Chattermarks

When the crops of the Skagit farmlands are put to rest for winter, they come.

With the sky’s gray backdrop so common to a winter in western Washington, they glisten like diamonds. Birds. By the hundreds, thousands even, they flock from near and far to the fertile, tilled soils at the mouth of the Skagit River, one destination of many on their migratory journey.

Snow geese. Trumpeter swans. Bald eagles. These are but a few of the many species you will find on an adventure of bird watching across the flats. Other local residents, such as a variety of hawks and ducks, the barred owl, and the infamous great blue heron, paint an elaborate portrait in winter, making the Skagit Valley one of the most prized destinations for bird watching in the Pacific Northwest.

» Continue reading Watching winged friends

Along the Skagit River, the month of December marks the beginning of an incredible display of interaction among two of western Washington’s most prominent species – eagles and salmon.

The Skagit, whose headwaters begin near Hope, British Columbia, travel by the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center, and end in the estuarine confluence of Skagit Bay southwest of Mt. Vernon, is the Puget Sound’s largest river and second in size only to the Columbia in Washington. All 5 Pacific salmon runs, including sockeye, chum, chinook, pink and coho, reach up along various locations of the Skagit.

With an especially high pink salmon run, an estimated 1.2 million salmon by Washington state fish biologists, along with a current chum spawning run, this season could make for some surprising eagle sights.

» Continue reading In the presence of eagles

As a year of residential learning for one graduate cohort ends, another begins. For Cohort 8, it is hard to believe that it was a year ago that we started this journey. So much has happened and so much has been experienced, learned and mastered. For the new cohort, I’m sure it feels like a whirlwind of a start with classes, books, conversations and adventures like camping, hiking and canoeing.

» Continue reading A paddle down the Skagit

Who says graduate school has to involve sitting in classrooms listening to lectures?

The first two weeks of class for the ninth cohort of students in the M.Ed program at North Cascades Institute and Western Washington University have been anything but traditional. After a couple of days of orientation to the program, Cohort 9 headed into the field. Students observed bald eagles at Padilla Bay, took time to journal on top of Mount Erie, and poked around the mouth of the Skagit River before heading to Bay View State Park for a barbeque.

» Continue reading Poking Around