5/25 Salmonberry bird, humpbacks, cherry blight, Scotch broom, Black Ball, whale watch licensing, SeaTac travel, testing sewage, LA marshes

Swainson's thrush [Gregg Thompson/BirdNote]

Salmonberry Bird
The native names of birds sometimes distill the essence of their appearance or behavior. In the Cherokee language, for instance, the Meadowlark is called "star," because of the way the bird's tail spreads out when it soars. To the Northwest Coastal people, this Swainson's Thrush is known as the "Salmonberry Bird." The name derives from its annual arrival in the Pacific Northwest in May, when salmonberries ripen in the forests. (BirdNote)


*EDITOR'S NOTE: Access updates on the COVID-19 virus at national and regional print publications like the CBC, the Seattle Times, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.



Humpback sightings in Vancouver harbour a welcome sign of recovery
Two recent humpback whale sightings in Vancouver’s harbour have delighted a UBC marine biologist who says they are a welcome sign of recovery following overhunting more than a century ago. Andrew Trites, a professor at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of B.C., said it’s possible both sightings this month involved the same whale, which could be swimming up and down the shoreline looking for food such as krill, herring and sardines. Nick Eagland reports. (Vancouver Sun)

A Disease Outbreak Among Northwest Cherry Crops Means Less Fruit Than Usual This Year
Just as a farmer’s fruit should be turning juicy and sweet, an old foe called “little cherry disease” robs the harvest. From The Dalles, Oregon, to Brewster, Washington, Northwest cherry growers are checking their orchards now, just before harvest. Infected trees have to be cut down. And the disease can spread like wildfire from tree to tree until an entire orchard is just stumps.  Anna King reports (Northwest News Network)

Help eradicate Scotch broom, the pretty pest lining WA highways
The coronavirus hasn’t stopped the first-ever census of the invasive yellow bush, which can displace forests and increase wildfire risks. Mandy Godwin reports. (Crosscut)

Will Coho ferry service be stalled for the rest of the year?
Black Ball Ferry Line’s Coho ferry could be shut down through December and might not be back in service until spring 2021, severely jeopardizing the Port Angeles company’s ability to stay afloat, co-owner Ryan Malane said Thursday. Canadian restrictions on nonessential travel due to the coronavirus pandemic, which have corralled the 1,000-passenger ferry since March 29, have a 20 percent chance to be eased by December in a best-case scenario, according to Destination BC, the provincial government’s tourism marketing corporation. Those restrictions are 60 percent likely to continue until spring 2021, according to estimates presented during an April 30 online meeting recorded at tinyurl.com/PDN-CohoBC. Paul Gottlieb reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

Commercial whale-watching licensing program
Department of Fish and Wildlife is developing rules for a new commercial whale-watching licensing program to enable sustainable whale watching while reducing the impacts of vessel noise and disturbance so whales can effectively forage, rest, and socialize...Draft language will be shared and refined over the summer of 2020, and the public comment period will follow in fall 2020, with expected adoption of the rules by Jan. 1, 2021. (WDFW)

Travel falls 90% at Washington’s busiest airport - a 50-year low, Port of Seattle says
The Port of Seattle released a report detailing the difference in the number of travelers this year compared to April 2019 and the impact of the pandemic is clear, according to the agency’s website. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport— Washington’s busiest airport — saw passenger volume drop to a 53-year low, Port of Seattle said. “About 260,000 passengers traveled through SEA in April of 2020, which is a decrease of 93.6 percent from the same month last year,” the Port of Seattle said in a news release. Brooke Wolford reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Honolulu Is Testing Sewage To Watch For The Spread Of COVID-19
Oahu this month became one of many communities across the world testing wastewater for the new coronavirus. Scientists are finding that the amount of the virus detected in a community’s sewage could predict the rise and fall of infections, raising hopes for a cheap and reliable early warning tool. The virus that causes COVID-19 can be detected in a person’s fecal matter within three days of infection, much earlier than the 14 days it can take to develop symptoms. Claire Caulfield reports. (Honolulu Civil Beat)

Loss of Louisiana marshes that protect New Orleans is ‘probably inevitable,’ study finds
Rising seas are likely to overwhelm the wetlands that line the coast of Louisiana, destroying the protection they offer the city of New Orleans as well as the fisheries and tourism that contribute heavily to the state’s economy, a new study says. The imperiled wetlands at the base of the Mississippi River have crossed a critical tipping point, according to the new research, which was published in Science Advances and is based on hundreds of measurements that revealed the fate of ancient marshes in this region. Chris Mooney reports. (Washington Post)


Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  243 AM PDT Mon May 25 2020   
TODAY  W wind to 10 kt. Wind waves 1 ft or less. W swell 5 ft  at 12 seconds. Rain likely in the morning then a chance of rain  in the afternoon. 
TONIGHT  W wind 5 to 15 kt becoming to 10 kt after midnight.  Wind waves 2 ft or less. W swell 5 ft at 12 seconds.




--
"Salish Sea News & Weather" is compiled as a community service by Mike Sato. To subscribe, send your name and email to msato (@) salishseacom.com. Your email information is never shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Salish Sea News: Communicate, Educate, Advocate

Follow on Twitter. 

Salish Sea Communications: Truth Well Told