Humpback whales are back in the straits this winter and spring—53 sightings in these waters where they were nearly absent a century ago. Their return marks protection becoming countable, a tide turned measurable by field records. But the Lummi people have always known this as whale water; what science calls recolonization is, to them, a homecoming—a restoration of what should never have been lost.Along with the humpbacks, a single killer whale and one gray whale have appeared in recent months, sketching the outline of a marine ecosystem finding its way back to balance. These arrivals matter not just as species counts, but as a signal that the deeper conditions supporting their lives—prey abundance, water quality, passage routes—are healing.
Rufous hummingbirds and early summer flowers
June 11, 2026
The morning light filters through Douglas-fir branches near Bellingham, where the forest edge opens to reveal clusters of cream-white oceanspray flowers and the bright pink blooms of Nootka rose. The air carries the sweet scent of nectar and the soft hum of wings beating faster than the eye can follow. These are the longest days of the year, and the timing is no accident.A rufous hummingbird hovers before an oceanspray bloom, its copper-colored back catching the early light. The bird's needle-thin bill probes deep into the tiny flowers that cluster in foam-like sprays at branch tips. Each flower holds a small reservoir of nectar, and the oceanspray's timing aligns precisely with the hummingbird's arrival for breeding season. The rufous hummingbird migrates north from wintering grounds in Mexico, reaching the Pacific Northwest just as these native shrubs burst into bloom. The bird's presence here is fleeting. Unlike the year-round Anna's hummingbird that also visits these flowers, the rufous hummingbird will stay only through the breeding season before beginning its southward journey in late summer.The relationship extends beyond oceanspray to a constellation of native flowers that bloom in sequence through early summer. Nootka rose opens its five-petaled pink flowers along forest edges and clearings, offering nectar to the hummingbirds while depending on various pollinators for reproduction. The invasive poison hemlock also blooms now in disturbed areas, but its white umbrella-shaped flower clusters serve different pollinators entirely. Native honeysuckles add to the nectar corridor. Orange honeysuckle unfurls its trumpet-shaped blooms in brilliant orange and red, colors that signal to hummingbirds from a distance. Twinberry honeysuckle produces paired yellow flowers that will later become black berries. Each species times its flowering to capture pollinators when they are most abundant and active. The hummingbirds, in turn, have evolved to arrive when this nectar buffet reaches its peak.The rufous hummingbird's energy demands are extraordinary. Its heart beats over 1,200 times per minute during flight, and it must visit hundreds of flowers each day to fuel this metabolic intensity. The bird's relationship with these early summer bloomers represents a precise ecological synchrony. The flowers provide the concentrated energy source the hummingbird needs for courtship displays, nest building, and feeding young. In return, the bird transfers pollen between flowers as it feeds, its forehead and throat feathers picking up and depositing the fine grains. This partnership has shaped both the timing of migration and the flowering schedules of these native plants. Listen for the distinctive buzz of rufous hummingbird wings, higher-pitched than the Anna's hummingbird, as it moves between the oceanspray clusters and rose blooms in the warming morning air.
Great blue herons hunt the shallows in late spring
May 27, 2026
The tide pools near Bellingham hold their breath between waves. Water settles in the carved basins, clear enough to count the barnacles clustered on wet stone. Above the rocky shore, where freshwater streams meet salt, a great blue heron stands motionless in the shallows.The heron's neck curves in a perfect S, head cocked at an angle that seems impossible to hold. But this is the hunting posture, refined through countless mornings like this one. The bird's yellow eyes track movement below the surface. Each ripple registers. Each shadow shifting across the sandy bottom draws attention. The heron can stand this way for twenty minutes without moving, a study in controlled patience that makes the surrounding world seem frantic by comparison. When fish move into the shallow water to spawn or feed, the heron strikes with surgical precision. The spear-like bill penetrates the water and emerges with prey clamped tight.Late spring brings abundance to these coastal waters. Juvenile salmon move through the estuaries, following ancient routes toward the open ocean. Small fish gather in the warming shallows to feed on the season's first blooms of marine algae. Crabs scuttle between the rocks, newly molted and vulnerable. The heron takes advantage of all of this. Its diet shifts with whatever moves within striking distance. A young rockfish. A sculpin darting between the eelgrass beds. Sometimes a small crab, crushed and swallowed whole. The bird's hunting success depends on reading the water, understanding where prey will gather, and waiting in exactly the right place. During breeding season, this skill becomes critical. Adult herons must feed not only themselves but also their growing chicks back at the colony. The tall Douglas firs that line Bellingham's shores hold dozens of stick nests, each one demanding a steady supply of fish and crustaceans. Parent birds make repeated trips between the feeding grounds and the rookery, their flight paths connecting the productive shallows to the towering conifers where the next generation waits.The heron shifts its weight from one leg to the other, a movement so slight it barely disturbs the surface tension around its feet. Somewhere in the clear water below, a shadow moves. The bird's head tilts another degree. The morning light catches the water's surface, breaking into patterns that shift and settle with each small wave rolling in from the bay. If you are standing near water right now, you might notice how it holds the light differently than the air around it, how it bends what you see into something both familiar and strange.
