Monumental Migrations for World Fish Migration Day!

Celebrate and experience the joys of fish passage with the “living laboratory” that is the Elwha Watershed!

By: Dan Spencer, Information & Education Specialist, Puget Sound & Olympic Peninsula Complex (USFWS)

Photo: Tagged steelhead on the Elwha River, Credit: Olympic National Park

If you free it, they will come! This Saturday, October 24 is World Fish Migration Day! And what better way to celebrate than to follow some history making journeys? The Puget Sound/Olympic Peninsula Fisheries Complex (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) is sharing a unique and engaging learning opportunity that features the world-famous Elwha River Restoration Project.  Using real fish tracking data, participants plot and analyze the journeys of several fish throughout the watershed.  Journeys that, until recently, had been blocked for close to 100 years.

Photo: A sample of the locations of steelhead and chinook salmon, Credit: FWS

The removal of Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on the mighty Elwha River of the Olympic Peninsula (WA) is the largest completed project of its kind.  This historic achievement has also been the perfect opportunity to study the response of an ecosystem to dam removal.  A large and diverse group of scientists from the Federal, State, and Tribal agencies as well as universities and conservation organizations have been studying many aspects of this living laboratory including:  documenting the fish returns and movements; changes in the aquatic invertebrate communities; and changes in vegetation and animal populations on land.  

Photo: Mobile tracking of lamprey on the Elwha River, Credit: Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe

The stars of this activity are Chinook Salmon, Steelhead, Bull Trout, and Pacific Lamprey.  These species are all born in fresh water and migrate to salt water for part of their lives before returning to fresh water to reproduce. Since the removal of the two dams, biologists have captured several fish from each of these species and fitted them with radio tags.  Each tag is like a mini radio station, transmitting a signal in a unique frequency and limited broadcast range.  Like switching between radio stations in a car, biologists switch between frequencies using their receiver to pick up these sub-surface fish-infused “stations.”

Racing the Tide

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service heavy equipment operators tackle challenging nighttime project on Oregon Coast

The tide was slowly draining out of Nestucca Bay, and it was still hours before the sun would peek above the horizon. The only light was from headlights of the machinery that was already rumbling along in the cool night air, moving dirt at a furious pace.

A crew of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service heavy equipment operators were racing the tide.

The objective was to install a fish screen for a pump, and remove and replace tide gates that help manage water levels on the Upton Slough section of Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge on the Oregon Coast.

The entire project took weeks, but this critical element had to be done in a narrow window of time at the lowest tides last fall.

This work on soft ground on the bank of the Little Nestucca River was left to a crew of five heavy machinery operators from National Wildlife Refuges across the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region.

In bureaucratic terms, the heavy equipment operators are known as wage-grade professionals. That’s the official term.

But to project leaders, facility managers and biologists --- they simply call them the backbone of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They're the people who turn habitat conservation dreams into reality.

They're creators of conservation.

“They are so important to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mission. Without our wage-grade professionals, we couldn't accomplish the important habitat and conservation work we do on refuges. They're unsung heroes of conservation,” said Kevin Foerster, Refuge Chief for the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region.

Due to the location and environmental factors for the Upton Slough work, this project had a variety of technical challenges including daily tidal changes, a variety of infrastructure upgrades/installations, ever-changing weather conditions, and the need for specialty heavy equipment to implement the habitat restoration.

“This was a technically challenging project and all the construction work was completed by our heavy equipment professionals. What really floored me was the morning of the first tide-gate replacement,” Oregon Coast NWR Complex project leader Kelly Moroney. "We were following the tidal cycles, which required operations to begin a 3 a.m. I have been involved in many projects over my 25-year career, but nothing came close to what I saw when I pulled up to that morning.  It almost looked choreographed. I was impressed. They are true professionals.”

Gary Rodriguez, a 32-year Service employee and now-retired Facilities Operations Specialist/ Engineering Equipment Operator at Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, served as lead for the project.

“Our job was to execute the project. We had plans, elevations and equipment, and then it was up to us to be able to put that all together. Some folks were skeptical if we could do it. From our standpoint, it was not a problem. It was going to happen, and that’s what we did,” Rodriquez said.

