Here are five Nature Conservancy preserves in Washington that you can visit anytime to immerse yourself in the beauty of nature, while learning about The Nature Conservancy’s conservation efforts.
Celebrating 2022: Successes and Fun
Gift of Land Will Aid Pygmy Rabbit Recovery
Yellow Island Trees
Exploring Moses Coulee/Beezley Hills
Exploring Moses Coulee I walk past a Say’s phoebe nest in the rafters of the patio. The parents seem to have adjusted to my common intervention into their space. I follow the edge of the lake to the trailhead and as I enter the trail, my attention shifts from the mallards and American coots diving in the water to the tall sagebrush and rubber rabbitbrush. Remnants of several different animals remind me of the varying wildlife that also call the Preserves home. I step over mule deer and sage thrasher tracks in the dried dirt, pass jackrabbit scats, and hike around large badger holes that are likely now home to smaller mammals.
Conservancy’s Washington Lands Reopening with Caution
In alignment with Gov. Jay Inslee’s decision to partially reopen state recreational lands incorporating social distancing guidelines, lands owned or managed by The Nature Conservancy in Washington will reopen May 5 with some important exceptions.
Both the Yellow Island Preserve in the San Juans and the popular Bluff Trail at the Robert Y. Pratt Preserve at Ebey’s Landing on Whidbey Island, will remain closed for the safety of our staff, volunteers and visitors, and for preservation of fragile lands.
We Spent a Day Counting as Many Birds as Possible
Early Blooms on Yellow Island
Written and Photographed by Phil Green, Yellow Island Steward
Early February and what’s happening on Yellow? Are the flowers getting ready to bloom? Amazingly we have a couple species that have been blooming since last November. The strange fall weather that closely mimics spring weather definitely fooled two very different species.
Red flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) was found in bloom in mid November. Because I don’t look for first bloom dates in November, the exact date is a mystery. Ribes is a shrub so it is easy to follow individual plants. Those that flowered in in November, perhaps 10% of those on the island, have lost their flowers now. But of those that didn’t bloom in 2015, the first bloom I noted this year was January 30. And here we are on February 13 with most of the individual plants showing some flowers. I always think of the rufous hummingbirds arriving to take advantage of the early currant blooms. However, this year the blooms are too early and the hummer taking advantage is an Anna’s hummingbird that over wintered on Yellow. (That is another first for Yellow Island.)
Within a month or so the lilies that have already broken ground will start to bloom, tourists will start arriving, and the flowering season will begin exploding in earnest for another year.
