Wildlife, Fishing and Outdoors

On the Beach for the Birds

I always look forward to the annual Christmas Bird Count. This year it happened on Dec. 21, 2019. Part of the area me and my friends Susan and Bette Lu were assigned to was a 14-acre piece of …

Even from a distance, a bobcat resting near Chinook Valley Road became aware of having its photo taken on Jan. 4 near Chinook. Though not rare in Pacific, bobcats are rarely observed, being sh…

LONG BEACH and OCEAN PARK — Razor clam diggers can return to ocean beaches for seven days of digging beginning Jan. 8.

Adding a suet feeder to a variety of feeders and bird bath in the yard usually works very well if you want to see a few new species up close and personal.

PENINSULA — A type of fish rarely found north of San Francisco washed ashore on the Long Beach Peninsula during recent heavy surf.

ASTORIA — Beaver play a critical role in riparian and wetland systems, often creating better habitat in a site than humans can construct with big money and machinery. Beaver also can cause iss…

On this day as the king tides develop, the water comes closer to the house, and so too do the water birds and waders. It is time to enjoy being lakeside or on golden pond for a few days. The s…

OLYMPIA — Razor clam diggers can return to ocean beaches for five days of digging beginning Dec. 23 and continuing through Dec. 29 with a break in the middle for the Christmas holiday.

OLYMPIA — The Washington Salmon Recovery Funding Board on Dec. 16 announced awarding $26.1 million in grants for projects across the state aimed at bringing salmon back from the brink of extin…

A day last week was like no other for birds on our Peninsula. There is a most exciting rarity in town, the rustic bunting.

Soon, 269 more Oregon silverspot butterflies will be flying among the early blue violets along the West Coast, thanks to the Oregon Zoo’s butterfly conservation lab.

Twelve species of woodpeckers breed in the Pacific Northwest. They are excavating specialists, colorful, and energetic. Their behavior is interesting and they are fun to watch.

I pulled up a chair to see what excitement the November “king tides” would bring. They did not disappoint! A ribbon of water snaked its way inland from the bay up the path that was visible and…

The last two days have a been a whirlwind for viewing and counting shorebirds along with any diurnal raptors in the area that might influence the presence and numbers of shorebirds in the area…

Not that long ago, in February 2019, I wrote about the Sandhill cranes that overwinter on the Columbia Land Trust property on the Lower River Road in Vancouver, Washington. They were exciting …

The vast marine heatwave that spread warm temperatures across the northeast Pacific Ocean late in the summer and fall of 2019 has declined in size and pulled back from the West Coast, possibly…

Last year I wrote about the raptors and prey, such as the ducks and shorebirds, we can see during upcoming king tide days.

RAYMOND — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has closed Willapa Bay and its surrounding tributaries to all salmon fishing for the second year in a row.

When I walk in the yard or the field, around the wetland or among the trees, I learn more than just being stationary and looking out the window or from the deck at these habitats. So, I do a w…

It’s a blustery day. Mother Nature is winding up to produce gale force winds at the beach. The clouds have rolled in and grey is the color of the day. Nevertheless, two hardy souls decided to …

Lately, there have been several hundred magnificent big white birds feeding and resting in Young’s Bay. They stand out due to their very large wing span of about 9 feet, black flight feathers …

OLYMPIA — This summer, Weyerhaeuser enrolled 6,638 acres in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Private Lands Access program. WDFW reopened this section of forest as Feel Free to …

In the last few weeks we have learned that birds are speaking to us with an urgency like never before!

A few weeks ago a friend was lamenting the fact that she had to get busy and put her garden “to bed” for the winter, because the days and nights were beginning to get chilly. Flowers, grasses …

A few Saturdays ago, I was up at the crack of dawn so I could board the SeaBreeze Charters boat, the Four Seasons, for a trip out into ocean to find pelagic birds. Wings Over Willapa was in fu…

ASTORIA — Sea Star Wasting Syndrome (SSWS) has been recognized as one of the most widespread disease outbreaks documented in the ocean to date, with over 20 species of sea stars affected along…

SANDRIDGE ROAD — A rare butterfly species disappeared from the Long Beach Peninsula in 1990. Now, restoration of its vanished coastal prairie habitat at the South Bay Unit of Willapa National …

COLUMBIA RIVER — Recreational anglers this year over-harvested upriver bright fall Chinook, the stock of fish that can constrain recreational and commercial fishing times and locations through…

There was excitement on the beach this past week. Thousands of sanderlings, a few Caspian terns, flocks of Heermann’s gulls, several black-bellied plovers, glaucous-winged gulls, and the sight…

LONG BEACH and OCEAN PARK — Razor clam diggers can return to Long Beach-Ocean Park for a three-day opening beginning Sept. 27.

I was walking in a mixed forest of conifers and budding deciduous trees. There was the occasional open area in the woodland and a grassy road ran through it. On either side of the grassy roadw…

WILLAPA BAY — The Washington Department of Ecology last week announced a public comment period, an online workshop and a hearing in South Bend concerning ongoing efforts to limit the amount of…

One of the major keys to bird identification is behavior. Behavior includes such things as feeding, singing, moving, sitting and/or whether a bird is in a flock. Lately as full migration ramps…

Brian Winterlich and his son had a close encounter with a Columbia River humpback whale while fishing from a Hobie kayak at the Washington end of the Astoria-Megler Bridge on Sept. 7.

WILLAPA BAY — There are two kinds of bird enthusiasts. People who occasionally venture outdoors and those who lug their binoculars with them everywhere they go.

My friend Susan and I witnessed a dramatic take down on a recent birding trip to the Ilwaco Harbor and Baker Bay. A tasty meal was at stake for the predator and the prey was an easy mark. The …

Strollers on Benson Beach in Cape Disappointment State Park enjoyed the company of a female California sea lion Sunday evening, Sept. 1.

The yard is quiet. The songbirds of summer have been gradually leaving for their wintering areas and taking their voices with them. I miss their songs. I have spent a lot of time birding with …

WILLAPA BAY — Clad in their distinctive white lab coats, a dozen young scientists observed and noted details then tested hypotheses during the Oysterville Science Academy which concluded last week.

CORVALLIS — Seeing rats in the backyard or, worse yet, in the house, can send people into panic mode, and for good reason.

Some birds are named for the scientist or person who first discovered them. Others are named for a friend or colleague of the person who discovered the species, while others are named for thei…

As noted in my last article about birding on the beach, shorebirds abound daily. As summer wanes and fall begins, more and more shorebirds will be visiting our beaches and the mudflats of Will…

Every few years, sugar just might coalesce out of the kiln-baked soil in my grandparents’ plum thicket at their little retirement ranch in western Wyoming.

CORVALLIS — Even though we've had a mild summer, conifers in the region are still getting hit hard by several years of drought, to the point that many are dying.

ILWACO — Mark Chesler is helping to bring green leafy tranquility to Ilwaco.

There is nothing lovelier than our ocean beaches on a warm, sunny summer's day, especially at low tide. At this time of year shorebirds abound as they stop here to rest and feed before flying …