by Erik Schneider
As spring transitions into summer on Morse Wildlife Preserve, signs of new life are emerging. Fledgling birds are appearing throughout the Preserve, across the diverse habitats of this landscape.
The Morse Wildlife Preserve is open to the public on the Second Sunday of each month, from April to October. The next open day is on July 13th, when you could be lucky enough to see these birds and learn more about this haven for wildlife.
After weeks of constant care by the parents, several Tree Swallows took their first awkward flights out of the nest boxes and over the prairie, flying in small circles around the boxes on a cool, rainy afternoon. After the test flights, they found a place to roost, eagerly awaiting the next feeding.
After weeks of constant care by the parents, several Tree Swallows took their first awkward flights out of the nest boxes and over the prairie, flying in small circles around the boxes on a cool, rainy afternoon. After the test flights, they found a place to roost, eagerly awaiting the next feeding.
Western Bluebird fledglings MWP Erik Schneider June 2025.jpg
Western Bluebirds raised another successful brood this year on the oak savannah, and two young juveniles were seen out foraging for the first time, figuring out how to find food on their own, while the parents watched over nearby.
In the wetland, scruffy fledgling Marsh Wrens have been hopping around the grasses and cattails, following the parents closely in hopes of the next bite to eat, and a tiny puffball Virginia Rail juvenile was seen racing along the edge of the marsh with its family.
And in the forests, young Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Song Sparrows, and Red-breasted Sapsuckers have been moving stealthily among the trees and shrubs, while American Robins loudly defend their young from nearby predators.
Many of the birds have traveled hundreds or even thousands of miles to return to nest on the Preserve. Generations of Swainson’s Thrushes have traveled to and from their wintering grounds from as far as South America, Western Tanagers from as far as Central America, and Rufous Hummingbirds from Mexico, returning year after year to nest on this land and raise their young.
They depend on the Preserve’s healthy landscape of native plants and insects that these ecosystems produce, which are being protected and restored here to allow the cycle of life to continue for the benefit of all of us that live here.
= photos open space audubon
Second Sunday is July 13, 2025
Time: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Find us at: 25415 70th Ave, Graham, WA 98338
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