line the nest with moss, weave together grass, feathers and found fur, and will even use a thin layer of fur to cover the eggs when exiting the nest. 

Nesting period is generally 18-21 day, and egg count can vary from 1 to usually about 6. 

Both parents feed their young.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees will often arrive at a feeder in groups, unlike Black-capped Chickadees which have a hierarchical rule of one-at-a-time at a feeder.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees eat suet all year long
Chestnut-backs usually are found high up in local evergreens, gleaning all those tasty bugs, often hanging upside down, but being opportunists, they can also be found in yards with native shrubs of varying heights. 

Currently they are de-bugging my crabapple tree.

Being cavity nesters, they will often use a nesting box. 

They like seasoned wood, so put the box up by early January. They will find it while travelling in their mixed-species winter groups.

Chestnut-backed Chickadees eat lots of bugs, especially larva, and will come to suet. 

In the fall they also eat blackberries and other small fruits. They like seeds and will eat shelled peanuts.

Logging is reducing their numbers, so keep as many of your trees as you can.



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Birds in the Backyard: Black-headed grosbeaks returning north for the summer

Monday, May 23, 2022

Photo by Jan Hansen

Jan Hansen reported that "This is my first sighting of a black-headed grosbeak. They migrate in from Mexico and are usually high up in our forests, but here he is on my deck!"

Photo by Jan Hansen

This is the second grosbeak sighting in Shoreline - so watch for them while the weather remains cool. 

Photo by Jan Hansen

The "large beaks" are pretty unmistakable, as are the distinctive markings.

--Diane Hettrick



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Birds in the Backyard: Evening grobeaks

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Photo copyright Steve Schneider

We have two pair of Evening Grosbeak visiting for a few days. 

Photo copyright Steve Schneider

It's been hard to get a shot of them in the trees. 
They seem to fly in and eat and then fly out. 

Photo copyright Steve Schneider

Luckily, I caught them resting in the tree. A very pretty bird.

--Steve Schneider



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Birds in the Backyard: Cedar waxwing

Saturday, May 21, 2022


Photo by Steve Schneider

A Cedar Waxwing stopped by for a visit a few days ago. It is the first time that I have seen one in our yard. 

Photo by Steve Schneider

I was photographing two pair of Grosbeaks when I saw the Waxwing. I'm glad I was sitting on my deck with my camera.

--Steve Schneider



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qWátəb “Clam Garden” on our shores

Friday, May 20, 2022

David Burge explaining history of clam garden
By Sally Yakasaki

Have you taken a walk on a beach and pondered the history that lay at your feet? 

Local History Field Trip #2 qWátəb : Duwamish Clam Garden, taught me to do just that.

On a beautiful low tide day over 40 people gathered at Carkeek Park to listen and learn from local historian and author David Buerge as he told us about qWátəb: Lushootseed for clam garden. 

On the field trip he also shared other historic information.

David is author of Chief Seattle book
Buerge is the author of the book, “Chief Seattle and the Town that Took His Name.”

According to Buerge, clam gardens at Carkeek Park were tended by the Sheel shol AHBSH (šilšola’bš) the people of Salmon Bay in Ballard.

The gardens were sections of beach where the people removed large and small boulders to provide more space for clams to live, feed and propagate. 

The gardens were developed at the mouths of streams that brought nutrients down to the beach, enriching the clam diet, explained Buerge.

With some clam gardens, in order to provide food and more nutrients, the people would make a line of smaller rocks placed on the seaward side to break up wave action and keep the nutrients in place.

Buerge and group at Carkeek Park
At Carkeek Park, Buerge, pointed along the beach highlighting a line of big boulders that were cleared to make an open space for clam beds. 

These clam gardens enabled people to domesticate mollusks.

In addition to domesticating mollusks, Buerge discussed the domestication of plants. 

Stinging nettles were one example of a plant that was raised.

“They had fields and fields of stinging nettles; a thousand acres of them up on Whidbey Island,” said Buerge. 
“They would raise them because the outer skin of the stems of stinging nettles were very fibrous and strong.” 

The stems of the stinging nettles would then be made into nets.

David Buerge, K Kelly from Knowing Place, and Kenneth Doutt, Director at the Shoreline Historical Museum

Buerge described the duck catching nets that were made and how they were used. 

“They had these big-long nets. There was one at Agate Pass that was 700 feet long. It probably wasn’t the length of the net, but the lines that elevated the net across Agate Pass.”
“They would raise these nets up at nighttime or on foggy days and then scare the birds so that birds would take flight and get caught in the nets and then drop down and the people would pick them up -- thousands of birds around 15 pounds each.” explained Buerge.
“Back then, there were as many birds in this area as there were salmon migrating up in the streams. And this was a source of protein equal to that in fish. Domesticating mollusks and plants back then was a really remarkable engagement with the environment,” Buerge said.

Field trip #2 at Carkeek Park

More field Trips are being planned. If you would like to be notified of the next upcoming fields trips, you can reference the Shoreline Historical Museum at:

If you would like to learn more about the Duwamish tribe, visit: https://www.duwamishtribe.org



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