Amazing Wildlife Adventures in Seattle Backcountry!

Transcription

1 Amazing Wildlife Adventures in Seattle Backcountry! Storyline is a publication from Snohomish County Tourism Bureau for the media. Feel free to use this content in your editorial or see previous issues online for additional content suggestions. Media Assets: (Dropbox Link) Wildlife Viewing in Snohomish County Snohomish County is the perfect base to discover the flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest. Snohomish County offers you the opportunity to see Gray whales, salmon spawning, or bird watching at Spencer Island, Edmonds Marsh and Jetty Island. See wildlife in its natural environment just minutes north of Seattle. With more than 350 species of birds that live or migrate through Snohomish County every year, birdwatchers get great views from a number of sites. From the Snohomish River Estuary, the largest known wetland on Puget Sound (and the only one within an urban area on the West Coast), to Osprey nests near Everett s Legion Park, and with 413-acre Spencer Island all binocular-clad eyes are in for a feast. For great year-round birding a perfect stop is the Edmonds Marsh. This can be combined with a ferry trip across Puget Sound where you are likely to see rafts of waterfowl, gulls, bald eagles and great blue herons. Several of Snohomish County s rivers are the sites of spawning salmon each spring and fall. Try Al Borlin Park south of Monroe, River Meadows Park and the South Fork Stilluguamish River in Arlington, Squire Creek County Park, four miles east of Darrington, Osprey Park in Sultan and the Lake Stevens

2 spawning channel, just north of Lake Stevens. Link to site: Link to Edmonds Marsh image: dl=0 Seattle Backcountry Wildlife Festivals: Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds Friday - Sunday, 9/15-9/ Main Street, Edmonds, WA Puget Sound Bird Fest in Edmonds, Washington is an annual fall celebration of birds and nature found on the beautiful shores of Puget Sound. This three-day event includes speakers, guided walks, land and waterbased field trips, exhibits, and educational activities for children and adults. Plan to spend the weekend in Edmonds, birding and meeting other birders, naturalists, photographers, and people engaged in fascinating bird research projects. PROGRAM OVERVIEW: The Puget Sound Bird Fest of Edmonds is a great opportunity to mingle with birding enthusiasts, fine wildlife photographers and artists, and environmentalists. Admission is free General admission is free but some activities require a small fee. Activities For All Ages Presentations by expert birders, guided bird walks, visits to local natural habitats, live raptor presentations, and special activities for kids. Puget Sound Birding Cruise, hosted by the Edmonds Yacht Club, is a perennial favorite of attendees. Festival Venue The gathering place for the festival is the Frances Anderson Center (FAC), 700 Main Street, Edmonds,

3 WA. Here is where you ll find the registration table, many special exhibits, and fun activities for kids. Friday Night Opening Program Next door to FAC, at 650 Main Street, is the Edmonds Plaza Room where the Opening Program is held and the keynote speaker is introduced. Join this year s Keynote Speaker, Oregon naturalist and North American woodpecker specialist, Steve Shunk, for an exciting journey into the lives and times of our own Puget Sound woodpeckers. Parking Parking is free on Edmonds streets and in public parking lots but some in downtown have a three-hour limit. EVENT CONTACT: Jennifer Leach Environmental Education & Sustainability Coordinator for City of Edmonds Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Jennifer.Leach@edmondswa.gov Link to event: Link to Puget Sound Bird Fest Map.pdf: Return of the Salmon Celebration Saturday - 9/23/17 Osprey Park - Sultan, WA 6th annual Return of the Salmon Celebration, Saturday September 23 at Sultan s Osprey Park (801 First Street, Sultan, WA 98294) from 10:30am to 4pm. Learn how the Skykomish River Valley is protecting their salmon watersheds and this event is also a time of remembrance for Sultan s namesake, Chief T seul-ted, also known as Sultan John. The Return of The Salmon committee change the proclamation a little every year; this year they have added more information about Sultan s namesake Chief T seul-ted, and honored the memory of Jerry Carter. Jerry was a Public Utilities District engineer in Monroe,WA and in 1980 he conceived the idea of creating a sculpture of T seul-ted out of sawdust and epoxy resin. The project took Jerry a year and a half; every night after work he went home and worked on the statue in his back yard. Once completed, he donated the

