Week Four

Oregon grape

Large -Leaved Avens

Siberian miners lettuce

Salmonberry

Week Three

ENVIR 280 Field Trip to the Olympic Peninsula


April 20, 2014

I had so much fun on this field trip this weekend. It was such a breath of fresh air to get out of the city and learn first hand about the natural history of the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

After our ferry ride into Kingston we stopped for a quick restroom break and information session on the Native Klallam reservation. Having an American Indian/Alaskan Native background, this was a special way to start off the weekend. The traditional ecological knowledge that American Indians are striving to hold onto is so valuable and important in keeping their culture alive. It was awesome for Tim to touch on the relationship between natural history and the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. We also got to see a colorful, orange, male Rufous Hummingbird up close through a telescope, which was really neat!

Once we arrived at Nature Bridge (where we stayed over night) we went on a really informative walk on the "moments in time trail". To start off this walk, we learned the rich glacial history of Lake Crescent. The thumbnail sketch below is an image of Lake Crescent that I drew while sitting on the Nature Bridge dock. Although you cannot tell from the drawing, this lake is over 1000 feet deep and was shaped by the Cordilleran ice sheet during the last ice age. The lake is so deep that the bottom is below sea level. Crazy, right?! There is only one species of landlocked salmon that are present in the lake. Unfortunately among the crystal clear water we didn't see any of the salmon.

I drew this image on Sunday morning at 9am when the temperature felt like it was in the mid 40s and the weather was mostly cloudy. The following is an actual photograph of the same landscape that I drew above. 

As we continued our walk on the "moments in time trail" we saw lots of Douglas Firs, Grand Firs, Western Hemlocks, and Western Red Cedars. All trees that I really feel like I have mastered in identifying this weekend. In the surrounding meadow we saw a a couple of Black Tail Deer and some American Robins, who like the dramatic break in habitat that was provided by the meadow. We saw many examples of previous disturbance in the form of forest fire among the old growth forest ecosystem. It was incredible to see how so many Douglas Firs were still thriving despite fires that had taken place because of their very thick and protective bark. The photo below is one of a living Western Red Cedar which suffered from fire damage so much that the entire center of the base of the tree was hollowed out.

 Although we did not see any Bard Owls this weekend, an example of competition between species that exists out in the old growth ecosystem is between the Bard Owl and the Spotted Owl. You can no longer find Spotted Owls in the ecosystem ever since the Bard Owl was introduced and began to outcompete the Spotted Owl and simply scare them away.  

The typical habitat of the spotted owl use to be on top of wind broken trees such as the Douglas Fir on the fat side branches that would grow in response to the disturbance. There is now a ripple effect that exists in the ecosystem. Similar to the spotted owl, the Marbled Murrelet has the perfect habitat created following the breakage of Douglas Firs. When the large horizontal branches are created and moss begins to grow there in response, it becomes the perfect place for the Marbled Murrelet to lay their eggs.

An example of predation starts at the top of the food chain out in this area. We didn't spot any over the weekend, but Cougars are the top predator of the surrounding forests. They feed on deer, rabbits and most likely the Mountain Goats that were introduced by man to Barnes point and now, Mt. Storm King (where they currently reside).

 Later in the day on Saturday, we were able to compare vegetation on the Mt.Stormking trail and Marymere Falls trail. I started out with the shorter hike to Marymere falls (which is pictured to the right). This area was covered in ferns and lots and lots of moss indicating excess moisture. I was then able to compare this vegetation and ecosystem to that of Mt.Stormking. Mt.Storm King was a much more intense hike then the Marymere Falls. With that said there was definitely a difference in vegetation between the two. There was much less moisture on the Storm King trail as there was not nearly as much moss. This is because the site is a west facing slope, so it gets much more sun in the evening and afternoon then the east facing Marymere Falls trail. There was much more Salal on this trail as well indicating nitrogen poor soils which were probably amplified by fires that previously took place in that area. Subalpine Firs also became more prominent as we gained elevation on the Storm King trail. 

 This photograph to the left was taken toward the top of the Mt. Storm King trail. We got lucky that it wasn't too cloudy to see Lake Crescent. The hike was definitely worth the view at the top. We even saw a Grey Jay up there who could easily be identified by their "food robber" ways.

April 20, 2014 

Tide Pools at Salt Creek 

What an awesome way to spend the second day of our weekend field trip. We even had a couple sun breaks throughout the afternoon while enjoying the tide pools. I've attached a couple pictures of my favorite species that were seen. Below to the right is a photo of one of the many cute Purple Shore Crabs that could be found hiding beneath rocks in the intertidal zone. The orange color on their legs made them easy to identify. It's kind of hard to see, but right next to him to the left is a Hermit crab hiding in his shell. The photo below to the left is a vibrant Pacific Blood Star. These little guys were fun to pick up and feel the rough texture of. You can see how little they are in comparison to a fellow classmate's hand. Although not pictured, I also saw a Bald Eagle that was flying above the sandy beach area. It could be identified by its white colored head and tail along with its wide wingspan.     

 

Giant Green Anemone to the right >>>>>>>>

Above is a photo of a large Ochre Sea Star.
It's the biggest sea star I've ever seen. This is only
one of the many colors that were found
throughout the afternoon. Bright pinks and purple
were also spotted.

