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

Gloria's Birds: Hocus pocus -- First there is a bill, then there is none!

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Now you see it
Photo by Gloria Z. Nagler

Now you don't!
Photo by Gloria Z. Nagler
And what a bill! Longer than the bird itself. I'm often moved by how hard birds like this Wilson's Snipe work for their daily sustenance.

--Gloria Z. Nagler


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Backyard Birds: The Tweet

Saturday, January 21, 2023

 
Photo by Jan Hansen

You don't need an app for this Tweet!






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Gloria's Birds: The three pals showed up eagerly for ballet auditions...

Friday, January 13, 2023

Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler
 
Swan Lake would be opening soon!

(Well, maybe Ring-billed Gull Lake, eh?)

--Gloria Z. Nagler



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Gloria's Birds: Hey gang, git over here!

Thursday, January 5, 2023

 
Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler

Photog's doin' complimentary portraits for any boid wid a crest!
(Sally the Steller's Jay, putting on her version of a Chicago accent to please photog, a native thereof:)

--Gloria Z. Nagler



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Gloria's Birds: He liked to croon Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve...

Saturday, December 31, 2022

 
Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler

(Willie the American Wigeon fancied himself a ringer for ol' Blue Eyes... except Willie would be ol' Blue Beak:)

--Gloria Z. Nagler



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For the Birds: Hummers need winter nectar

Sunday, December 25, 2022

Feeder under eave with trouble light keeping it
 and the area warm Photo by Craig Kerns
By Christine Southwick

When the winter cold temperatures start making the hummingbird feeders freeze up, it is time for extra attention. 

Because of their high metabolism hummingbirds always have a thin margin between adequate nutrition and starvation, especially when insects are scarce.

“Anna's hummingbirds eat more insects than any other North American hummingbird, and this may help them in bad weather. 
"It is thought that Anna's hummingbirds are able to spend the winter so far north because they eat more insects and spiders than most hummingbirds.”  kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/annas-hummingbird 

As long as there are no cats, putting a feeder
under shelter can keep nectar warmer.
Photo by Elaine Chuang
Anna’s are able to eat spiders and bugs wedged in crevices to supplement their instant nectar shots. These little smarties know where to look, but ice makes it hard to get to them.

To help conserve their energy, Anna’s Hummingbirds are able to down-shift their metabolism by entering “torpor” where heart rate and body temperature are reduced to a bare minimum of about 40 beats per minute (down from 400) and body temp about 48F (down from 107F).

Many other hummingbird species do this, like the ones in the Andes.

When temperatures get below 30 degrees people with hummingbird feeders need to keep them from freezing. 

One way is to bring them in at night, but Anna’s feed very early in the morning, often before sunrise, because our long northern nights make it too long to wait any longer, so you need to put them out early, early. 

Rotating a couple of feeders throughout the day works but requires diligence.

Anna's Hummer on covered
heated feeder. Photo by Mary
Another way to keep the feeders from freezing is to put the feeder under an eave and shine an incandescent light near it to keep the feeder area warm, or one can buy a hummingbird feeder heater.

Adding a baffle over a feeder will keep the snow and ice off the feeder ports, protect the hummers, and keep the feeder a little warmer during the cold. 

Hand warmers and incandescent Christmas light work marginally, but not down into the teens.

It is important to clean your feeders about once a week during cold weather.

Keep the nectar solution at four-parts water to one-part cane sugar. Don’t believe the myth that the ratio should be changed in cold weather.

These little bundles of energy bring us delight as we watch them zipping around. Help keep them alive by keeping their nectar liquid during cold spells.



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Help count birds for science during Audubon’s Annual Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 17, 2022

Friday, December 9, 2022

The Pilchuck Audubon Society invites birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts to participate in the longest running community science survey – the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC). 

On Saturday, December 17, 2022 birders and bird-enthusiasts will take part in this century-long project once again.

“Over the past few years we’ve made an effort to increase the number of people counting the birds in their yards and at their feeders. This is really important as so much of our count area consists of residential areas. 
"To get the full picture of how many birds we have and of which species, we need to survey more than just our parks,” says Brian Zinke, Executive Director of the Pilchuck Audubon Society.

Birders of all ages are welcome to contribute to this fun, nationwide community science project, which provides scientists and conservationists with a crucial snapshot of our native bird populations during the winter months.