4 statue to the City of Sultan, and it now stands in River Park and can be seen from Highway 2. Activities: Native welcoming ceremony Native storytelling, flute, drumming and round dance Master Gardner Clinic Horse drawn covered wagon rides Riverside fish viewing tours Traditional cedar weaving demonstration Virtuoso lummi violinist Swill Kanim Blackfeet guitarist/singer JP Falcon Grady Native flutist Peter Ali Vick s grilled wild salmon Big Bear s frybread Children s activities Vendors Raffle EVENT CONTACT: Craig Young Return of the Salmon Celebration Committee craigyoung45@gmail.com QUOTES: What does the Return of Salmon Celebration mean to Sultan? We have come to understand that our human lives are entwined with the lives of everything around us, and that in the health of the salmon we find the health of the landscape, and in the health of the landscape, we find the health of our own families and children. The Celebration reminds us to live sustainably, and to protect our salmon watersheds. by Craig Young, Return of the Salmon Celebration Committee What is on the horizon for salmon habitat restoration on the Skykomish and Sultan rivers? Ongoing partnerships with the Tulalip Sovereign Nation, The Public Utility District, and the City of Sultan have resulted in millions of dollars of salmon habitat restoration and improvement in the Sultan River. Side channels have been created for rearing, refuge and spawning in Osprey and Reese Parks, and many miles of upstream river spawning habitat have been opened up by the removal of barriers. More such projects have been planned for the future. PUD biologists will be at the Return of the Salmon Celebration to discuss the projects, and give riverside tours. proclaims Craig Young, Return of the Salmon Celebration Committee link to event: Link to Event Poster: 20Salmon%20Flyer%202017%20Proof.pdf?dl=0

5 Stillaguamish Eagle Fest Friday & Saturday - 2/2-2/3/18 Throughout Arlington, WA With winter comes the return of the eagle to the Stillaguamish River. To celebrate these special winter residents, Arlington hosts an annual Eagle Festival will mark the 11th annual event. The Stillaguamish Eagle Festival includes guided tours, an art and photography show, speakers, demonstrations, live music, wagon rides, and loads of other fun activities. The eagles return to feed on salmon that have come to spawn in the clean river gravel. The eagles also prey on the snow geese that are feeding in the agricultural fields in the floodplain. EVENT CONTACT: Sarah Lopez Community Revitalization Project Manager City of Arlington slopez@arlingtonwa.gov Event website: Link to Eagle Festival flyer: 20Salmon%20Celebration%20-%202017%20-%20poster.png?dl=0

6 The Port Susan Snow Goose & Birding Festival Saturday & Sunday - 2/24-2/25/18 Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center - Stanwood, WA The Port Susan Snow Goose & Birding Festival is happening February 24-25, Headquarters are the Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center in Stanwood. We will have free-guided tours, presentations, and vendors to peruse. EVENT CONTACT: Asia Gray Executive Director Stanwood and Camano Chambers of Commerce stanwoodchamberwa@gmail.com Event Link to website: Link to image: 20Festival.jpg?dl=0 Unique Wildlife Phenomena in Seattle Backcountry

7 Swifts Roosting in Monroe Each September thousands of migrating Vaux s Swifts roost in Monroe School District s Frank Wagner Elementary School chimney to rest while on their southern migration from north-western Canada and Washington State to Central America and Venezuela. These 4-5 long birds are the smallest and most numerous of the swift species in Washington State. They spend much of their time in the air and forage, eat, drink, court, collect nesting materials and mate all in flight. Vaux s Swifts prefer to roost in hollow old trees but frequently use brick chimneys as a substitute. Prior to entering the chimney, the swifts often gather in great numbers and circle the chimney. As they begin to enter the chimney, they change from their headfirst direction and go in tail first. Link to Site: Link to Swifts photo: MEDIA ASSETS in DROPBOX Link to main media assets folder: Link to Wildlife Storyline folder:

8 For more information on dog-friendly activities and amenities, high-resolution images, and other communities and activities for visitors to see and do, contact: Angie Riley Marketing & Communications Manager Snohomish County Tourism Bureau ext.108 Copyright 2017 Snohomish County Tourism Bureau, All rights reserved. Snohomish County News & Events Our mailing address is: Snohomish County Tourism Bureau th Street SW Suite 204 Lynnwood, WA Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these s? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list