The crew during the nighttime installation was (from left) Kenny Berry from Malheur NWR; Shaun Matthews from Willapa NWR; Gary Rodriguez from Oregon Coast NWR Complex; Kelly Connall from Little Pend Oreille NWR; and Tyrone Asencio from Willamette Valley NWR Complex. Dave Harlow from Willamette Valley NWR Complex primarily worked on the channel restoration at Upton Slough.

Spencer Berg, heavy equipment manager for the Service’s Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region, also worked heavy equipment on the project. He says that wage-grade staff play an essential role in conservation for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“I consider our wage-grade staff the backbone of the refuge system,” Berg said. “They’re doing the work on the ground, mowing the habitat, maintaining the boiler systems and parking lots, and creating wetland habitat. They are doing phenomenal things. On the Upton Slough project, a project like that takes a lot of planning and work to get going. You have to order the culverts and supplies, you have to get the permits, and watch the tide charts and weather. Getting all those factors lined up is a huge lift.”  

All the construction work on the Upton Slough project was handled by the Service’s heavy equipment professionals, saving taxpayers close to $200,000 for the project.

Internally, multiple Service programs and departments helped with the development and execution of the program. Those programs include the Service's Water Resources Division, Inventory & Monitoring's Biological program, Ecological Services' Oregon Fish and Wildlife Office, Fisheries and Aquatic Conservation's Vancouver Office, and Connor Shea from the Partners for Fish and Wildlife in California.

Rufous Hummingbird: Glowing, Tiny Toughnecks

By Sarah Levy, External Affairs Officer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Rufous hummingbird. Photo credit: Creative Commons

Have you ever heard of an aggressive hummingbird? Meet the rufous hummingbird, a tiny roughneck that aggressively defends and chases other hummingbirds away from its preferred food source, even during migration. These little guys are bright, even glowing in the right light. They are “rufous” colored, meaning they typically have reddish-brown feathers.  Males are almost entirely rufous with a vivid patch of iridescent rusty-red feathers on their throat, known as a gorget. Much like other hummingbirds, they feast on nectar and insects, sometime even swiping their prey from spider webs.

The hummingbird (chupaflor or chuparosa) played an important role in Aztec culture. These captivating birds represents the sun god Huitzilopotchli, a powerful warrior who guided the Aztecs’ journey to the Valley of Mexico. The story goes that he was born when her mother held a ball of hummingbird feathers to her breast. Hummingbirds, and particularly the feathers, continue to play an important role in Latin American heritage and customs.

Huitzilopochtli. Photo credit: Creative Commons

Rufous hummingbirds fly nearly 4,000 miles on their migratory routes, traveling from wintering areas in Mexico as far north as Alaska. Rufous hummingbirds breed in the Pacific Northwest and migrate north along the Pacific Coast in the spring, and return south through the Cascades and Rocky Mountains in summer following the later blooming wildflowers at higher elevations.

Rufous and other hummingbirds are threatened by many things including black market trading of their bodies and feathers. Some people believe that hummingbirds have supernatural powers, or can make the owner lucky in love. Fish and Wildlife and other law enforcement are actively cracking down on the international market for dead hummingbirds. You can help us conserve these amazing little birds by admiring them from afar—and letting these tough guys continue on their migratory journeys.

Oregon and Washington’s Sweet Little Beach Bums

By Sarah Levy, External Affairs Officer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Baby snowy plovers with tags. Photo credit: K. Castelein/USFWS

Snowy plovers are sweet little beach bums. These white and tan small birds enjoy nesting on white sand beaches, often blending in with their surroundings. Although some snowy plovers stay on the same beaches year after year, other plovers enjoy short hops inland or down the coast, living anywhere between southern Washington and Latin America. They dine on crustaceans, mollusks, and insects.

Unfortunately, sharing beaches with humans has jeopardized the habitat and population of these birds. Off-road vehicles, building construction, recreational use, and even dogs have disrupted the nesting and breeding grounds of the snowy plover. Nonetheless, due to successful partnerships and the diligence of the public in respecting beach restrictions during the nesting season, western snowy plover numbers are higher than they have been along the Oregon and Washington coast in decades.

