Nature Watch For August

Even though winter's the last thing on our minds, birds and animals start preparing for it in August. You'll see more furry, pudgy marmots along high-elevation hiking trails this month - they're trying to build up fat reserves for hibernation. (Please don't try to help them out by feeding them your trail mix. )

Pikas, small relatives of rabbits, can also be seen, gathering dried grass for their winter meals.

The three-month fall shorebird migration has also begun along Washington's coast. Black oystercatchers and the buff-breasted sandpipers are among the first birds to begin flying south.

Here are some tips on what to watch for in August:

Tree frogs, western painted turtles (Nature Center at Snake Lake, Tacoma)

Early fall migrating shorebirds (Dungeness Wildlife Refuge, near Sequim)

Marmots and pikas (Mount Rainier, North Cascades)

Orca whales (San Juan Islands)

Great blue heron, wood ducks (Brown Creek Nature Trail, Hood Canal Ranger District)

Alpine wildflowers (through mid-August) (Mount Ellinor, north of Hoodsport)

Tide pools (most rocky beaches; good viewing at Titlow Beach in Tacoma)

Compiled by Lisa Pemberton-Butler, The Seattle Times, from "Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year," by James Luther Davis; "Washington Wildlife Viewing Guide," by Joe La Tourrette; U.S. Forest Service, Tacoma Metro Parks.