Great Blue Heron spears bullhead

credit John Reinke

This is a Great Blue Heron just after it caught a brown bullhead which is a local species of catfish here in Washington state.  The picture was taken this month at the wetland enclosure on the east side where 90th Street crosses the Sammamish River here in Redmond.  

- John Reinke

"Racquettes": coming soon to a tree near you. By John Reinke

See the two Racquettes?

I was approaching my condo unit at dusk recently after a walk along the Sammamish Slough, when I spotted some movement up ahead. It was a mother raccoon and 3 baby raccoons (are they called racquettes?).  When they spotted me through the trees, the young'uns scrambled part way up the nearest trunk. 

I quickly whipped out my trusty point-and-shoot.  The mother stood her ground as I approached to within about 10 feet. She emitted a low visceral growl, warning me not to come closer. I took the hint and backed off. 

Read More...

Trestle bridge connector trail is almost complete

Steps going up from the Sammamish River Trail to the Trestle bridge  Credit John Reinke

I took this photo today along the Sammamish River Trail, looking south.  As you can see, work is nearly completed on the Redmond Central Connector where spans the railroad trestle bridge.  Note the new aluminum staircase which provides access from the River Trail to the Connector.

I spoke to a man who was working there, and he said this section will open sometime next week, with the official opening occurring on Saturday, September 23.

-- John Reinke

Total cost of Central Trail Connector Phase 11 is:  $6,411,600  ( $5,561,000 grants)

layered leaves

credit: John Reinke

John Reinke of Education Hill found these leaves at the Senior Center and layered them into photographic art. See his 'portfolio' of photos and stories.

Willows Creek After Restoration

Logs and "el-wood" are positioned in Willows Creek

Earlier this year, the City implemented a plan to restore a 800 foot section of Willows Creek to a more natural state.  The creek originates in the Rose Hill watershed of Redmond and empties into the Sammamish River about a half mile north of the 90th Street Bridge.  Migrating salmon gather in the mouth of the creek to find cool water and shade.

Erosion and a significant sedimentation problems occur during periods heavy rains.  The problem is augmented by a stormwater outfall servicing the surrounding roads and homes.  High flow rates reduce the amount and quality of habitat for salmon and cutthroat trout. According to Tom Hardy, city stream specialist cutthroat are present but not salmon.  Read more...

The Sammamish River Trail Weasel

Weasel bounds across the Sammamish River Trail/ Credit John Rienke

This afternoon I was returning from a walk along the Sammamish River Trail here in Redmond, feeling a little disappointed at not having seen anything particularly interesting during my chilly June stroll.

As I approached the 90th St Bridge, I was astonished to observe a small weasel (no, it's not a squirrel) venture forth from behind a large boulder on the right side of the trail. It darted back behind the rock upon spotting an ambling pedestrian and speeding bicyclist, both of whom were heading north from underneath the bridge.

Calm Before The Storm



Rainbow covers Redmond before El Nina strikes 

I was leaving the QFC at Bella Bottega Wednesday afternoon only to discover this lovely rainbow arching across the sky!  The rainbow was already starting to fade when I snapped this picture. (click rainbow to enlarge). It wasn't raining in the immediate area but, just enough humid air to create this beautiful effect!

It soon vanished, reminding me to savor life in the moment.

Story and Photo By John Reinke
(See all of  John's work)

Sammamish River Eaglets

 

credit / John Reinke

Three week old eaglets nesting on the Sammamish River.  

One is quite a bit larger than than the other.

-- by John Rinke, Redmond, WA.  

Earth Day Seedling Sale benefits "Sustainable Redmond"

John Reinke,  proud owner of  Western Hemlock seedling

Earth Day Seedling Sale benefits Sustainable Redmond

In the spirit of Earth Day, Sustainable Redmond is making available select Western Hemlock seedlings in return for contributions to our 2012 Overlake Tree Preservation Campaign. As you may know, the current plan is that the 28 acre Group Health property in Overlake will be clear cut for development, and Sustainable Redmond is working to have this plan overturned.

The Western Hemlock is the Washington State tree, and, while these seedlings can’t replace Overlake’s mature urban forest, planting these locally will help clean our air and water.

Seedlings will be for sale at the Earth Day celebration at 21 Acres in Woodinville from 3 - 5pm on Saturday, April 21. Seedlings will also be available at 9am at the Green Kirkland Partnership Restoration Event at Juanita Bay Park, 2201 Market Street in Kirkland.

Check out http://www.sustainableredmond.org/  for more info on the issue, as well as for on-line giving using PayPal and other ways to contribute to our mission.
 
--John, Tom, Cindy
Sustainable Redmond
Photo by Yoder

sewar

 

King County recognizes that trees help slow climate change and provide many important benefits for human health and well-being, water quality, and habitat. When we design this project, we try to limit the number of trees we need to remove. Where we can’t protect trees, we make replanting a priority with a goal of creating a future tree canopy that is equal to or better than what exists today. I’ve attached a factsheet here with more information on our approach to trees for this project.

 

Our initial engineering plans did call for the removal of the stand of four cedar trees just north of the Central Connector where it crosses over the Sammamish River Trail. In response to community concerns, we were able to adjust our design to save two of the four trees.

 

The two trees that must be removed are located within the trench that we will have to dig to install the new sewer pipe. Unfortunately, there is no alternative sewer route or feasible way to narrow our construction footprint that would allow us to save those two trees.

 

We are looking at options for how we can incorporate the two removed trees back into the landscape. We will also consider how we can pay tribute and tell the stories of these trees. If you have ideas for how we could best do this, please do let me know.

 

Thank you again John for sharing your concern for these trees with us. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have further questions.

 

Best,

Kelly

Thank you John Reinke for your photo and finding the status of these trees. 