Agencies and organizations in the United States and Mexico have been collaborating to protect and restore the snowy plover’s habitat. Work between the Sonoran Joint Venture (a collaboration between the Fish and Wildlife Service and other cross-border organizations and agencies), and Mexican non-profits like Terra Peninsular and Pro Esteros have made dramatic improvements in protecting snowy plover habitat. Fencing, signage, and outreach continue to make progress in conserving these species.  

Adult snowy plover feeding. Photo credit: D. Pitkin/USFWS

Help us make a difference by respecting conservation areas on beaches. Check out the video below about good doggy etiquette. Most of all, let’s work together to protect the snowy plover’s oceanfront property. Just like us, they enjoy a good day at the beach.

A Rare Bird Takes Flight this Fall

By Dana Bivens - Public Affairs Officer for the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Photo by Aaron Hamilton/USFWS

Have you ever seen a western yellow-billed cuckoo?  Standing about twelve inches tall with a distinctive black and white patterned tail, yellow-billed cuckoos are now a rare sight in the western United States.  Once a frequent resident in riparian forests along rivers, yellow-billed cuckoos have experienced population declines during the twentieth century.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service listed these migratory birds as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2014.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, the yellow-billed cuckoo has become rare due to loss of  habitat.  Cuckoos love to forage for larger insects such as cicadas, katydids, grasshoppers and caterpillars along rivers and in flood plains. In recent decades, their foraging and breeding grounds have been lost to development, agriculture, and changes to river flows.  We do still have larger stands of riparian forest in the PNW so if you listen attentively from late May through August, you may be one of the lucky few to hear and catch a glimpse of an elusive western yellow-billed cuckoo.  

Photo By Steve Shunk/USFWS

When the sunny days of the Pacific Northwest summer begin to give way to fall, yellow-billed cuckoos head south to spend the winter in Columbia, Brazil, and Venezuela.  Some even head as far south as northern Argentina where they remain until  spring migration begins.   During the winter months, cuckoos dedicate themselves to feeding and storing up the needed energy to make their long trip north to breed and raise their young.

Migratory birds are an important part of our Pacific Northwest Ecosystem, and we can all help to improve their habitat and make it safer.  Small things like turning lights off during spring and fall migration and keeping cats indoors can help protect all migratory birds, including the yellow-billed cuckoo.  For more tips on how you can help make your home a home for wildlife, please visit https://www.fws.gov/Oregonfwo/promo.cfm?id=177175843

Small but mighty!  Goldfinches travel to the tropics and back

By: Dana Bivens - Dana is a PAO at the USFWS Portland Regional Office

Photo By Peter Pearsall, USFWS

Did you know, many of the birds we see in the Pacific Northwest in the summer spend their winters in the tropics?  The goldfinch is no exception!  You may have seen this charming bird in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington in the spring and summer months.  Goldfinches are a common sight across the continental US and southern Canada.  They are frequent residents at backyard bird feeders, and love to mill about in bushes, fields, and floodplains foraging for seeds.    

The bright yellow color and aerial acrobatics of these social birds is a delightful sight to see.  In the winter months, some of these tiny travelers migrate south as far as Mexico.  Weighing in at only 0.7 oz, migrating goldfinches will take up their winter residences in the southern United States, and in northern Mexican states including Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, and along the Gulf of Mexico.  In mild winters they may also be seen much further north.

While many birds make the trip south, some take up year-round residence in the continental United States, and are a common sight around birdfeeders in the winter when food is scarce.  Always pleasant to see on a cold winter day, goldfinches are favorites for wildlife enthusiasts and birdwatchers alike.  

