What's Happening: Aug. 30, 2023

The Kittitas Environmental Education Network announced new adventure programs for its 2023-24 calendar, beginning in September.

An Adventure Apprentice Program for ages 16-20 to provide knowledge, practical skills and experience for those seeking careers in recreation, environmental stewardship or outdoor leadership. There will be opportunities to meet professionals, field trips and more for a tuition fee of $5,000 for nine months, including all food, trip costs, training certifications and travel costs.

The Mountaineers program for ages 13-15 (mega mountaineers) and 10-12 (mini mountaineers) runs from September to June, offering one overnight weekend trip per month following Thursday evening social and prep nights. Tiered pricing is available for each trip.

Details about a new Women Wild program featuring day hikes or overnight trips for women will be coming soon. For more information and to register, go to ycic.org/nature-school.

One of my favorite aspects of the hobby of birdwatching is that no matter the time of the year birding has something exciting for us to look forward to and with fall migration beginning, now’s the time to get outside and try to spot some new birds.

In the next few weeks or so as Rimrock Lake’s water levels draw down the kokanee salmon — a landlocked sockeye salmon — will start to congregate near the mouth of Clear Creek to spawn. This annual event attracts hundreds of birds such as gulls, terns, grebes and eagles to feast on the bonanza of easy to catch fish as they fight to get up the creek.

A birder searching for fall migrants noted that the sockeye had not started to run yet, but he did spot a California gull as well as three Clark’s grebe, a bird that is a rare fall and winter visitor to our area.

The shorebird migration continues to be slow at Wenas Lake, but birders were able to find Baird's sandpiper, least sandpiper, western sandpiper, spotted sandpiper, red-necked phalarope and ten peep species that were too distant to identify. At the Grandview Sewage Treatment Plant, birders spotted least sandpiper, red-necked phalarope, spotted sandpiper and greater yellowlegs.

So dust off your binoculars, grab your favorite field guide and hit the trails to see one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth, known as fall migration.

Email bird sightings to [email protected] and be sure to like The Yakima Valley Audubon Society on its Facebook page or visit yakimaaudubon.org.

WEDNESDAY: Hard Core Runners Club will meet for its weekly fun run at the Franklin Park track at 6 p.m. All paces are welcome.

ALSO WEDNESDAY: Connie Estap will provide a history of camping with cars from the Model T to the Winnebago in a presentation titled "You can take it with you: How cars changed camping" at The Cascadians' monthly meeting. It's scheduled to go from 7-9 p.m. at the Sunrise Room at The Terraces at Summitview, preceded by a new member orientation from 6-7 p.m. in Living Care's Village Café West room.

SATURDAY: The Hard Core Runners Club will host its weekend fun run of 3 to 6 miles, with all paces and abilities welcome. Meet at 8 a.m. at the Yakima Greenway’s Gleed parking lot, at the northwest corner of U.S. 12 and Old Naches Highway, behind the McIlrath fruit stand.

THURSDAY: The Cascadians will hike 5.6 miles with 1,200 feet of elevation gain from Sunrise to Fremont Lookout at Mount Rainier National Park. The trail is exposed so be prepared for sun or other weather. Drivers will need a day pass, an America the Beautiful Pass or a Digital Pass. Visit the Cascadians calendar at cascadians.org/Calendar for more details.

Log in

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming anotherperson will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyoneor anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ismthat is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link oneach comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitnessaccounts, the history behind an article.

Please select all the ways you would like to hear from us:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. For information about our privacy practices, please visit our website.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices here.

The Yakima Herald-Republic is hiring.