Seafair Unlimited Hydroplane and Simulator visits Bella Bottega Shopping Center

 J. Michael Kelly's "Degree" Hydroplane, courtesy Reinke

UPDATED:  If you happened to be shopping at Bella Bottega, Tuesday the 26th, you may have notices one of Seafair's unlimited hydroplane's in the QFC parking lot.  Visitors were invited to test out their skills behind the wheel in a Nascar Simulator. 

B-Reporter John Reinke observed  Seafair racer "J. Michael Kelly's signature scrawled across the hatch" of the trailered hydroplane.

Kelly resides in Bonney Lake, WA.  He's started in 45 races during his six year career driving unlimited hydroplanes. The 31-year-old Kelly was named 2004 Rookie of the Year  He will race for the Chevrolet Cup at Seafar, August 3-7.

Find the informative Seafair calendar of events here!

Redmond Ospreys And Their Nests

Marymoor Park juvenile osprey / credit Reinke

According to the Marymoor Park website, this tall osprey nest platform located near Parking Lot B was constructed in 2008, to replace a decommissioned cell tower. The new platform has been used by ospreys ever since.  

A juvenile osprey is currently occupying the nest.  (A juvenile can be identified by the white fringe around all of its brown wing feathers, which adults do not have.) 

I discovered that there are two empty osprey nests only a half mile away and still inside the park.  One nest structure is located in a tall lighting tower on the perimeter of baseball field #6 and the other is similarly located on the perimeter of baseball field #8. .

Empty osprey nests on Marymoor lighting tower

During all of my visits to the platform, only the juvenile has been present and I have never seen it flying around or accompanied by adult ospreys.  However, my visits have all been of fairly short duration, so I presume that the adults are still attending to the juvenile.  Nonetheless, the fall migration season has already begun, so presumably the juvenile and its parents may have already departed.  

-- John Reinke 

    Redmond, photojournalist 

   10/8/2023

"Fall Run," By Reinke



JOHN REINKE / Fall Run

Taken on the meandering sidewalk that goes past La Petite Academy, a short distance from the Tully's Bella Bottega.  The sidewalk continues opposite the Redmond Library.  J.R.

Sammamish River Eagles by John Reinke

Photo by Reinke

 

Variety and abundance of Sammamish River wildlife

Male common goldeneye dining on a lamprey / credit Reinke, 3/25/2018

This afternoon between 3:38 pm and 4:07 pm I walked from the Opportunity Bldg down to the Leary Way Bridge and back, along the Sammamish River Trail.  I only had my small camera with me and didn't take any photos.

On the way south, I saw some buffleheads and common goldeneyes in the river.  When heading back north, I counted 4 male and 2 female common goldeneyes.  

I also counted one male and 2 female  buffleheads.  Birdweb.org states that buffleheads are the smallest diving duck in Washington state, and I did indeed observe that they were noticeably smaller than the common goldeneyes.

The most interesting wildlife I saw were four river otters swimming north in the river.  I spotted them about a hundred yards north of the Leary Way Bridge, up very close to my side of the river.  They were rapidly heading north, and a pleasure to watch.  All appeared to be large and the same size.

As they approached, the common goldeneyes all took flight and headed south down the river, over the heads of the otters.  Next, the buffleheads did the same thing as the otters started to get close to them.  (The two groups of birds were separated by maybe 25 yards.)

As I got back to the parking lot on the south side of the Opportunity Bldg, I observed a great blue heron fly northward well above the river.  It squawked loudly, once it saw the bald eagle perched up by the nest on the opposite side of the river.

-- John Reinke

   Redmond resident

   12/6

The Dabbling Duck of Sammamish River

Sammamish River Green Winged Teal/ J. REINKE

 I photographed this solitary male green winged teal on Thursday, March 22 in the stormwater runoff pond just south of the Leary Way Bridge crossing the Sammamish River.

Teal are the smallest of the "dabbling ducks" about 2/3 the size of a typical mallard. Dabbling ducks are distinguished from diving ducks by their manner of feeding. They bob their heads, necks and breasts underneath the water to find food, rather than submersing themselves completely and swimming underwater.

Photo and Story by John Reinke

Education Hill, Redmond

Dabbling Ducks feeding

Sammamish River Swallows by Reinke

(l-r) Olive Green Swallow, Barn Swallow

(l-r) Barn Swallow, Olive Green Swallow, Tree Swallow

 "I had never before seen these swallows perch anywhere along the [Sammamish] river, although they can be seen all the time swooping and diving in the air, back and forth along the river, catching insects "on the fly".  - John Reinke, 5/19/2021

"Library Colors," By Reinke

JOHN REINKE / Redmond Library Colors

Budweiser Clydesdales visit Redmond en route to SeaFair

This afternoon a couple of long Budweiser vans appeared in the QFC parking lot at Bella Bottega. I happened on the scene just as the last of the famous Budweiser Clydesdales was being unloaded. They were brought up here for this weekend's SeaFair Parade. A QFC employee said the company had arranged for the horses to be put on display at the store for a 3 hour appearance, ending at 6 pm. She said they had recently been handing out flyers about the event.

These horses are huge! The trainer told me they are 18 to 18.1 hands high at the shoulder. (A "hand" is 4 inches.) They weigh a ton or more each, I was told. The fully assembled rig of 8 horses marched around the parking lot a few times, pulling the famous red Budweiser wagon, complete with accompanying Dalmatian dog. Naturally, a large crowd clustered around and took lots of pictures. The horses stood by, quite unperturbed by all the attention.

By John Reinke
Photo by Reinke
Education Hill, 7/30

"Sustainable Sidewalk", Art by Reinke, Part One

JOHN REINKE / "Sustainable Sidewalk"

"Sustainable" defined:

a : of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource

 so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged

- Webster's dictionary