Blog
Rare Birds
The visiting Acorn Woodpecker. Photo credit: Jim Diers An acorn woodpecker has been hanging around the old Misty Isle Farms airstrip at SW 232nd Street since Nov. 2. For the nonbirder, this information might result in a shrug, but to the birding community on Vashon...
Health Officials Share Findings from North Colvos Healthy Beach Project
Public Health teams have been assessing water quality and septic performance along Vashon's northwest shoreline. Credit: Public Health -- Seattle & King County In May 2020, responding to reports of foul odors along certain stretches of Vashon shoreline,...
Elwood and other elephant seals visit Vashon
Elwood, the young male Northern elephant seal in Tramp Harbor this fall. Credit: Jim Diers For almost everyone living in the Pacific Northwest over the past century, Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) are not considered a common sight. But, over the...
My Quest for a Blue Frog
The blue frog is out there…somewhere. Photo credit: Jim Diers The blue frog is my holy grail. Ever since learning that the Northern Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla) can on the rarest of occasions turn up sky blue in color, I have been on the lookout for this...
BioBlitz 2022: Monitoring Mystery at Fisher Pond
This is a special guest blog post by our 2022 Summer Science Communication Intern Alana Bass. Each year that the Bioblitz survey takes place, residents of Vashon set out to observe and identify every single species that they can – a task that requires a lot of moving...
Who Will Own Your Water, Burton? Time to Chime In
Chuck Weinstock (left) and Don Furman of the seven-member feasibility board recommending that Burton buy its water system for $1.2 million. Credit: Mary Bruno UPDATE, August 2, 2022: Straw poll results are in: Seventy-two percent of Burton...
Getting at the heart of awe and togetherness during BioBlitz 2022
BioBlitz mushroom survey leaders Hannah Morosoff and Wren Hudgins examine the details of a specimen in a photo. Credit: Susie Fitzhugh Two days after Vashon Nature Center’s 2022 BioBlitz, NASA released the first breathtaking images from the James Webb Space Telescope....
Join us for BioBlitz 2022, July 9th and 10th!
Vashon Nature Center is celebrating their 10th anniversary Bioblitz this year on July 9th and 10th. This 24-hour biodiversity survey has been run by the Nature Center at different island locations since 2012. This year it will be focused on town and surrounding areas,...
Shore Friendly King County: a new shoreline restoration resource for Vashon residents
Whether you live on, or visit Vashon-Maury Island, you likely know the wealth of our abundant shorelines. We have a diversity of both public and private access which allow us to visit the saltwater and shores that are at the roots of this island. Our islands’ 51 miles...
Header Photo: Bianca Perla