Areas 1 and 9S are in King county

The Edmonds/South Snohomish County CBC is performed in a count circle with a diameter of 15 miles that is centered near Martha Lake in Lynnwood. This circle includes south Snohomish cities (but not Woodway), part of north Shoreline, and a large portion of Lake Forest Park.

In 2021, 101 people participated by counting birds in their yards at 71 locations. This was in addition to the 96 people who participated on field teams surveying our parks, greenbelts, and other places birds congregate. The yard counters detected 3,039 birds belonging to 49 species. This accounted for 11% of the birds detected on the count.

The yard counters found 100% of the Band-tailed Pigeons, 71% of the Anna’s Hummingbirds, 80% of the Hairy Woodpeckers, 52% of the Chestnut-backed Chickadees, and 73% of the Townsend’s Warblers. 

Overall, the yard counters had a significant positive impact on the success of the count. Complete results of the 2021 Edmonds/South County CBC can be found on the Pilchuck Audubon website.

To participate by counting birds in your yard and/or at your feeders, please confirm that you live within the count circle using the zoomable map on the Pilchuck Audubon website

If you’d like to participate or have questions, please contact Brian Zinke at director@pilchuckaudubon.org.

Each year, the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count mobilizes over 75,000 volunteer bird counters in more than 2,500 locations across the Western Hemisphere. 

The Audubon Christmas Bird Count utilizes the power of volunteers to track the health of bird populations at a scale that scientists could never accomplish alone. 

Data compiled in the South Snohomish and Northern King County area will record every individual bird and bird species seen in a specified area, contributing to a vast community science network that continues a tradition stretching back more than 100 years.

To date, over 200 peer-reviewed articles have resulted from analysis done with Christmas Bird Count data. Bird-related community science efforts are also critical to understanding how birds are responding to a changing climate. 

This documentation is what enabled Audubon scientists to discover that 314 species of North American birds are threatened by climate change as reported in Audubon’s groundbreaking Survival by Degrees: 389 Bird Species on the Brink. The tradition of counting birds combined with modern technology and mapping is enabling researchers to make discoveries that were not possible in earlier decades.

For photos of local birds, check the For the Birds columns of Christine Southwick.


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For the Birds: Tiny Bug-eating Birds

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Female bushtit
Photo by Craig Kerns
By Christine Southwick

Have you seen a group of small birds darting from one bush to the next toward your suet feeder?

Consider yourself lucky (and also a good steward of a healthy yard). You have Bushtits!

Bushtits are tiny, weighing only 0.18-0.21 ounces (about 2 pennies) making them one of the smallest passerines (perching birds) in North America.

These little guys only live in the west where there are shrubs, bushes, and open tree canopy.

Male Bushtit fluffed up to stay warm
Photo by Craig Kerns
This makes sense when you realize that they eat insects found on shrubs, flowers, tree leaves and needles, really anywhere that bugs like to hide, including blackberries. 

Their acrobatic positions while finding their food are fun to watch as they often cling upside-down like chickadees do.

These diminutive balls of fluff fly in small flocks, usually darting one or two at a time from one bush to another with members on both sides making contact chatter, almost as if the wide-open spaces between branches are too daunting without flock support.

Small bushtit flock eating suet
Photo by Elaine Chuang
Bushtits eat those tiny scale insects that like flowering currants and other plants, plus aphids and leafhoppers, even spiders - a bug-eating reason to protect these gregarious spritely birds.

Their tail is almost half the length of their body, and this proportion results in a high rate of body heat loss, so in cold weather they must eat about 80% of their weight a day. 

Freezing weather kills the bugs they need, so offering them suet is vitally important.

Bushtits sleep together for warmth, and in the summer they will sleep in their unusual foot-long pendant-hanging nests made of lichen and held together by spider webbing lined with feathers, hanging from a branch.

Flock eating much needed suet during cold spell
Photo by L. Topinka
I have not yet found one of their nests in my yard, but I know a nest has to be nearby because every summer I have a nesting pair eating in my yard, the only time that Bushtits don’t fly in a flock.

Bushtits often come to a favorite feeding area about the same each day. I usually miss “my” flock since it usually eats about noon in my yard, and I don’t hear their soft calls unless I am outside. 

In the winter they may also fly with chickadees, probably because more eyes find more food.

