Rainier AAZK

11/21/2025

11/21/2025

Leave the leaves – Spotted towhees need these!

Spotted towhees are common birds, but you have to look closely to find them. They’ve evolved to blend right in with fallen leaves! These birds spend much of their time on the ground, scratching through leaf piles seeking their next meal.

Why leaves? Leaf litter provides food, water, shelter, and warmth to insects and other small creatures. These leaves are full of what’s on the spotted towhee’s dinner menu: seeds, insects, caterpillars, moths, and snails. They even dance for their meal: a double scratch followed by a hop backwards uncovers their snacks.

If you want to see more spotted towhees in your yard, leave the leaves! Plant deciduous trees that drop plenty of leaves and leave them where they are – no raking involved! If you can’t leave leaves everywhere, make a few small piles that the spotted towhees can rummage through.

Worried about your lawn? A thin layer of leaves is actually healthy for grass! Need to mulch your garden? Dried leaves make fantastic mulch while providing habitat.

To find out more about creating songbird habitat, visit WDFW’s Habitat at Home songbird page: https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/habitat-at-home/songbird-habitats

Image: Spotted towhee bird with a black head, white breast, brown wings, and red eye. Credit Thom_morris

11/20/2025

11/19/2025

With colder weather setting in, it's time to start think about hunkering down for the winter. While striped skunks don't hibernate, they do become less active in the winter. Like many other animals, skunks spend much of the winter in cycles of torpor. Their body temperature and metabolism is reduced to minimize energy loss.

Photo: K. Theule/USFWS

11/19/2025

11/19/2025

11/19/2025

11/19/2025

11/17/2025

Our store front is still live! If you have an animal lover to buy for this holiday season these comfortable and cute clothes and accessories will be a hit!

The Rainier chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers raises funds for conservation efforts and professional development.

11/17/2025

Leave the leaves – northwestern salamanders need these!

Northwestern salamanders are abundant west of the cascades. You may spot them under logs or among leaf litter, but the best time to see them is when they migrate to breeding ponds January to March. They migrate hundreds to thousands of feet, leaving the safety of their logs and leaves to cross lawns, streams, and even roads! When threatened, a northwestern salamander will arch its back and push its head towards the ground to release a white poison to coat its back.

Leaf litter provides shelter, food, moisture, and warmth for these salamanders. They can hide from predators amongst the leaves and use the leaves to hunt prey. Northwestern salamanders are carnivores, preying upon the insects, worms, spiders, and slugs that frequent leaf piles. The salamanders also need the moisture that builds up in the leaves and the insulated warmth of the leaf litter.

Northwestern salamanders aren’t the only wildlife that need leaf litter to survive! Ground nesting pollinators, small mammals, and other amphibians thrive in leaf litter.

You can support northwestern salamanders and other wildlife by leaving the leaves this fall. If you must rake the leaves, leave smaller leaf piles around the space. Even small piles host a variety of wildlife! Find more information on how to support wildlife where you live, work, and play by visiting https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/habitat-at-home

Image: Northwestern salamander moving through brown leaves. Credit: WDFW

11/13/2025