Migratory birds are an important part to the Pacific Northwest Ecosystem, and we can all help to improve their habitat and make it safer.  Small things like placing bird decals on window glass or keeping cats indoors can help protect all migratory birds, including goldfinches.  If you want to make your backyard or garden a gathering spot for goldfinches, check out this information on making your home a home for wildlife: https://www.fws.gov/oregonfwo/documents/Education/USFWSBackyardBirds.pdf

Small Game Hunters: Catching Butterflies in the Pacific Northwest

By: Zach Radmer, USFWS Fish and Wildlife Biologist, Washington Fish and Wildlife Office

Photo: West Coast lady butterfly (Vanessa annabella) at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon; Photo credit: Zach Radmer

 “Swoosh!” My net lay still, a colorful quarry perhaps captured after a brief sprint along the trail.  Admittedly I’m more excited than you would think. It’s not every day that you catch something new.  I don’t think people know that most butterflies get away. The large and sun-warmed individuals are highly motivated and will easily outpace you even into a headwind. I have carried a net for miles and caught nothing but mosquitos. But this time it’s a lustrous copper (Lycaena cupreus) that sports bright orange wings covered in dark black spots. Best of all, I have never caught one before.

Photo: Zach Radmer, biologist and butterfly enthusiast. Photo credit: Jerrmaine Treadwell

This is the part of the story where you think I would wax poetic about chasing butterflies as a kid, but the truth is my professional and personal interest in butterflies didn’t start until my colleagues at the Washington Fish and Wildlife Office introduced me. Butterfly catching is for everyone. Butterfly catching turns every hike or picnic into a scavenger hunt. In an alpine meadow or even a brushy field on the eastern slope of the Cascades you never know what you might find. Visit the same place four months later and you might find an entirely different crew of butterflies. Some fly in spring and some fly in late summer. Some could be ‘on the wing’ all year round because they spend the winter as adults resting in the crevices of trees and houses! Wherever you decide to go looking, bring a lunch. Butterflies are small game and decidedly not delicious.

A Boon(e) for Stewardship: What America’s Oldest Conservation Club Taught Me About Caring for Nature

By: Molly Good, USFWS biologist

Photo: Theodore Roosevelt, founder of the Boone and Crockett Club

Working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), I have long held deep admiration of and appreciation for America’s conservation heroes, including John Muir, Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, George Bird Grinnell, Gifford Pinchot, Aldo Leopold, and Rachel Carson, to name a few. Their lasting contributions continue to enhance our nation’s scientific understanding of ecosystems and natural processes, management and preservation of land and natural resources for future use, and recreational opportunities. These founding conservationists and their legacies have also motivated me to find ways to leave my own mark on the natural world. Over time, I have found that modern-day conservation heroes exist too, and that, depending on their values and goals, they can be powerful partners with our agency in affecting positive change for our nation’s wildlife and people. For me, The Boone and Crockett Club – the oldest conservation organization in America – exemplifies the power of positive change through its diverse and inspirational network of natural resource stewards.

Photo: Waterfowl hunting at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Ridgefield, Washington; Photo credit: USFWS

 I was a bright-eyed, twenty-four year-old graduate student when my advisor introduced me, through his involvement, to the Boone and Crockett Club. I am ashamed to admit I knew nothing about the Club at the time, yet I couldn’t kick the theme song from Disney’s 1955 movie, “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier!” from my head! I was impressed to learn that Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell founded the Boone and Crockett Club in 1887 in response to declines in wildlife populations, especially in large animals or big game. At the time, founding Club members were particularly motivated to think creatively about how to balance human and wildlife needs while maintaining traditions and a fair chase ethic around resource consumption, especially as a wildlife management tool. Since the late 1880s, the Club and its membership—which has included military and political leaders, business leaders, outdoors sports enthusiasts, scientists, writers, and industrialists—have coordinated regularly, campaigned and raised money, pioneered policy initiatives, and initiated legislation to advance the following mission:

“…to promote the conservation and management of wildlife, especially big game, and its habitat, to preserve and encourage hunting and to maintain the highest ethical standards of fair chase and sportsmanship in North America.”

The Birds and the Bees...and the Fish! Salmon Safe Gardening

By Julia Pinnix, Visitor Services Manager, Leavenworth National Fisheries Complex

Photo: A native bumblebee on non-native flowers. Credit: Julia Pinnix/USFWS

The first adult spring Chinook salmon arrived at Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery in mid-May this year. In my high-elevation home garden, daffodils were fading and spinach was two inches high. Gardens and salmon are more tightly linked than many people realize. Consider that whether you live three feet from a salmon stream, or three miles away, whatever goes into your garden finds its way via water into a salmon stream.