Hang a suet feeder where you can see it—the ones with a cage around it will let more Bushtits eat at the same time. 

You and the Bushtits will be glad you did.



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Bog Whisperer: Snow birds of Shoreline

Monday, December 5, 2022

Photo by Martin De Grazia
The snow, ice, and cold weather gave Bog Whisperer Martin De Grazia a chance to see the Bog Birds in different ways.

For example, this flock of geese, unconcerned about the snow on their backs - and they're not even Snow Geese!

Photo by Martin De Grazia
The Bog is actually quite shallow and often freezes over in cold weather. The crows don't usually spend time on lakes, so this is a novelty for them (and us!) They seem to be co-existing just fine with the killdeer in the background, who look a little puzzled at the icy footing.

Photo by Martin De Grazia
The heron sits in his usual tree, unperturbed by the snow clinging to the bark. I have to admit that when I first looked at the photo in a thumbnail version, I didn't see the bird. Even now, his feathers look much like the bark of his tree.

Martin says that the otters love the ice, swimming under it and popping up through the thin crust. Their dens have underwater entrances, so they are quite comfortable in this weather.

Ronald Bog is between I-5 and Meridian Ave N, with the entrance to the park on N 175th.

--Diane Hettrick



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Cormorants at the Bog

Saturday, November 26, 2022

 
Photo by Martin De Grazia

Suddenly Ronald Bog seems to be full of birds. Maybe it's the rain and change of weather. These are cormorants. We have a lot in the area. Besides the Bog there is a cormorant nesting tree by Echo Lake. Cormorants are often seen at Lake Washington and Puget Sound.

Christine Southwick wrote an article about them in her For the Birds column which we previously published: Cormorants, the Fishing Birds.

--Diane Hettrick



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Garden Guy: Autumn tasks in the garden

Monday, November 14, 2022

Photo courtesy simplysmartgardening.com
By Bruce Bennett

I don’t usually write Tasks-of-the-Month type articles. But, with this year’s unusual weather, more questions concerning tasks for the end of our most recent gardening season have been asked of me and we shall follow that path of discussion this month. 

My short answer to most inquiries for the last two months has been, “Yes, gardening for this season is nearly over AND there are still several tasks which can be completed now in order to make your initial spring gardening efforts easier to manage.

First, clean-up garden debris. This is especially true for a vegetable garden. The remnants of herbaceous plants, leaves, stalks, etc., should be removed and added to the compost pile. If the plant was diseased or infested, put it in the yard waste container for removal. Our home compost piles simply do not generate enough of their own heat to destroy all overwintering insects and pathogens. After cleaning the beds, spread some (1”-3”) of compost on the area and let it fuel next spring’s growth. Time permitting, digging-in this amendment will help to loosen the soil for next planting cycle.

Leave the seed heads for the birds
Photo courtesy extension.unh.edu
In the perennial beds, leave the stems of flowers in the garden as well as some leaf litter on the ground. The stems and leaves provide habitat for overwintering beneficial insects, amphibians and reptiles. Again, if there were issues with disease, this plant debris should be thrown away. 

Also, remember to leave the seed heads of grasses and perennials for your winter birds (think Echinacea and berry-bearing plants). Sanitation is always the best and least costly way to reduce next year’s disease problems.

For soil-level planting beds, now would be good time to edge beds. The rain will have softened the soil to make the job easier. Doing it now, in the slow-season, will alleviate the chore from the busy springtime. When the weather warms again, all that will need to be done is a final bed early-season clean-up and, if needed, the addition of a fresh layer of mulch and, I suppose, the addition of some new plantings you saw at the NW Flower and Garden Show. When edging, use a square tipped shovel. This will give you a nice, clean cut.

Bulbs can still be planted
Photo courtesy americanmeadows.com
Remember to take advantage of end-of-season sales that may still be going on in favorite garden centers. Seeds may have a lower germination rate, but will still grow quite nicely. 

In our USDA Zone 8, bulbs can still be planted. Inspect them for firmness before planting. Do not allow them to touch when in the ground. Crocus, alliums, tulips and hyacinths are especially easy to survive a late fall planting. Same spring color impacts with a smaller outlay of cash.

Because our ground hardly ever freezes or does so to a very shallow depth, shrubs and trees can still be planted and actually do better than if planted in spring. Roots have a longer bit of time to develop before stressful weather affects them. Remember not to install the plant any deeper in the ground than it was in its growing container. 

