At Seward Park, I spotted a family of Common Mergansers along the shore of Andrews Bay in Lake Washington. The female duck had her brood resting on a log. For ten minutes she preened her wings and back feathers by taking individual feathers in her serrated bill and pulling them through her bill to straighten … Read more
This afternoon, the skies cleared a little allowing the sun to peak through the clouds. I sat watching out my west window as they drifted north trying to see animal and bird shapes in the clouds. After a spattering of rain all this morning it was fun to watch the skies change. I have always … Read more
Several hundred American Coots winter on Green Lake in Seattle. This species breeds all across North American and south through Central America. Large numbers from Central Canada and the US migrate west and south for winter. The Pacific Northwest is an important wintering area for them. The number of coots at Green Lake has started … Read more
The other day I was crossing the George Washington Memorial Bridge on Route 99 in Seattle when I spotted a Peregrine Falcon sitting on one of the light poles on the bridge staring west, probably in search of prey such as a pigeon or flying duck. It reminded me that conservation is very successful when … Read more
The warm weather has really caused lawns to green up and flowers to push through the grass carpet. A montage of white daisies interspersed the lawn at Matthews Beach Park and gave it an interesting white and green mosaic. A first-year Mew Gull was busily searching for grubs and insects in the lawn. It would … Read more
We have probably all looked at an American Crow flying by and said, “oh, it is just a crow.” They are actually really interesting creatures. They form long-term pair bonds. Some populations breed cooperatively with young from previous years helping raise the next brood of young. They have a very complex social system with related … Read more
On Wednesday, I took a late afternoon walk through Magnuson Park. The trees were beginning to bloom. Some of the willows had beautiful flowers opening along their branches. They looked so delicate in the late afternoon sun. New leaves were beginning to emerge from the branches; soon the area will be green with fresh … Read more