I’m a big fan of manure when it comes to fertilizing my garden. This is often a better choice than concentrated fertilizers. Manure offers a healthy dose of nutrients to plants, without overdoing it. But too much of a good thing is still too much: it’s the concentration that counts. That goes for manure as well as for chemicals. Excess nutrients wind up contaminating rivers and streams, promoting unwanted plant and algae growth. Too much nitrogen can even change the pH of rivers, making them more acidic. Acidic water kills salmon eggs and interferes with fish growth.

Photo: The Leavenworth NFH pollinator garden. Credit: Julia Pinnix/USFWS

I avoid using herbicides in my garden or yard. To keep weeds down in the gravel of my driveway, I spray concentrated vinegar on a sunny day. It works well and doesn’t leave behind harmful chemical residue.

How are fish scales like rings on a tree? Look closely...

By Julia Pinnix, Visitor Services Manager, Leavenworth Fisheries Complex

 Photo: Biologist Katy Pfannenstein holds up a scale from a spring Chinook. Credit: Julia Pinnix, USFWS

The thrill of hooking into a fighting fish never gets old. Success in bringing it to the bank or boat comes with a choice: will this fish be dinner, or will I slip the hook and let it go? If you choose to keep it, likely you have dinner on your mind. I favor dinner—but I also plan to read the story of the fish in its anatomy.

Reading that story starts from the outside, with a look at fins. Does it have an adipose fin—the little one between the tail and the big fin on its back? If it does, that salmon can’t be dinner! It’s wild and must be released. Hatchery salmon have their adipose fins clipped off, precisely so anglers can tell which ones are keepers.

Photo:  Otoliths (ear bones) collected from king salmon in southwestern Alaska. Credit: Julia Pinnix/USFWS

I scan the fish’s sleek and slimy body. Does it carry bite marks left by seals? Was it punctured by an osprey’s claws? I’m not the only one thinking of dinner… Are there sea lice still clinging to its skin? Sea “lice” are copepods that attach to salmon in the ocean. They will soon die in fresh water, so their presence tells anglers the salmon has not been out of the ocean for long.

The Heat Blob: Disrupting Ocean Food Chains

By Sarah Levy, a Fish and Wildlife Service public affairs officer in Portland, OR.

The heat blob. It brings to mind the horror movie, “The Blob,” or a large wildfire seen from space. The heat blob evokes an image of a hot, angry, foaming bubble that slowly and methodically wrecks everything in its path.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what it is.

The heat blob, or simply, “the blob” as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) calls it, is a relatively new oceanic heat wave taking over the continental shelves around the North American and Asian continents. Scientists first observed a heat blob in 2014, when it disrupted marine ecosystems off of the West Coast of the United States, and depressed salmon returns. In 2019, the blob returned.

“There are serious disruptions to the food chain going on right now due to ocean warming and other changes,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seabird coordinator Roberta Swift said. “These Pacific-wide changes affect seabirds throughout their entire Pacific Range. This could affect the quantity or quality food available for seabirds in the Pacific, meaning seabirds might skip breeding, abandon their nests, or die of starvation.”

Racing the Tide

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service heavy equipment operators tackle challenging nighttime project on Oregon Coast

Story by Brent Lawrence, public affairs officer in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Columbia-Pacific Northwest Regional Office.

The tide was slowly draining out of Nestucca Bay, and it was still hours before the sun would peek above the horizon. The only light was from headlights of the machinery that was already rumbling along in the cool night air, moving dirt at a furious pace.

A crew of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service heavy equipment operators were racing the tide. 

The objective was to install a fish screen for a pump, and remove and replace tide gates that help manage water levels on the Upton Slough section of Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge on the Oregon Coast.

The entire project took weeks, but this critical element had to be done in a narrow window of time at the lowest tides last fall. 