If planting an individual specimen, backfill with the native soil that you took out of the hole. However, if you are planting an entire bed with multiple plants, adding a couple of inches of topdressing compost to the bed and working it in as plants are installed is an easy initial slow-release fertilizer process. 

Keep these newly planted perennials, shrubs and trees watered until the winter rains take over the skies. Often, the death of an autumn- planted shrub or tree is due to our lack of watering, not problems with the plant itself. A general rule of thumb is that the plant needs one inch of water per week, either through rainfall, or garden hose.

Cover your fish pond with netting
Photo courtesy pondexperts.ca
If you have a garden pond that contains fish and water plants, covering the area with netting may be a good task autumn. 

The netting will keep leaves out of the water as well as also keeping blue herons and raccoons from a robust smorgasbord. Once the pond lilies and other plant cover is gone, there is little to protect the fish. Think about adding a tarp over just a portion of the pond.

Hopefully, all your tender plants have been dug up. If not, elephant ears, cannas, callas, etc. should be dug up and stored in a cool, dry location for the winter. 

Tropical plants, like hibiscus, citrus, Norfolk Island pine, and other houseplants should be inside by the end September. 

When bringing them in for the winter, check them for insects. Mealy bugs, aphids and scale like to come in where it’s warm. Particularly check in the leaf axils, stems of the plants and surface of the planting mix. Use an insecticidal soap or an all-seasons oil spray for houseplants before bringing them in. Once they are inside, check them, at least, monthly.

Keep a garden journal
Photo by thisismygarden.com
And in your down time this November, make notes as to what was successful in the garden and what was a failure. Determine whether the failures were due to weather, bad placement, or just improper care. 

Question the successes – did the plants do well because of the rain? Or the sun? Or the attention given to those particular plants? This will help in planning for next year’s garden, whether it’s the vegetable garden, perennial garden, containers, or shrubs and trees. 

Keeping a garden journal becomes a great tool throughout the gardening season in those successes and failures. It is the first reference book used when ordering seeds and choosing plants for next season’s garden.∂∂∂ƒSo there’s lots that still needs to be done before calling the garden season over. 

Outside chores abound, from planting, edging, cutting back and turning compost, to preparing for indoor gardening – growing holiday plants and forcing bulbs. 

Preparing for the holiday decorations becomes a "top of the list" as we approach the end of the month. Enjoy all things gardening, grow plants and enjoy the month of Thanksgiving! Happy gardening all!

Garden Guy Bruce Bennett
Contributing columnist, Bruce Bennett, is a Master Gardener, garden designer and lecturer. 

If you have questions concerning this article and your own landscape or care to suggest a gardening topic for a future column, contact Bruce at gardenguy4u@gmail.com.



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For the Birds: Tipsy Birds?

Monday, November 7, 2022

American Robin eating old berries Fermented? maybe....
Photo by Craig Kerns
By Christine Southwick

Have you ever seen a drunken robin or two, or perhaps a flock of impaired Cedar Waxwings? Quite comical. They wobble, they weave, they lay down, sometimes they hang upside down. And they sing off-key. As long as no loose cats find them, and said birds don’t fly into windows, the birds recover well.

A result of our wet spring was the loss of many early fruits. I had lots of serviceberry and crabapple fruits set, only to die from all the wet. And then the long hot dry spell caused the blackberries (which many people try to eliminate, but which local and migrating birds depend upon) to shrivel up and dry out. Fruits that robins, juncos, song sparrows, towhees, chickadees, wrens, and nuthatches depend upon are hard to find now. 

Band-tailed Pigeons eating berries while upside down--who knew?
Photo by Craig Kerns

The birds may eat any fruit they find. Mountain Ash, which bloomed a little later here, seem to have had successful crops. What fruits are still hanging could become fermented, especially after the first frost, so watch for drunken birds. Apples may also be suspect.

The main reason that our local birds delayed nesting this last spring was that the wet cold weather resulted in few bugs, especially very few caterpillars.

Fox Sparrows come to our milder winter area, and find
delectables in the leaves. Photo by Craig Kerns
This had a snowball effect-late babies, combined with the dry heat and smoke meant that parent birds were still tending some of their young into September, which meant they were catching bugs for their young and not coming to the feeders as often, which also caused the adults to change (molt) their feathers later, traditionally a time when they don’t come to the feeders much. 