Week Two

Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Time: 5:30-7:00 PM 
Weather: Cloudy 
Temperature: 50 degrees 
Location: Snohomish/Southwest County Park  

Before I jump into this weeks observations, something that I didn't do last week was give a little background on my previous personal "nature experience". I love being outside. Every chance I get when I am not working or taking classes, I try to get outside. Growing up, my favorite part of summer was (and still is) camping. I always look forward to kayaking permitting weather. Some of the memories I hold most dear are kayaking trips at my grandparent's house in Northern California on the Russian River. I love hiking as well. Some of my favorite hikes in the area are Mount Si and Mount Constitution in Orcas Island. With that said, I am so excited to be taking a class at the University of Washington like ENVIR 280 where I can learn the history of the Pacific Northwest by actually getting out in nature. I can hardly wait for our field trip to the Olympic Forest and to continue getting acquainted with the vegetation and wildlife at Southwest County Park.

Getting started on this weeks journal entry, there was a greater focus on art and capturing observations through drawing. I've attached a couple copies of written observations, photographs and some drawings that I did while at Southwest County Park today. I also took a couple of videos which I hope will help me identify some birds. I would not consider myself an artist, but I had so much fun interpreting nature in a way other than just words or photographs. The detail that I found myself paying attention to was so much greater then when I simply take a picture.  

Just incase you can't identify the species that I drew in my journal, I've identified them for you at the bottom of this blog post. I also did a couple of extra drawings of landscape, because those were my favorite after doing an art workshop with Maria Coryell Martin.

 Three species drawn in the above journal pages: Common ivy, Genus maianthemum, Pacific trillium, American crow and a western sword fern.

I'm still working on identifying the two distinct birds from this video which you can hear in the background. I didn't realize that you need a soundcloud account to link to iNaturalist. Until next week!

Week One

Date: Friday, April 4, 2014

Time: 2:30-3:30 PM

Weather: Mostly sunny

Temperature: 54 degrees 

Location: Snohomish/Southwest County Park 

My observation site for the quarter is Snohomish County Park, often referred to as Southwest County Park. It is only about a mile or so away from my house and is primarily made up of forests, ravines and wetlands. The area was historically used for logging in the mid 1900s and further used for farming and residential homes. The 120 acre parcel of land that the park sits on remains largely untouched today and is known as the largest single parcel of open space within the Edmonds city limits. 

 This is a photo of the entrance of the trail that I took into the park. I imagine that much of the brush and the trees on the boundary of the trail will grow a great deal in the ten weeks of observation that await me. I will definitely have to take a repeats of this photograph as the quarter progresses. I’m so excited to get acquainted with my site, and to see what the quarter brings.

I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect day to begin this project. The sun was shining and the weather was fabulous for observing nature (and getting some exercise too). I only saw a couple other people on the trail I decided to walk on. I bet as the days get warmer, I will continue to see more and more people in the park. 

 This photo was taken from one of the three benches that I found in the park. It was a great place to sit and observe the natural world around me. In this spot I could hear two different kinds of birds chirping. Unfortunately I just could not physically spot them. For this reason, I think it would definitely be worth it to purchase or borrow a pair of binoculars. Another thing I could do for the following weeks is record the bird sounds I hear to try to identify the specific species.

 Lots of Common Ivy (Hedera helix) growing throughout the forest, along the trail, on trees and amongst many shrubs. You can also see evidence of Douglas-fir in this photograph above as well. There were many of this species throughout the park, one of the defining trees to me of the Pacific Northwest.

 
I'm not positive about this species to the left, but to me it looks a little like Stinging nettle. I tried not to get too close, but I'm hoping to get a better ID of this species in the upcoming weeks.

 This little guy in the photo to the right was right off the trail. I hope to be able to track the specific growth of this species over the 10 week quarter. I'm still waiting on my field guide to arrive in the mail, so it's been hard to identify all of the species that I saw in the park, but iNaturalist has been a big help. I'm still waiting to distinguish this one as well as the species I mentioned above.

  

I really enjoy photography, and wanted to depict the trail from a different perspective. To the right is just a photo I took for fun that shows the atmosphere of the park. Perfect for an afternoon run, right? You can get a feel in this photo of the diversity of life that exists off of this trail. You can see the blue skies in the background too!

 I can imagine that as the quarter progresses, the canopy pictured to the left will become very full, and allow less sunlight down into the forests. Will this effect some of the life that currently exists on the forest floor?

 Sunshine, natural history and running the trails. Couldn't ask for a better way to spent my Friday afternoon. I had to include a photo of myself to really illustrate what a wonderful time I had getting this project started.

 There were many informative signs in the park that gave a little background information from when a lot of logging was going on. This photo for example shows a sign explaining why there were notches in some of the trees throughout the park. The following picture is a closer shot of a notch.

With the help of iNaturalist, this can be identified as Pacific trillium. I found this pretty species about 10 ft off of the trail and there were only about two flowers bloomed. I imagine that even by next week there will be many more bloomed. It will be interesting to see if the species lasts throughout the quarter, especially if the canopy continues to grow and blocks more sunlight from reaching the ground.

 These next four species I also intend to ID, which I hope to then come back and edit in.

 

 

 As you can see in the photo above and to the right, there were many trees that fell in the event of storms most likely. There were about three different trees that had to be cut to clear the trail. Another two trees were still blocking the trail. This makes me wonder how often these trails need to be managed.