Earth Sanctuary: A Nature Reserve, Meditation Parkland and Sculpture Garden

Western Tanager at Earth Sanctuary (Craig Johnson)

Craig and Joy Johnson, Whidbey Island bird experts and authors of Our Puget Sound Birds & Habitat, provided this list of birds they have seen in the past two weeks:

1. Black-throated Gray Warbler
2. Western Tanager
3. Black-headed Grosbeak
4. Yellow Warbler
5. Wilson’s Warbler
6. Pacific Slope Flycatcher
7. Red-breasted Sapsucker
8. Swainson’s Thrush
9. Cinnamon Teal
10. Green-winged Teal
11. Cedar Waxwings
12. Wood Ducks with chicks
13. Hooded Merganser with chicks
14. Rufous Hummingbird
15. Brown Creeper
16. Golden-crowned Kinglet
17. Osprey
18. Tree Swallow
19. Barn Swallow
20. Violet-green Swallow
21. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
22. Northern Flicker
23. Red-winged Blackbird
24. Song Sparrow feeding young
25. American Robin feeding young

Visit their beautiful web site!

Spring has arrived at Earth Sanctuary (www.earthsanctuary.org)!  The flowers are blooming.  The birds are breeding and the beavers are definitely busy! 

The last volunteer day was a wonderful success.  Great people and camaraderie.

If you are interested, we will have another volunteer day on Saturday, May 16.  Here’s what we need help on:

• Fence Western Red Cedars (beaver protection!)
• Transfer some maple trees into a shaded and fenced area
• Help stack and store unused fencing and poles
• Possible weeding and watering
• Remove drip watering in Sequoia/Western Red Cedar grove by shed
• Cut invasive English Holly and paint stump with Roundup
• Put mulch on some very wet areas of the path
• Other??

We will meet at 9:00 am on Saturday, May 16 by the shed on the East side of Earth Sanctuary.  Coming from the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry, turn right at Newman road and go about 3/10’s of a mile.  The East entrance (a small driveway) is about 100 yards on the right past Emil Road and the Earth Sanctuary Retreat House.  Link to approximate location of driveway into shed: http://tinyurl.com/cqxnrz   

People who put in 5 hours of volunteer time will get an Annual Pass to Earth Sanctuary, enabling them to visit Earth Sanctuary free for the next year.  I will also provide sandwiches and water/soft drinks for lunch.  And, for those interested, I will give a tour of Earth Sanctuary in the mid to late afternoon.

Please RSVP to Chuck Pettis at cpettis@earthsanctuary.org

Questions? Email or call me!  Thank you very much!

Chuck Pettis
Earth Sanctuary
cpettis@earthsanctuary.org
www.earthsanctuary.org
360-331-6667

Earth Sanctuary is competing for the Evening Magazine  ”Best of Western Washington” Girls Weekend Destination. Please vote for us here - http://ow.ly/1HK4

There is a wonderful article on Earth Sanctuary in the March/April 2009 issue of 425 Magazine.  Click here to see it.

There is a wonderful article on Earth Sanctuary by Carol Pucci in the January 22, 2009 Seattle Times Travel/Outdoors section - NW Weekend.  The Earth Sanctuary labyrinth is the cover photo of the print pull-out section (see above)!  There is also a great video of Earth Sanctuary by Erika Schultz.

Link to printable online article.

Link to video.

Saturday afternoon, January 10, 2009, bird watchers saw several Ring Necked Ducks on the Earth Sanctuary ponds.  One of the bird watchers told me that he had never seen this duck before.  Grab your binoculars and come out and see them!

Photo from Ed Post’s Flickr account.  Used by permission.

We have just completed a major clearing and road project a Earth Sanctuary.  When the Earth Sanctuary property was purchased, one parcel had been hard logged and was covered with mainly unhealthy trees and Himalayan Blackberries.  At the end of 2008, we are now planting over 1,000 new trees in groves to create an arboretum.  Come and see the new “baby forest!”

The Cottonwood Stone Circle stones are Columbia River Basalt columns.  When the cut stones are dry, they are gray in color.  When they get wet, they are black!

 See the full set of photos.  This set includes all 12 outer stones, wet with rain and black.