People kept asking why their birds weren’t coming to their feeders and suet; now that the rains have arrived, they are back.

Female Anna's hummingbird drinking much needed
 nectar during cold weather. Photo by Craig Kerns
Backyard birds depend upon bugs all year long to survive. Baby birds are fed instant-energy caterpillars, spiders, mosquitoes, and other available bugs. Without these bugs many birds, especially the young ones, would die. 

With winter coming, spiders and other delectables are found under leaves, so keep some leaves on the ground for hungry birds. 

Bugs are best but suet can help fill in the void.

Sudden cold weather (for this area) means that you should put out suet now, for instant warming energy, keep the seed in your feeders dry, and keep your hummingbird feeders clean and liquid.

And watch for those tipsy birds…



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Gloria's Birds: Gisele had a sure-fire remedy for a crowded freeway...a flyover!

Thursday, November 3, 2022

 
Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler

(Limited, of course, to creatures with wings:). The other Canada Geese were running from a sudden influx of "outsider" geese. Gisele was evidently too anxious to go with the flow, so she hopped a coupla times and then took flight. Funny how much the other animals are like us, eh?)

On the shores of Lake Washington the other day.

--Gloria Z. Nagler



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Gallery North announces the November 2022 Featured Artist Exhibits

“Pacific Northwest Visions in Color” by local artist Theresa Williams and “Clay: No Limits” original ceramic art by local artist Diane Kallaway.


The public is invited to come to Gallery North and meet the artists and enjoy refreshments on November 12th, from 1pm to 4pm, and during the Edmonds Art Walk on November 17th from 5pm to 8pm.

Summer falls by Theresa Williams
Theresa Williams is a Tlingit Alaska Native who grew up in Edmonds. She is a certified Native Tribal Artist with the Tlingit and Haida Central Council of Indian Tribes of Alaska. 

Her paintings have been shown in the juried exhibits at both the Edmonds Arts Festival and Shoreline Arts Festival. 

She has also participated in the ShoreLake Arts 6x6 Art fundraising event. Examples of her work include Jumping for Joy (a breaching Orca), Summer Falls (Snoqualmie Falls), and Cannon Beach Beauty (Haystack Rock), all of which show her use of bold and vibrant color.

“I love when people are looking at my work and come up to me and tell me ‘I’d love to go to that place!’” 

So often Theresa has been to that ‘place’ as she typically uses her own photos as references. She is especially inspired by the majestic Pacific Northwest Mountains, Puget Sound, the gorgeous sunsets over the Olympics, the beaches, lakes, and varied wildlife of the majestic Pacific Northwest.

Pottery by Diane Kallaway
Diane Kallaway is a Shoreline resident and among her many interests she has collected pottery her whole life. It wasn’t until seven years ago that she finally made the decision to make some herself. 

Self-taught and dedicated to constant learning and experimenting, she finds ways to express all her passions through ceramic arts. 

“There really are no limits and the variety drives my creativity.”

Hand decorating wheel thrown forms with original carvings or leaves and a wide variety of stoneware glazes make each piece unique. 

Her love of birds inspires hand sculpted and glazed nuthatches, sparrows, and loons; hand painted wild bird eggs and nests made from nature. 

Her love of food and pottery meet at a delicious crossroad as she considers roasted carrots in a cobalt blue bowl or a wild rice and kale soup in a wide rimmed bowl of speckled green. 

 All the work is mid-fire stoneware, applied with lead-free glazes, oven proof, and dishwasher safe. This is Diane’s first public showing and is excited to share the results of her passion for all things clay.

Gallery North has been in operation for more than 60 years, continuing its mission to promote and sell local art in the heart of beautiful downtown Edmonds. It is located at 401 Main Street in Edmonds, open 7 days a week from 11-5. For further information please visit the Gallery North website at www.gallerynorthedmonds.com or call the gallery at 425-774-0946.



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Birds in the Backyard: Foragers

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

 
Photo by John Wolfe

Photo by John Wolfe

The recent rains have made foraging a successful endeavor for our feathered neighbors - flickers included.



