Conserve

Tucked behind the scenes at Northwest Trek’s Conservation Center property is a small but important wetland known as Toad Pond. The pond serves as one of the few known remaining breeding sites for western toads in Pierce County. Each spring, adult toads migrate to the shallow water to lay thousands of eggs, beginning the next generation of this declining amphibian species. Recently, however, Northwest Trek’s conservation team noticed something unusual: instead of reflecting the sky, the water appeared bright red. The color is a sign of changing conditions in the pond and comes from water fern (Azolla), a tiny floating …

On an early February morning, staff and volunteers at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park cleaned mason bee nesting blocks in an effort to set the bees up for a successful spring. We worked ahead of the warming weather and cleaned the mason bee nest boxes early to avoid waking the bees prematurely. Mason bees emerge from their cocoons when the temperature stays between 50 and 55 degrees for several consecutive days, a signal that spring is coming. While mason bees can emerge naturally without assistance, cleaning their nest blocks removes mites, parasites, and built-up debris so they can begin their work …

A charismatic colony of purple martins along Ruston Way is moving. The dark purple and blue birds are North America’s largest swallow and often spotted among decrepit wooden poles at Dickman Mill Park, Titlow Beach and Chambers Bay. They are a native bird that has been migrating back to Tacoma and other areas of the West Coast for thousands of years, arriving each spring from Brazil and usually departing by late August. The birds – beloved for their pest control and throaty chirps known as the Dawn Song – live in wooden nest boxes or plastic gourds made by humans, …