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The smallest of North American chickadees, this chestnut-backed chickadee is one of two species commonly sighted here.
What to Watch for This Month in the Skies, Trees and Waters
Venus has phases, like the moon. Our neighbor planet is putting on a show these days, high in the western sky, the first point of light to appear as sunset fades. On June 4 it will reach its greatest … more
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Jim Watts of Watts Solitary Bees places wooden blocks with predrilled holes inside totes for female mason bees to lay eggs.
Keeping the Bees
For Jim Watts, spring means time on the road with hundreds of thousands of bees in his truck. One by one he visits an ever-growing list of home orchards, hobby farms, clearcuts and gardens. At each, … more
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“The log on which I lie is the latest casualty.”
Where Trees Are Thrown by the Wind
If you want to feel like a shrimp in a kelp forest, a good place to start is in a real forest on a windy day, your back on a log, trees flexing like grasses above you, the sky crowded with clouds … more
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Eye to eye with a male Anna's hummingbird.
Hummingbirds Take It to the Limit; A Gallery of Hair Ice
Q: What’s with the hummingbirds in January? Are they dive-bombing? I thought the high-pitch chirp was a squirrel, but those are hummingbirds? — Megan Schowalter, Longbranch more
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This swarm of honeybees spotted in a tree near Home was safely recovered by experienced beekeepers last summer.
KP Beekeepers Keep Honeybees and the Art of Caring for Them Alive
On the Key Peninsula of old, you could hire a “beeliner” … more
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For Edwards, being a wildlife photographer demands intimate knowledge of her subjects that can only be gained with steady observation and patience in the field.
Izzy Edwards, Photographer and Conservationist, Sharpens Her Eye While Honing Her Skill
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#15. Look closely to spot the brown creeper that all but disappears on the trunk of a Douglas fir.
The 15 Most Camouflaged Critters Around Puget Sound
Visitors pass through the Key Peninsula and notice only our impressive trees. Those who know the terrain well know how much can be concealed here.  Camouflaged critters exploit psychology as … more
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Eagles and the Genius of Bird Flight
I’m not sure how I see them. It is the most turbulent day of winter yet. Wind tears through the firs that surround Key Center. I scuttle across the highway and aim for Capitol Lumber, eyes … more
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Scenes like this may be a thing of the past in Puget Sound waters south of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Crabbing Not Likely to Return Near KP in Foreseeable Future
A Key Peninsula tradition — rowing to a favorite spot to set out a crab pot or wading during low tide with a net or a pitchfork to scoop up a meal’s worth of fresh crab — came to a … more
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Minter Creek is the most popular spot on the Key Peninsula for local fishermen to nab a variety of salmon. The coho season ended in October.
Coho Salmon Season Comes to a Close on Minter Creek
On a normal Sunday afternoon in October most Western Washington residents are dodging damp weather to watch a Seattle Seahawks win. This wasn’t a normal October Sunday. It was 72 degrees and … more
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American Kestrel
Falcons and Stink Bugs Enliven, Entertain and Baffle the Key Peninsula
Last month, writing about what to anticipate in our natural world, I pointed to the return of rain as one of September’s most important events. Hold on. That was two months ago. … more
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Jellyfish like this one lined the shores of Von Geldern Cove before turning brown like glass in the sun.
Jellyfish Stranded in Staggering Numbers
A mass stranding of lion’s mane jellyfish shocked Key Peninsula beach walkers during the second week of August — and made swimmers think twice about getting in the water. “I have never seen … more
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Anise swallowtail
Land of Parasitic Plants and Surprisingly Hidden Beauty
Ever seen a groundcone? This summer two people have sent me snapshots of this strange plant. A groundcone looks about how it sounds, like a pine cone growing out of the ground, translucent yellow and … more
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Under a downed tree, a footpath for deer and raccoons.
Where Eagles Gathered
This is a tale of two homes. They sit side by side above me, a low old house among big trees and a nearly finished new construction. I am here to watch the eagle show. The homes overlook one of … more
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A humpback whale lunge feeding in Case Inlet in June.
Whale Ho!
Johnson South Sound Preserve
Around the Hidden Lagoon
The muddy easement passes two just-built houses and a fifth-wheel before plunging into the woods. Then the roadbed itself plunges down a ravine. A landslide has scooped away the hillside below, … more
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Yellowlegs wading
Watch for Yellowlegs, Honeysuckle and More
Listen for the loud “klee-klee-klee” call of greater yellowlegs in estuaries and flooded fields. This shorebird passes through the Key Peninsula during spring and fall migrations. Watch … more
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Deep in the Tree Frog's Chorus
At last, I find a frog. It is spread-eagled in the shallow water like a lost toy. Its throat floats before it as round and sheer as a soap bubble, pushing its head up. It looks almost pathetic as it … more
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Fishing Under the Bridge
While drivers rattle the Purdy bridge in cars and trucks, fly fishers often stand thigh deep in saltwater below at the mouth of the Burley Lagoon, their attention fixed on a far different … more
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Where Beaches Are Born
Agates and oysters. A clear tide. Stories.  I am south of Driftwood Annie’s point, strolling Pitt Passage with two veteran beach walkers. The going is wonderfully slow. “It … more
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