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Native Plants and Bird Habitat is the focus of the November 8, 2022 LFP Garden Club meeting

Monday, October 31, 2022

Ed Dominguez, Audubon Society
Photo: Mick Thompson
Lake Forest Park Garden Club will be meeting in person on November 8, 2022 at 9:30am for the general meeting and then a short break for cookies and then our special speaker at 10:30am until about noon. 

We will be meeting at the intersection of Bothell Way NE and Ballinger Way NE at Town Center on the upper level at the stage area in Third Place Commons. Our speaker this month is a member of the Audubon Society: Ed Dominguez, Lead Naturalist

A native of Mount Shasta, Ed obtained his Bachelors and Masters degrees from California State University. Growing up in the southern Cascade Range, Ed was introduced to the plants and animals of the mountains at an early age by his father. 

Knowledgeable in geology, trees, wildflowers, and mammals, Ed particularly enjoys birding and bird songs. He is passionate about environmental education and leads owl prowls, bat walks, nature hikes, and presents evening programs on a variety of naturalist topics. When not working at the Center, Ed plays music and leads climbs with the Seattle Mountaineers. He lives in the Madrona neighborhood just north of Seward Park.

Topic: Native Plants and Bird Habitat. Attracting birds to your garden space.

Great meeting for bird lovers

You are welcome to attend two of our meeting for no cost and then after that we would like you to join our club. The fee for the year is $25. We meet from September to May and take off December for a Christmas party. 

We usually have a Soiree and a potluck picnic in the summer months. Each month we have a great newsletter to inform you of the upcoming events and also some great gardening tips. 

We have top quality speakers for the experienced and novice gardener to learn from. Please come and join us. If you have any questions please call Jan at 206-362-5475.



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Caring for our Environment, Urban Forests and Trees

Friday, October 28, 2022

Boeing Creek Park photo by Melody Fosmore
By Melody Fosmore

Whether it’s your own backyard, neighborhood or neighboring park, the first step is to become aware of the environment around you. 

Why should we care? Because we are a part of this ecosystem, we all call home. Imagine if we had not enough trees to provide shade or filter the stormwater which runs through our watersheds and into the Salish Sea which in turn provides nutrients to our local sea life - or imagine the loss of birds which keeps the insect population in check or provide bird songs? Even when weather is changing, make time to visit nearby woods alone and spend time in quiet observation.

Illustration courtesy 
https://www.traversotree.com/mature-during-drought/
Wildlife
: Get to know the wildlife that comes into your yard or neighborhood. What birds, squirrels and other larger mammals do you see? 

Do you live near a bog or water – do you observe otters, beavers, snakes, frogs, salamanders or fish? Do you see or hear owls? Bats? 

All of these animals and amphibians need the ecosystem to survive and our trees play a major role in their survival. And frankly, so do we. 

If you are lucky to have tall trees on your property you can help with habitat diversity in your yard. 

Suggestions include having a good ground layer including some downed wood for hiding and nests; a shrub layer for the birds to hide; and a strong overstory with mixed species of trees including broadleaf trees as they provide the most food and nesting value for birds and squirrels. 

Also, try not to rake up all of your leaves as that provides nutrients for the soil and hiding places for our wildlife.

Flagging on cedar trees
photo by Melody Fosmore
Trees and water
: During the fall you will see ‘flagging’ on our cedar trees. This is a healthy part of the cedar tree's life cycle. 

However, the heat waves of the past couple of years have affected the health of our tall trees and you can help by watering these trees during the warmer and dry spells. 

Once a week, about an inch of water to the soil, under the entire canopy diameter, is adequate. No need to overwater – and don’t let water sprinklers hit the bark of trees, they can physically damage the bark, causing fungus disease, and algae, inviting insect trouble.

Are you seeing signs of tree stress? Trees gain their growth from the crown, and so it’s at the top of the tree where you might see distress. No new growth, or the tip dying back is a warning sign. The heat dome of 2021 is really showing up now in our tree canopy. Even with the rain now here, continue to water just to re-saturate the water table. Monitor your tall trees for hazard branches that may require removal and always consult an arborist before you take a tree down. There may be hope!

 
Wildlife snag
photo by Melody Fosmore
A Wildlife Snag: Do you have a dead or dying tree in your yard? Ask the tree cutter to leave a 10-15’ snag. Bats, pileated woodpeckers, even raccoons love these snags for food and nesting. Bats love snags for their daytime sleep. Birds and bats help keep our insect populations in balance. 