This work on soft ground on the bank of the Little Nestucca River was left to a crew of five heavy machinery operators from National Wildlife Refuges across the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region.

In bureaucratic terms, the heavy equipment operators are known as wage-grade professionals. That’s the official term.

But to project leaders, facility managers and biologists --- they simply call them the backbone of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They're the people who turn habitat conservation dreams into reality.

They're creators of conservation. 

“They are so important to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's mission. Without our wage-grade professionals, we couldn't accomplish the important habitat and conservation work we do on refuges. They're unsung heroes of conservation,” said Kevin Foerster, Refuge Chief for the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region.

Due to the location and environmental factors for the Upton Slough work, this project had a variety of technical challenges including daily tidal changes, a variety of infrastructure upgrades/installations, ever-changing weather conditions, and the need for specialty heavy equipment to implement the habitat restoration.

“This was a technically challenging project and all the construction work was completed by our heavy equipment professionals. What really floored me was the morning of the first tide-gate replacement,” Oregon Coast NWR Complex project leader Kelly Moroney. "We were following the tidal cycles, which required operations to begin a 3 a.m. I have been involved in many projects over my 25-year career, but nothing came close to what I saw when I pulled up to that morning.  It almost looked choreographed. I was impressed. They are true professionals.”

(Facilities operations specialist Gary Rodriguez, left, and Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex project leader Kelly Moroney.)

Gary Rodriguez, a 32-year Service employee and now-retired Facilities Operations Specialist/ Engineering Equipment Operator at Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, served as lead for the project.

“Our job was to execute the project. We had plans, elevations and equipment, and then it was up to us to be able to put that all together. Some folks were skeptical if we could do it. From our standpoint, it was not a problem. It was going to happen, and that’s what we did,” Rodriquez said. 

The crew during the nighttime installation was (from left) Kenny Berry from Malheur NWR; Shaun Matthews from Willapa NWR; Gary Rodriguez from Oregon Coast NWR Complex; Kelly Connall from Little Pend Oreille NWR; and Tyrone Asencio from Willamette Valley NWR Complex. Dave Harlow from Willamette Valley NWR Complex primarily worked on the channel restoration at Upton Slough.

Spencer Berg, heavy equipment manager for the Service’s Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region, also worked heavy equipment on the project. He says that wage-grade staff play an essential role in conservation for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“I consider our wage-grade staff the backbone of the refuge system,” Berg said. “They’re doing the work on the ground, mowing the habitat, maintaining the boiler systems and parking lots, and creating wetland habitat. They are doing phenomenal things. On the Upton Slough project, a project like that takes a lot of planning and work to get going. You have to order the culverts and supplies, you have to get the permits, and watch the tide charts and weather. Getting all those factors lined up is a huge lift.”   

All the construction work on the Upton Slough project was handled by the Service’s heavy equipment professionals, saving taxpayers close to $200,000 for the project. 

Fish Food for Thought: Scientific Sustenance for Salmon

By: Julia Pinnix, Visitor Services Manager, Leavenworth Fisheries Complex

Photo: Ann Gannam, supervisory fish biologist at Abernathy Fish Technology Center shows the science and machinery behind making nutritious food for fish, Credit: USFWS

Every day that I walk through the grounds of Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery (NFH), I see our production staff at work, tossing pellets of fish food into the raceways while young fish make the water’s surface boil with action. At other times, I see them pushing brooms slowly down the length of the enclosures, pushing waste to the drain without stirring it up into the water column. Fish production work has, in some ways, remained the same for decades. Fish need to be fed, ponds and raceways cleaned, water temperatures and flow checked and maintained.

But one aspect of hatchery work has changed a lot: fish food.Dr. Ann Gannam (now a Supervisory Fish Biologist at Abernathy Fish Technology Center) noted in an article about fish feed (published in 2008) that hatchery fish in the 1930s were fed a range of items: “salmon eggs, fish, oilseed meals, beef and hog liver, spleen, chicken eggs, and horse meat. A feed mixture back then might be comprised of thirds of beef liver, hog liver, and salmon guts, chopped and mixed at the hatchery with salt added to thicken and bind the mixture.” 

