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Chris Rurik, KP News

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North Herron Road
Amplified King Tide Causes Dramatic Flooding
One of the highest tides of 2022 was predicted for just after sunrise Friday, Jan 7. Daylight revealed a tide two feet higher than the prediction. Seawater filled the parking lot of Purdy’s … more
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On a Ramble, Raven-watching in the New Year
Let’s take a ramble. Let’s head through this soggy pasture and aim for the woods. Think of all we’ve seen in the last year on the KP, the encounters with deer and moths, the … more
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Naturalist's Notebook
A Beaver Poop Mystery The dam is deep in a thicket and quite small. To reach it I’m forced to crab-walk into the lively creek below it. Salmonberry canes extract the small blood offering … more
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Deck the Halls: When the KP Grew Holly
The Key Peninsula once worked hard every December to deck the halls of America with boughs of holly. For a brief decade in the 1930s, one of the most promising crops in the South Puget Sound area was holly. more
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The view from the shore of Filucy Bay Preserve.
Chasing Silence and Sound in Filucy Bay Preserve
As I work my way down a forested draw in Filucy Bay Preserve, tree frogs call. Ferns and logs guide me through a series of pinch points where deer have squeezed before me. more
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Wandering Bands of Berry Hunters
Fall again. Hea vy sunflower heads have fallen and the clouds of goldfinches that came for their seeds have scattered into the trees. Rain falls and rotting resumes. Down come the soggy stems of … more
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McDermott Point is KP’s Latest Conservation Project
The Pierce County Council voted to adopt the recommendations of the Citizens Advisory Board to the Conservation Futures Program to begin negotiating the purchase of conservation properties. more
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Naturalist's Notebook
Ask the KP Nature Guide: Moles more
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Taralynn Perkins celebrates her graduation in June
Homeless in High School
Two years ago, Taralynn Perkins, then 16, came home to a notice posted on her family’s front door. The notice informed them their lease would be terminated at the end of the month. If they had not left by then, they would be evicted. more
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Naturalist Notebook
Snakes Eaten, Snakes Eating Recently a friend asked me if there are birds that eat garter snakes. A few, I told him. Red-tailed hawks are known for making off with snakes. It is always an odd … more
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County and Coalition Embrace ‘No Wrong Door’ Approach to Ending Homelessness
An RV and two custom truck trailers set up shop in the parking lot of the Key Peninsula Civic Center. It was the KP’s first visit from the New Hope Mobile Resources Response Team, a collective effort to bring services to people experiencing homelessness on the peninsula. more
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Labrador Carpet Moth (Xanthorhoe labradorensis)
At Home with Moths, the Beautiful Bellwethers
The days are hot and the nights are warm. By day I’m lucky to see two or three butterfly species. By night the moths swarm, pale shapes like prisms around the edges of my house. At my black … more
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'The Overstory' by Richard Powers
The mental time warp of being around young trees inspired me to pick up “The Overstory” for a second read. more
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Anatomy of a Feeding Frenzy
A commotion has been building outside. It has been building for days now. Some sort of forage fish is massing along the shoreline, and it has drawn a feeding frenzy of gulls, mergansers, cormorants, seals and eagles from miles around. more
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Vaughn Girl’s Pet is an Alligator Lizard
By now, Grace Bennett is an old hand at lizard keeping. She is 5 years old, and her pet for the last year has been a northern alligator lizard named Baraka. Grace lives on a 5-acre farm near … more
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An echo azure moth stands out in a field of green.
Naturalist’s Notebook
On the first day of spring over 60 degrees, I find a currant decked out with pink pendant blooms. It radiates a fragrance of heat, sweat and pollen. more
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“I held my breath,” said 5-year-old Mira Bothwell of Longbranch.
The Land of Swamp Lanterns
On a slanting boardwalk over a forested swamp, I pause. It’s not just Pacific wrens singing these days. Song sparrows and towhees fire off their songs. Salmonberry thickets stand with their … more
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Gateway Park: A Refuge in Pandemic
Herb Clippert remembers coming to the Renaissance Faire on the property that is now Gateway Park. When he saw earth-moving equipment in 2017, he “didn’t know what it would turn out to be.” more
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From the Naturalist's Notebook
Bald Eagle vs. Common Goldeneye The goldeneye duck, separated from its compadres, came to the surface to suck in some oxygen. The eagle swooped. The duck frantically dove. The eagle climbed to 10 … more
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Rocky Creek Preserve
On Foot, Deep in Rocky Creek Preserve
As I haul on my boots, it’s hard to know what to expect. From the muddy pullout where we’ve parked, an overgrown road leads into low, tangled woods. It’s December. Even the … more
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