The snags may not look ‘pretty’ but they provide an essential service to our local wildlife. I personally have enjoyed many moments of observing all the animals and birds enjoying a snag in my yard. The pileated woodpeckers are especially wonderful to observe.

Nesting boxes: Birds love nesting boxes in safe locations high enough off the ground from predators (including house cats). The boxes will need to be cleaned every year. See the attached resource in the list below for safe ways to hang a birdhouse.

Root damage
photo by Melody Fosmore
A kind note about dogs and our parks
: I am a dog lover so I understand the joy of walking your dog in our open woods. 

However, please bear in mind their impact - dogs running through salmonid bearing streams don't just spread disease to the water, they also tear up the reeds where the fish lay their eggs. 

And, they can expose tree roots which then become non-functional and compromise the health of the tree. 

Best to control their footprint and keep our woods healthy. 

Keeping on the trail and not creating new trails also protects nesting, trees and the entire ecosystem. Leaving no trace and a light footprint protects our parks for all to enjoy.

Enjoy the bounty of our environment and remember - everything works together and mankind benefits from the ecosystem, not the other way around!

Resources:
Melody Fosmore is the Co-Chair of Save Shoreline Trees



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Gloria's Birds: You'd better hop to it and press that shutter, photog; I sense something bad's gonna happen!

Monday, October 17, 2022

 
Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler

(Jana, sitting for her annual portrait, had good instincts, I did snap in time, and no Steller's Jays were harmed in the making of this image:)

--Gloria Z. Nagler




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Gloria's Birds: Julian's nosedive (beakdive?) took him nearly out of the frame,

Wednesday, October 5, 2022

 
Photo copyright Gloria Z. Nagler

but he nonetheless selected this image for his résumé portrait... shows moxie, he said.

(Julian's a Steller's Jay diving to the seed tray:)

--Gloria Z. Nagler




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For the Birds: Fall Is a Time of Change for Birds

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

American Robin eating mountain ash berries
(easy yard tree) Photo by Craig Kerns
By Chris Southwick

Gone are the Osprey and the warblers; incoming are the Snow Geese and other wintering birds.

Early last week our neighborhood was filled with the sounds of several different species arriving from the north to stay for their winter season. 

Incoming Dark-eyed Juncos and American Robins were both heard in numbers. 

Resident chickadees, Spotted Towhees, and Song Sparrows, even Red-breasted Nuthatches and Northern Flickers greeted these seasonal residents with a mix of contact calls.

Fox Sparrow use leaves to uncover bugs.
Preferred winter shelter is a blackberry thicket.
Photo by Craig Kerns
The robins we see in the summer have mostly flown further south, replaced by these northern birds. 

Many of the juncos we see in the winter also flew from the boreal forests in Canada to enjoy our milder winters, adding to our resident junco population. 

In eastern parts of the US, juncos are called “Snow Birds” because they are only present in the wintertime there.

There’s a noticeable change in bird sounds; our year-round birds have switched from territorial songs to mostly contact, “Here I am” calls. 

 Our resident Bewick’s Wrens are still 

You can help our wintering birds by providing food, water, and shelter.

Save leaves and seed heads. Keep a thickness of leaves somewhere in your yard. These can still be neat (or not), but they do make a difference.

Dark-eyed Junco drinking water, a vital
commodity. Photo by Craig Kerns
Leave a patch of flower heads for the juncos and sparrows which prefer seeds and keep some of your leaves on the ground where bug-eaters like towhees, Fox Sparrows, and wrens can find the bug meals they need.

Fresh water is always needed and will draw many birds. 

Shelter, like varying heights of shrubs, bushes, and trees help protect from inclement weather, and offer escape routes from predators. 

A small brush pile is a welcome retreat, and even a small patch of blackberries offers perfect winter protection.

Red-shafted Northern Flicker, male, using much
needed tree for shelter and nesting.
Photo by Craig Kerns
Another helpful action that you can do to save birds—dim outside lights. 

Birds mostly migrate at night for safety from predators, and bright lights often confuse them, causing them to fly into windows, circle large towers of lights, and generally get exhausted and die. 

Smaller wattage, non-bright white, and lighting pointing downward helps.

And something else to look forward to: 

Snow Geese should arrive from Wrangel Island, Russia, to the Skagit farm area in late October. Add some Tundra Swans. 




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