Category: Uncategorized

Summertime sees birding slip deep into the doldrums. I am seeing lots of birds- just not lots of new bird species for the year. The fall migration is starting- which could bring me a lot of new species, but I am not able to drop everything and go find the Whooper Swans south of Townsend,…

August 31, 2022 I was awake at 4:45, I was on the Prairie Trail by 6:45, and hit the 3-mile mark by 7:45. Today was the first day that people were allowed back on the trails on Mount Helena. I got up and got ready to go because I wanted to make sure I got…

August 28, 2022- Mt Helena is burning. It appears that the fire started in the vicinity of the water tank above the “scars-dale” subdivision. It is about 2/10th of a mile from our doorstep as the crow flies. City and Vol Fire equipment were the first on the scene, then Helicopters. Fire personnel spread out…

Last month I thought 4 was a paltry number. July saw only one positive ID. A Common Nighthawk on the 26th of the month. I’m glad I was blanked out completely. And, at least the Nighthawk sat for some nice images. Common Nighthawk

Well. four species is better than nothing, and I suppose that the success we had in May has something to do with our single digit addition to the annual list. That, and the fact that I am deeply engaged in wildflower ID right now. It is hard to keep an eye on the flora, an…

This was a good month. Lots of species in the valley and a few good day trips. The spring migration is off to a good start!

I took Friday off to prepare for a weekend of guests coming over for dinner. This weekend is my dear, sweet wife’s birthday and we had guests coming in from out of town and out of state that we have not seen since before the pandemic. Then there is the family obligation. I knew that…

We made 20 positive ID’s in April. Not as many as I had hoped, but a decent month, nevertheless. Red-breasted Merganser Tree Swallow Lesser Scaup Ruby Crowned Kinglet Double-crested Cormorant American White Pelican Eared Grebe Ross’s Goose Common Loon Marsh Wren Wilson’s Snipe Greater Yellowlegs Savannah Sparrow Lincoln’s Sparrow Long-billed Curlew Vesper Sparrow Red-necked Grebe…

Today I woke up and took the Lab for a walk- nothing too unusual about that. But, I had 27 species ID’ed before 8:30am, and that made me think about the upcoming week. Work is getting busy; board meeting; landscaping projects at home; and this is my birthday week. So, I know that I will…

I posted these images to the FindYourselfInNature Instagram feed yesterday. Overnight I heard from a follower that the same flower, Pulsatilla vulgaris, is in danger of disappearing in the UK. We have a vertiable carpet of them for a few weeks in April and I just was not prepared to learn that, as the WildlifeTrusts.org…