The hummingbird chronicles

It took weeks for a Lynnwood naturalist to get his shots

Outdoors Resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Book delves into complex lives of butterflies

You can have your punk/metal/rap/rock T-shirts, your Seahawks/Storm/Mariners (just kidding) jerseys, your Grand Canyon/Disneyland/Whistler sweatshirts.Entomologist David James prefers the butterfly motif.

Leave fawns alone

The babies are in woods now, what to do if you see one

Outdoor resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Front Porch: Adopt A Stream eagle show

The Adopt A Stream Foundation plans to host a show about eagles at 11 a.m. Saturday, featuring a large bald eagle named Freedom.

Outdoors resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Beach bum

Young elephant seal hanging out at Tulalip (gallery)

Watch him grow

A hummingbird's journey from nestling to fledgling at PAWS

Outdoors resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Outdoors resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

6 new books for nature lovers

It's always a pleasure to pick up a book or field guide pamphlet created by Rick Harbo.The writer/photographer and Harbour Publishing have that knack of packaging information, photographs and graphics in a way that keeps the pages turning.

The least-wanted list

Meet the invasive animals in our area (photo gallery)

Outdoor Resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

Dead birds offer learning opportunity for researchers

It's sad to watch dead birds wash up on ocean beaches, birds that were so full of life a short time ago now battered and bedraggled in the sand and stones.It may be small consolation, but those birds can give up facts in death.

Birdwatcher with a purpose

Edmonds ecologist sees changes in local bird numbers

Outdoors resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Do you know these birds?

Take our quiz and find out if you have a brain for birds

A very large visitor

Wandering gray whale spotted near Mission Beach

Discover Spencer Island

River estuary near Everett is full of wildlife (photo gallery)

Outdoors Resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Bears are waking up

How to stay safe as bruins go looking for food

Learn more about swifts, swallows

Like the swallows of San Juan Capistrano, swifts return each year to Monroe's Frank Wagner Elementary School. Both species travel great distances, and both kinds of birds are frequent visitors to Snohomish County.

Outdoors Resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

On the whale's trail

Project highlights places to watch whales from the shore

Ribbon seal update

Where the recent visitor to Everett is hanging out now

With spring here, Kodiak bears about to come out

KODIAK, Alaska -- With spring here and bears about to emerge from their dens on Kodiak Island, state biologist Larry Van Daele said it is time for homeowners to get busy and keep bears from coming around.

Can you name that bird?

A guide to feathered faces; which have you seen? (Gallery)

Front Porch: Check out Camano Island’s birds

Go birdingPeople can take a tour of bird-viewing areas on Sunday morning.

Outdoors Resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Keep birds happy

Dirty feeders and bad seeds can make them sick

Outdoors Resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Birds are passing through

Sandhill cranes, curlews, hummingbirds and more

Outdoors Resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Learn the real story about cougars

These cougars don't play football.We're talking about the big cats who are the top predator of the Pacific Northwest forests. The secretive felines whose reputations are shrouded in mystery and misinformation.

Front Porch: Learn about Salish Sea critters

Critters around usA wildlife veterinarian plans to host a seminar on the critters of Puget Sound on Wednesday at the Rosehill Community Center.

Outdoor Calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Tail the whales

Spot the mighty grays on viewing expeditions from Everett

High-flying birds

Just a couple miles high? These geese blow that away

One for the bucket list

Seeing snowy owls and pondering life's other adventures

Learn about Puget Sound orcas from an expert

Combine a talent for acting with expertise on killer whales and you've got Jeff Hogan.Hogan is a biologist, photographer and trained actor, and he'll be presenting a program on killer whales March 10 at McCollum Park.

Outdoors resources

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at ://www.bikesclub.org”>www.bikesclub.org.

Why's it called a ladybug?

Answers to this and other questions in our nature quiz

If you’ve thought about being a Beach Watcher, training starts soon

If you're looking for an active role as a steward of Puget Sound, now's your chance.Washington State University Beach Watchers are offering annual training for volunteers who want to join their program. But act quick; the application deadline is March 5.

Flock to Stanwood

Snow Goose and Birding Festival is this weekend

Front Porch: Comment on Mukilteo ferry plans

Ferry dock plansThe public will have a chance the next two nights to comment on options for building a new ferry dock in Mukilteo.Tonight's meeting is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. at the Rosehill Community Center, 304 Lincoln Ave., Mukilteo.

Outdoors Resources

BIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Want to see snowy owls?

Head north to Canada’s nearby Boundary Bay (gallery)

Seals don't belong in bathtubs

Signs warn people against disturbing the marine mammals

Outdoors calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

See elk up close

Winter feeding areas offer unique chance to see wild animals

Wildlife-viewing areas planned along Snohomish River

SNOHOMISH -- A group has come forward to help the city create a wildlife viewing area.

A sea lion party

Photo gallery: Pinnipeds liking hanging out near Everett

Fishing season open for ducks

Outdoors Resources

BIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Citizen counts help bird studies

The country is too big and the number of professional bird-related occupations too small to produce more than a scientific sampling of nationwide bird counts, migrations, ebb and flow of bird populations, bird diseases and other facets.

Snowy owl takes flight

Photo captures a rare look at an Arctic visitor to Everett

Eagles rule the roost at Arlington Eagle Festival on Saturday

ARLINGTON -- In this city, where the eagle is the high school mascot and raptors are part of the culture year round, the Eagle Festival celebrates the wintertime visit of large groups of bald eagles to the Stillaguamish River watershed.

