Tag: birds

An adult male pileated woodpecker feeds peanut butter suet to a juvenile male.

This Forest Icon is the Last of its Kind

When it comes to majestic birds, people often think of bald eagles and trumpeter swans. But would anyone call a woodpecker majestic? The 1800s and early 1900s were a period of unprecedented destruction across North America. Colossal forests were completely decimated to harvest … read more

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Hummingbirds feed on mosquitoes, other insects as well as flower nectar and feeders. (Photo courtesy Melinda Myers, LLC)

Chemical-Free Options for Managing Mosquitoes in Your Landscape

It’s time to get outside and enjoy summer barbecues, gardening, hikes and much more. Don’t let mosquitoes keep you inside. Instead, enlist chemical-free strategies to manage these pests in your landscape. Start by eliminating the mosquitoes’ breeding grounds. Drain the water out of buckets, old … read more

A male bushtit carries lichen for nesting material by Long Lake near Port Orchard.

The Pint-Sized Powerhouse of Structural Engineering

Small songbirds are easy to overlook. Most people will notice a bald eagle on a pole but will miss a little gray bird in a nearby shrub. In the world of birds, the largest ones will always make a lasting impression. Someone seeing … read more

A male varied thrush surveys its snowy surroundings.

The Varied Thrush Provides a Respite from the Winter Doldrums

Some people look forward to winter because they enjoy snow sports. Fans of NFL football love the playoffs. Others appreciate a reason to wear flannel and sip hot chocolate by a cozy fire. Birders see winter as the time to bundle up and … read more

An American dipper finds a tasty salmon egg in Chico Creek near Bremerton.

The Aquatic Songbird that Makes a Splash

Songbirds are not just frequent visitors to gardens and birdhouses. They are everywhere. Some species, like the dark-eyed junco, are ubiquitous, adapting to various environments. But others have special habitat requirements. For example, marsh wrens need marshes and sagebrush sparrows need sagebrush. A … read more

Cat doors in an upstairs window allow Tresco to come and go as he pleases.

A Catwalk Project Fit for a Builder and His Cat

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 … read more

Heermann’s gull in nonbreeding plumage strolls the beach at Point No Point County Park in Hansville.

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 … read more

You may have to look close to see them, but brown creepers may show up in your backyard, like this one on a big leaf maple.

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 … read more

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hummingbirds

How to Make Your Yard a Haven for Wildlife

Last month, my husband and I visited a small public garden in Southwest Washington called the Wildlife Botanical Gardens. The garden is a project of the NatureScaping organization, devoted to showing homeowners ways to attract birds and other wildlife to their yards by … read more

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