Birding: How to get started and make it count for conservation

By: Rylan Suehisa - Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based out of Portland, OR

Spring migration continues to roll along as upwards of 3 billion birds make their way north toward their summertime breeding grounds. Wave after wave sweeps through the Pacific Northwest, giving us all a calming seasonal spectacle that brings with it a bit of normalcy during these uncertain times. And if you’ve been following along with our #MigrationMondays content, we hope that you’ve been enjoying paying closer attention to this incredible spring migration event as it happens in real time.

Maybe you’ve already taken that next step in helping birds along the way by planting native plants and avoiding harmful pesticides, or begun building birdhouses for birds that will spend the summer in your yard. If you are seeing positive results from your efforts, congratulations - we are stoked!

Here’s another thing you can do to help birds along their way - simply take time out of your day to watch birds and take note of your observations. In addition to the benefit to your well-being that this “pause” from the world provides, birdwatching benefits birds too. By noting what you see and submitting those observations to a database such as eBird, you are expanding our knowledge about where birds go, how they get there and what they need along the way.

Birding 101

“Hold on,” you might be saying. Maybe you are new to birding and wondering how to get started. Perhaps you’ve been an appreciator of birds for a while, but are uncertain about how to take the next step into birding as an activity. Below is an infographic that we hope you will find useful as you get started.

#MigrationMondays: Install Homes for Resident Birds

By: Rylan Suehisa - Public Affairs Officer based out of Portland, OR

Often, when we think of spring migration, we might imagine more northern destinations being the objective for traveling birds. For birds such as chickadees, wrens and sparrows though, the Pacific Northwest is the final destination where these birds will settle down to build nests and raise young. If your yard has the materials and food resources, your bird-watching highlights could extend through the summer and into the fall.

And maybe you’re like me, sharpening your aesthetic sense and expanding your DIY knowledge through projects around the house. I’m paying more attention to my comfort with all this time at home and that sparks ideas. Do you also get to the bottom of your to-do list and wonder “What else can I do?” We can put all that bubbling DIY energy and attention to comfort towards installing houses for resident birds.

An icicle-laden birdhouse after winter rains in North Dakota. Photo Credit: Krista Lundgren/USFWS

Here are several things to keep in mind as you get started. A link with all the specifics follows these general concepts.

Tip for Beginning Birders. Infographic by Sarah Levy/USFWS

#MigrationMondays: How You Can Help Birds On Their Way This Spring

By: Rylan Suehisa - Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based in Portland, Oregon

In the morning when you wake up during this time of Quarantine, what’s the first thing you hear? If it’s not a family member or roommate bugging you to “Get out of bed already!” - (I’ll raise my hand to that), chances are you’re greeted by a chorus of bird song.

As the current pandemic has many of us sheltering in place, we are experiencing nature more acutely. Instead of turning on the TV for morning commute traffic updates, we can take an extra minute or two to focus in on the birdsong coming in through the window, or note a flurry of actively-foraging birds in a nearby Douglas Fir tree. With current circumstances the way they are, we have more time to appreciate the little things.

Yet behind these much-needed moments of zen lies an incredible phenomenon - spring migration. With more than three billion birds heading north throughout North America creating a beautiful seasonal spectacle, migration is something to get pumped about.

Western tanager, credit: Peter Pearsall/USFWS

We’ve just celebrated World Migratory Bird day (WMBD), where a whole flock of bird lovers from around the globe gathered together in collective awe and appreciation of birds’ incredible springtime journeys. Showcasing the inter-connectivity of bird conservation through many virtual events around the world, WMBD participants stirred up a gust of momentum that has us thinking about the remaining duration of spring migration. How can we do our part throughout May into early June?

With much of the world under lockdown, these action items should follow guidelines set forth by your local and national leaders. Here in the Pacific Northwest, that means sticking close to home for now. So from your garden, to your porch, to the grocery store, join us in the coming weeks as we explore some of the ways we can help birds along their journeys.

Let’s get started! First up…

Make informed choices about the plants in your garden.

Black-capped chickadee with insect at William L. Finley NWR. Credit: George Gentry/USFWS