8/24 Northern flicker, Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Skeena steelhead, outdoor rec, Port Hadlock sewer, rainways, seafood ship ills, octopus garden, glacial gardens, Tokitae

 

Northern Flicker (Avibirds)

Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
Northern Flickers make cavity nests in dead and wounded trees. Occasionally, they nest in burrows on bank sides. They frequently reuse nests from previous years. They mainly feed on ants and beetles, but other insects include butterflies, moths, and flies. They also eat fruits, berries, seeds, and snails. (Avibirds)

Great Pacific Garbage Patch cleanup team hauls in 55 tonnes of plastic waste
A fishing expedition of sorts that brought in a mother lode of plastic from the area of the ocean known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch has been delivered to Ogden Point in Victoria for recycling and disposal. The 55-tonne haul was collected in a six-week operation by the Ocean Cleanup project, a Dutch non-profit trying to rid the world's oceans of plastic. (CBC)

Squabbling Over the Last Fish
The Skeena steelhead is prized by anglers and a major economic boost. But its survival is threatened. Amanda Follett Hosgood reports. (The Tyee)

How wildfires are impacting outdoor recreation in Washington
Driven by climate change, more frequent blazes may change the way we hike, ski and camp. Andrew Engelson reports. (Crosscut)

Kickoff celebrates Port Hadlock sewer
Jefferson County officials broke ground on the $35 million Port Hadlock sewer project, which will eventually allow a new neighborhood of affordable housing to be built on the site. Peter Segall reports. (Peninsula Daily News)

How Rainways Could Restore ‘Raincouver’
For cities that buried their creeks, an urban solution to remove pollutants from rainy roads. Christopher Cheung reports. (The Tyee)

Seafood ship with years of safety, health violations is leaking ammonia on Foss Waterway
A seafood processing ship with a troubled history of pollution and safety issues is leaking ammonia on Tacoma’s Foss Waterway. There’s no immediate threat to the public, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday. Craig Sailor reports. (Tacoma News Tribune)

Here's why 6,000 octopuses like to be under the sea at an 'octopus garden'
Off the coast of California is an unusual "octopus garden" — the largest congregation of deep-sea octopuses ever discovered on Earth, where over 6,000 octopuses huddle around an extinct underwater volcano in the black, cold ocean depths, almost two miles below the surface. Nell Greenfieldboyce reports. (NPR)

Glacial gardens
David B. Williams writes: "Recently, I hiked out onto the Nisqually Glacier on Mt. Rainier with NPS geologist Taylor Kenyon to change the batteries on two seismic probes he had set up to monitor water discharge and sediment movement. We were on the lower end of the glacier on rock and rubble that the mountain had shed atop the ice, forming a blanket of debris. It was amazing..." (Street Smart Naturalist)

People Under the Sea [ENCORE] /345
It is with a heavy heart that we share that Tokitae, a Southern Resident Orca held unjustly in captivity for 53 years, has passed away. To honor her memory, this week we are rebroadcasting our episode with Kurt Russo on the People Under the Sea, originally aired in October of 2018. (For the Wild)

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Now, your tug weather--
West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  259 AM PDT Thu Aug 24 2023   
TODAY  E wind to 10 kt becoming NE in the afternoon. Wind waves  2 ft or less. W swell 2 ft at 7 seconds. Patchy dense fog in the  morning. 
TONIGHT  NW wind to 10 kt becoming E after midnight. Wind waves  1 ft or less. W swell 1 ft at 5 seconds. Haze.

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