Reward offered to solve sea lion killings

SEATTLE -- Federal authorities aren't sure yet who shot several sea lions in the Puget Sound region in recent weeks, but a conservation group has offered up $10,000 for information that helps convict the perpetrators.

Rare seal in Everett

Arctic ribbon seal first showed up in Marysville

Park for more than birds

Snohomish wetland could be attraction for bird watchers

Explore the Sound

Free seminars take an in-depth look at Puget Sound

Help hummingbirds

How to give the feisty little birds a boost in the winter

Is tagging orcas worth it?

Plan to dart-tag and track Puget Sound icon raises concerns

Expo will return to fairgrounds

MONROE -- Snohomish County plans to bring back its spring recreation expo in April for a third straight year.The 2012 event has a new name and an extra day of carnival rides. Admission and parking are free.

Happy trails, thanks to volunteers

Kudos to the 2,600 Washington Trails Association volunteers who put in 100,000 hours to work on maintaining and improving 153 state trails in 2011.

Stirring swans

Take a class about the majestic birds that drop by each year

Front Porch: MLK Day closures

MLK Day holidayMLK Jr. Day is Monday, so here's a list of places that are closed:Government: Federal, state and county government offices are closed. City offices such as Everett, Marysville, Stanwood, Mountlake Terrace and Monroe are closed.

See a free showing of 'Winged Migration'

The winter birds are back in town, trumpeter swans, snow geese and snowy owls. To celebrate their arrival and learn more about them the Adopt A Stream Foundation and the Snohomish County Parks Department present a free screening of "Winged Migration."

Community calendar

Breakfasts

Animal behavior explored in engaging book

Mice and rats giggle when tickled. Ants build cemeteries for their dead. Parrots make up their own jokes. A lone coyote can sound like a pack. What a female bird may want from a mate can change from year to year.

Outdoors calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

Free Imax showing of 'Beavers' perfect for whole family

Family movie for free? If you're feeling the post-holiday pain in the wallet, here's the antidote: The Adopt A Stream Foundation is showing the Imax movie "Beavers" at 7 p.m. Friday at the Northwest Stream Center at McCollum Park in Everett.

Ghosts from the North

Snowy owls, usually denizens of the Arctic, venture south

Outdoors Resources

Events

Photographer will share stories about 12-day birding adventure in Alaska

Talk about where the wild things are. And in this case, we don't mean monsters.Wildlife photographer Dan Streiffert visited the Marsh Fork of the Canning River, a river on Alaska's North Slope that is home to 42 mammal species, 36 fish species and more than 160 bird species.

Outdoors calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

See bald eagles in action at Skagit River hatchery tour

Seeing bald eagles and learning more about our region's iconic fish make these free hatchery tours in Skagit County a total nature experience.

Outdoors calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

Sapsuckers might be satisfying sap cravings nearby

Sorting through firewood rounds often yields something beside splinters and alien-looking growths. This time it was a red-breasted sapsucker's calling card: rows of small holes spaced fairly evenly apart in the bark, all the way around.

Rare gull spotted in Okanogan County

SEATTLE -- A rare gull from Siberia has been spotted in an Okanogan County lake.The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says Tuesday that one of their biologists spotted a Ross's gull in Palmer Lake over the span of two days last week.

Outdoors calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

Amazing clip reshapes opinion about the Internet

I've had a love-hate relationship with the Internet from the beginning.

Outdoors Calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.

Bald eagles returning to Skagit River

The eagles have landed, and the Skagit River has one of the largest wintering populations in the lower 48 states.

How your family can discover the quiet joy of snowshoeing

My first experience with snowshoeing was on Mount Rainier. A ranger led a pack of mostly beginner snowshoers who, for the first 50 steps, might as well have been walking on tennis rackets.

It's a great time of year for birders in Snohomish County

Birding action has been hot and heavy up and down the coast this fall: snowy owls around Ocean Shores, Skagit Flats and Stanwood; black-bellied plovers, long-billed dowitchers and Bonaparte's gulls at Hayton Preserve and Fir Island; and Eurasian collared doves in Bow.

Outdoors Calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

Inspiration shared in avian-themed books

Let's praise the fierce predators of the avian world, the ones that hunt, kill and devour. And let's applaud the photographers whose time, energy and skills brought us "Raptors of the West: Captured in Photographs" ($30).

Advocates work to keep swans safe

Majestic is often the word associated with eagles, but for sheer beauty and grace, I'll take trumpeter swans.

Outdoors calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

Take better wildlife photos

Sharpen your skills with these simple tips (photo gallery)

Outdoors calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

Front Porch: Trumpeting return

Trumpeting returnThose long-necked trumpeter swans have flown south for the winter … and have landed in the fields around Stanwood and on Fir Island.

Readers' wildlife close-ups

Stories and photos of wildlife straying into our back yards

Outdoors calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.

Learn about wildlife tracking

Susan Morse lectures on wildlife tracking and conservation at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Black Box Theatre at Edmonds Community College.

A lecturer at ease with grizzlies

Snohomish County is the home of the the Silvertips hockey team, so why not bear down and learn some grizzly facts?

Sample Olympics yourself: Whistler resort offers shot at near-Olympic glory

The legacy of the 2010 Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Winter Games lives on at Whistler.The British Columbia ski resort, annually praised by ski, snowboard, outdoors and travel magazines, always seems to be ahead of the pack in opportunities for snowriders.

Outdoors calendar

EventsBIKES rides: Various starting locations; Membership and ride info at www.bikesclub.org.Everett Mountaineers: Meetings at 7 p.m. first Wednesday of the month, Snohomish County East Administration Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. www.everettmountaineers.org.