Photo of the week

By Karl King

The migrational Pacific black brant population has returned just in time for Blaine’s annual Wings Over Water festival scheduled for Saturday, April 19. The brant, a small sea goose with distinctive black and white markings, make their annual pilgrimage here because Blaine is home to one of the largest eelgrass beds on the west coast, making it an important refueling station for the birds who need to store up to 30 percent excess fat for the long and cold breeding season up north. “Blaine is the motel, the restaurant and gas station for the birds on their trip,” said Maynard Axelson, who founded the festival five years ago through his non-profit organization the Washington Brant Foundation. For more information visit www.blainechamber.com/wow or the Washington Brant Foundation’s web site at www.washingtonbrant.org. For up-to-date information on the birds’ migration, click on the “tracking” link.