Thursday, October 1, 2026
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This coming weekend is the Nisqually Watershed Festival, and that prompted me to wonder just how important our Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually ...
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By George Walter
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9/24/26
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Weeks ago a JOLT reader asked, “Will we ever see California condors in Thurston County?” She had read an article about the ...
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School buses are back on the roads, and summer vacations and local bird breeding seasons are over. Still, there’s lots of avian action ...
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By George Walter
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9/3/26
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Earlier this summer, I wrote two columns about female birds’ vocalization and, more generally, about bird ...
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My son Aaron and I are in Spain to see the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse. Of course we’re also soaking up a lot of history, architecture, art, food ...
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Last week’s column was about how songbirds in the tropics — birds who don’t migrate — maintain their pair bond ...
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The JOLT’s readers have enjoyed “Jill Severn’s Gardening Column” most Fridays since April 2, 2021. In all, she produced more than 230 pieces for Thurston County readers.
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Several weeks ago, I wrote the casual comment that at this time of the year, male fledglings are learning their species’ birdsongs ...
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You may know the location of Bigelow Park, on the near east side of Olympia. Last summer, while walking by the park in the early ...
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At the beginning of July, the breeding season for our Thurston County birds is drawing to a close. In the weeks to come, you will ...
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Last Saturday, my son, Aaron, graduated with a master's degree from Central Washington University. It was a bright, sunny day ...
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The Chehalis Western Trail is a 22-mile paved path, that used to be the Weyerhaeuser Chehalis Western Railroad ...
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By George Walter
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6/4/26
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Typically, we think of rare bird visitors to Thurston County as avian mistakes — birds that have messed up their ...
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Sitting in the audience for Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia (SOGO)’s spring concert, I was completely in awe of everything ...
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By Rachel Benton
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5/22/26
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This year’s migration season brought some unusual avian visitors to Thurston County and elsewhere in Washington. I wonder if ...
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Thurston County’s Glacial Heritage Preserve is an 80-acre property purchased in 2005 and set aside for permanent protection of a ...
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On Wednesday, May 6, a visit to a nearby native prairie confirmed what I had been told: the peak wildflower bloom this year is coming ...
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By George Walter
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5/7/26
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This week I intended to write a follow-up column about prairie birds, but a rare bird visiting the Billy Frank Jr. National Wildlife ...
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It’s Prairie Time! Each year for three weeks centering on April 30, the native prairies of Thurston County come alive with ...
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Even the most nature-oblivious people can’t help but notice that a lot of trees are blooming this month. Cherry trees are the most ...
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