Nature Notes from the Steamboat Peninsula is a series for noting and enjoying some of what nature and her admirers are up to in our neighborhood. Recently the winter woods are breathing pale clouds of color, gifts from various species of Native Plum. Among the candidates for this distinction are the following : The Northwest […]
By providing the right kind of feathers in the right way, you can easily attract swallows. Every spring, swallows search for the best soft materials to improve the comfort and warmth of their nests. Soft and downy feathers are perfect and swallows get excited when they find a good source. These birds possess remarkable flying […]
Another seasonal first: that distinctive, loud toy-like buzz of a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD zipping around a feeder on Steamboat Peninsula this week. Despite its 3 1/2 inch size (one whole ounce), these birds are described as “tenacious, pugnacious . . . aggressively defending its territory” even against much larger birds. Maybe it’s the brilliant coppery iridescence […]
Cheerfully predicting Spring, the humble SKUNK CABBAGE recently made its seasonal debut in Griffin area marshes and creeksides. Of its several other common names, Western Skunk Cabbage, Yellow Skunk Cabbage and Swamp Lantern, perhaps the latter is most descriptive of this plant’s big golden yellow “flower,” which almost seems to glow in the muted winter […]
The red-tailed hawk is very good at adapting to different environments. They have no problem cohabitating with humans and have even made a home for themselves in New York City, where they feed on pigeons and rats. The deforestation of the United States actually made more hunting grounds for the red-tailed hawk, who seems to […]
There are 15 bat species native to Washington, one of which is Yuma myotis (Myotis yumanensis). This little bat is medium dark brown with a darker brown face and ears. Yuma myotis can live up to 20 years and have an average weight of 6 grams. They are about 3-5 inches long with a wing […]
Last spring during a volunteer work party at the McLane Point Preserve on Eld inlet, we came across an unusual and beautiful little flower, a Spotted coralroot orchid, or Corallorhiza maculata. I immediately wanted to learn more about this fascinating plant. The Spotted coralroot orchid is a myco-heterotroph, which means essentially “gaining its nutrients from […]