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Did you know that summertime landscape watering uses nearly 40 percent of water supplies in Washington’s cities and towns?
According to the Washington Department of Ecology, outdoor irrigation can reach as much as 3,000 gallons a day per home during the peak of summer. This year’s higher-than-normal temperatures and lower-than-normal rainfall in some parts of Washington could make this summer a record water use one. See story... |
Ever since Washington’s Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) program began in 1985, we’ve advocated the use of the butterfly bush to provide nectar for butterflies.But a better understanding of how invasive the most common species of this exotic plant can be, especially on the west side of the state, led to the listing of Buddleia or Buddleja davidii as a Class B Noxious Weed by the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board in 2005. See story... |
….those hummingbirds in your yard are helping control summertime bugs?
Those dainty little nectar-drinkers are major insectivores. Tiny as they are, those high-energy bodies can’t exist on carbohydrates alone. They need protein to build muscle and replace feathers.
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One of Washington’s newest wildlife areas is just a couple blocks from the post office of a small town in eastern Lincoln County, just west of Spokane off Highway 2.
Reardan, population 598, is also home to more than 200 bird and other wildlife species during spring and fall migrations, thanks to the 277-acre Reardan’s Audubon Lake Wildlife Area on the south edge of town.
See story... |
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Wild birds and free-ranging cats are not a good mix.
As a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary manager, you likely control your own cat and talk to cat-owning neighbors about doing the same.
But feral cats – those untamed strays that now total up to an estimated 10 million throughout the United States – can, and have, seriously damaged wild bird and other wildlife populations.
See story... |
Some of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about urban/suburban wildlife fielded by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) biologists are about coyotes.
WDFW wildlife biologist Russell Link of Mill Creek, author of “Living With Wildlife in the Pacific Northwest,” answers the top five.
See story... |
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With declines in Canada goose nest counts in parts of rural eastern Washington, and continuing problems with abundant geese in urban parks and golf courses, it almost seems like the big birds prefer our cities and towns. See story... |
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As of July 2009, the tally of properties currently certified by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife as Backyard Wildlife Sanctuaries across the state is 8,507. See story... |
