Long Time, No See but Suddenly Heard

I experienced a remarkable moment this week when I heard a common nighthawk.

Before this week, my last sighting of a common nighthawk occurred in 2021. However, the moment I heard the bird's call on Tuesday evening, I knew what species it was without even looking. 

After I thought about it, I realized that the instant recognition of the sound showed how special the common nighthawk's call is to me. I must know it by heart. As a result, despite the fact that I don't hear it on a regular basis, I can immediately snap into awareness of it.

I've always loved common nighthawks. They have a unique look and a mesmerizing sound. Perhaps the irregularity with which I see them contributes to their specialness, yet I am still astonished at how quickly that call the other night pulled me into its world. It's as if common nighthawks have claimed a place in my unconscious.

A long time passed for me between sightings of common nighthawks, but the sudden impact of hearing the bird's call is timeless.

Wrong Way for Wolves

The wolf population is headed in the wrong direction in Washington state.

According to a recently released report from the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW), in 2024, Washington's wolf population dropped by 9.5 percent. The 2023 report counted 254 wolves, but the total fell to 230 in 2024. This dramatic decline sends the state's wolf recovery in the wrong direction and is very disconcerting.

To make matters worse, the number of breeding pairs in the state plummeted by 25 percent from 24 in 2023 to just 18 last year. In other words, the current population is already faltering with ominous questions arising about its ability to regenerate itself in the face of high mortality rates.

WDFW has a lot of work to do to ensure the health of the state's wolf population. The 2024 trends cannot continue.

We are clearly a long way from wolf recovery in Washington.

An Unexpected Boost to the Life List

When I decided to go birding yesterday, I had no idea I'd be adding two species to my life list.

The plan for the birding outing was just to go for a walk and maybe pick up a few species for my 2025 list. I figured I might see some familiar species that had recently arrived in the early days of spring migration.

Very early on though, the day indicated it would yield much more than I expected. Less than 30 minutes in, I had seen a mountain bluebird, my first ever sighting of that species. As the day continued, I saw more mountain bluebirds and several species that I could add to my 2025 list.

After three hours of birding, I was feeling very happy about the day's results. To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything else on the way back to my car. Then, another life-list addition presented itself. It was a northern shrike. What a day indeed!

I don't add new birds to my life list every day, so I was quite surprised to end up with two new ones in a single outing.

A Soaring Creation

Acts of creation represent an important part of life, and that's especially true when they create habitat for other species.

Now, you may be thinking that creating habitat sounds like a big undertaking. However, when it comes to creating songbird habitat, you might be able to do it right at home.

To make the process for creating songbird habitat easy, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife offers a webpage full of tips and resources. One very simple idea is just to set up a birdbath. If you're looking for something more elaborate, you might try reading through WDFW's list of native plants and adding some of them to your landscape.

Using resources like WDFW's webpage as a starting point, you can then expand the possibilities for songbird habitat through your creativity.

When it comes to creating songbird habitat, the sky's the limit.

Changing our Parameters

As I followed the news of the terrible wildfires in Los Angeles, I thought back to reading How Nature Speaks: The Dynamics of the Human Ecological Condition and its definition of nature.

According to Yrjö Haila and Chuck Dyke, the editors of the book, nature is the parameters of what is possible. The Los Angeles fires and their devastation suggested to me new parameters for what is possible and what is not possible.

It is pretty clear that we can and have changed what is possible in terms of wildfires, droughts, and storms. By releasing tons of greenhouse gases, we have warmed the planet, expanding the parameters and therefore the power and impacts of such phenomena.

In return, our expansion of these parameters has received a response from the phenomena. As Haila and Dyke would argue, our actions sent a message to the climate, and the climate engaged with that communication through its parameters. Specifically, the climate is now putting tighter limits on where and how we can live. The increased likelihood and strength of climate-related disasters means that humans will have to adjust to these new parameters. Some areas will likely no longer support the population sizes they once did; others may prove entirely incapable of fostering human life.

We've changed the parameters for nature, and that includes ourselves.

The Lessons of Initiative 2117's Blowout Loss

If the national Democratic Party cares about winning, it should take a look at the November 2024 election results from Washington state, especially the defeat of Initiative 2117, a proposed repeal of the state's cap on greenhouse gas emissions. 

