Community Corner
Viewfinder: The Sammamish River and its Wildlife
One of the Eastside's treasures, the "Slough" is host to an abundance of flora and fauna.
On your next walk along the during these idyllic summer days and evenings, take a look into the Slough itself. Although altered extensively in the 1960s for flood control by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it remains an Eastside treasure, host to an abundance of flora and fauna.
With a little patience and sharp eyes, you can easily spot and observe beavers and and many other creatures. Living up to their reputation, the beavers are the larger, more deliberate and industrious ones. River otters are smaller, faster and friskier. The diligent observer can also spot weasels, voles and the occasional coyote along the banks.
Resident great blue herons can be seen patiently and efficiently fishing. Their loud squawk is pterodactyl-like. Bald eagles are often about and it’s not unusual to see one snag a fish out of the water. It’s also not uncommon to see them engaged in an aerial dogfight with crows and occasionally with the very territorial redwing blackbird; even at a fraction of the eagle’s weight and size.
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Other avian residents include ubiquitous Canada geese and mallard ducks, but there are occasional visits from cormorants, and mergansers with their sporty red hair-dos.
The Slough hosts an active salmon run, many of them chinook and coho from the state's Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, but some also spawn naturally in the river's tributaries, such as Bear Creek. They will begin returning from the sea and migrating upstream any day now, often jumping and splashing, with the runs peaking in October.
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So next time you’re out for a walk, a skate or a bike ride, take a few minutes to see who else might be out there with you. In the meantime, enjoy the photos!
Editor's Note: Longtime Woodinville resident Scott Garside has been taking photos of the Slough for nearly a decade. He's shared some of his best wildlife photos with Patch. The Sammamish River Trail can be accessed at , near Redmond. For more information on the Sammamish Slough and its history, visit the Woodinville Heritage Society. These photos first appeared on Woodinville Patch.