In an election when most Democrats across the United States struggled, and Republicans took control of the presidency as well as both chambers of Congress, Washington state stood out because of its successes by Democrats and progressive legislation. Washington Democrats won every statewide race handily and increased their majorities in the state House and Senate. In addition, three of the four initiatives backed by wealthy conservatives to repeal progressive legislation went up in flames: An initiative to repeal the state's new capital gains tax received just 36 percent of the vote, another initiative that would have made the state's long-term care insurance optional lost with only 45 percent of the vote, and I-2117 barely reached 38 percent support. Only an initiative to prevent natural gas energy from being disincentivized passed with a slim margin of 3.42 percentage points. That initiative's constitutionality is already being challenged in court.

All told, the legislation Washington Democrats passed to address global warming, wealth inequality, and health care received resounding support, and voters rewarded the party by overwhelmingly backing its candidates for elected office as well. Given that legislation on those three issues consistently receives majority support nationwide, Democrats across the country would do well to take notice of the results in Washington.

The national Democratic Party should also look closer at the results of I-2117. It failed in even traditionally conservative counties, and in the counties where it passed, the margin was unexpectedly close. In only a few counties did it even reach 60 percent support.

How did the climate legislation that I-2117 sought to repeal achieve such thorough support across the state? Answer: The legislation turned the funds from the program's cap-and-invest system into projects that benefitted communities all over Washington. These projects helped those communities prepare for global warming's impacts, including wildfires and extreme weather, and they created local jobs. In other words, the legislation addressed an important issue by making a direct and positive impact on a large number of people. When it came time to vote on the initiative that would have repealed the legislation, the people joined in the campaign against the initiative and voted no. While they were voting against the initiative, they also voted for the candidates from the party who had passed the climate legislation.

That's how a party wins elections: They make a positive impact on people's lives. The question is does the national Democratic Party really want to win?

I Like the Way They Think

For several years, I have been thinking about the possibilities for preserving an area that has special meaning for me, and as it turns out, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife had similar thoughts.

One of my first introductions to outdoor life was fishing in Pacific County in Washington state. Aside from timber companies and people out fishing and hunting, the area had little human activity. It was a special place to get away and fish with my dad.

Over the years, my connection to the area has grown. I have thought it would make a good place for some organization to purchase and preserve for wildlife and recreation. 

To my surprise, when the Department of Fish and Wildlife announced its new round of proposed property acquisitions for 2024, a portion of the area where I fish was included in the list. Of course, the announcement would have made me happy even if I hadn't previously thought about ways of conserving the area, but the fact that they had found a place that I felt deserved protection made the news especially sweet. I submitted my comments with enthusiastic support for the acquisition.

We'll have to wait and see if the Department of Fish and Wildlife goes through with the proposal, but I like the way they think, so I have high hopes.

No on Initiative 2117

In recent years, I've gravitated more toward direct action than politics, but every once in a while, something important comes up in politics that requires attention, and Initiative 2117 on Washington state's ballot this fall is one of those important issues.

I-2117 seeks to repeal the state's cap on greenhouse gas emissions, and I think Washingtonians should vote no.

After watching inaction on so many levels throughout my lifetime, I was very happy when Washington state passed its Climate Commitment Act in 2021. On its own, the legislation couldn't stop global warming, but it was one positive step forward. It created limits on greenhouse gas emissions and helped fund projects that would allow Washingtonians to prepare for global warming's effects on our region.

This year, wealthy conservatives introduced I-2117 to repeal the legislation, jeopardizing the pollution standards and the projects that would help mitigate the impacts of global warming.

I'm voting no on I-2117, and if you live in Washington, I hope you will too.

A Strong Sense of Place

One of the things my connection to the environment has given me is an understanding of how valuable a sense of place can be.

A sense of place helps you understand where you belong, and it can guide you to where you're going. In addition, it can provide stability when the rest of the world becomes unstable. The grounding it offers can even keep you out of some undesirable circumstances.

Sense of place can also mean something a little different but equally as helpful. If people are attuned to their surroundings, they can determine if those surroundings are a good fit for them. In essence, people can listen to what places have to say and use that information to make solid decisions and form lasting connections to environment.

Sometimes, when a sense of place is strong enough, a person finds harmony in the world.

Road Trips with a Cat

I may not be a fan of the Seattle Mariners, but I do like it when people help animals in need, so Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz is an MVP in my book.

Muñoz made news recently when he revealed that he'd adopted a cat that now accompanies him when the team is on road trips. The cat had been abandoned by a previous owner in Mexico. After hearing about its situation, Muñoz stepped up to give it a home. He and his wife then made the decision to bring the cat on team road trips because they didn't want to add stress to its life by leaving it in the care of someone else.

Such concern for the cat demonstrates a high degree of empathy. Also, it shows how strong the bond between humans and animals can become.

Muñoz is a pitcher, but he hit a home run by helping this cat.