Week Nine

Date: Friday June 13 2014
Time: 4:00-6:00pm
Weather: Cloudy
Temperature: 60s

Wow, I can hardly believe that the quarter is over! It's been so wonderful to spend time every week visiting Southwest County Park. Out of all the site visits I made this quarter, today was the only rainy day! Thats awesome! I had been so lucky with weather every other week!

This week's journal entry is a little bit different then previous weeks. While notice phenological changes per normal, there is a second part dedicated to species descriptions, which was a very interesting and different way to get a new perspective of Southwest County Park and a variety of species in the natural world.

Beginning of the quarter

Beginning of the quarter!

This Week!

This Week!

Some of the major phonological differences that I noticed this week were definitely size difference in various shrub species. Stinging nettle, Indian Plum, Salmonberry, and Salal all had increasingly larger leaf sizes. A change from previous weeks is that the Salmonberry berries are now finished at my site. I couldn’t find any on the trails or down by Perrinville Creek. Another big phonological change that I noticed was that Elderberries are not growing berries which are a deep red color and were growing in large bunches. It was bittersweet to be taking my last notes today. I will be curious as to what this site looks like at the end of summer, when I plan on visiting the park again. 

Elderberry berries!

Part Two:

One of my favorite locations at Southwest County Park is on a bench beneath a Big Leaf Maple, Douglas Fir and a Western Hemlock. This spot is the one where I took the photos at the beginning of the quarter. 

Organism One: Plant

What an interesting organism. I have found it growing off of the trail within the park. It is a green color and it is growing out of the ground from a central location with long spiny things sticking out 2-3 feet upwards and out from the center. This particular organism has about 17 of the spiny long things. Off of the spines are many green, flat, arm shaped, paper like material growing directly out from the spine. Beneath all of these green long materials are what look like beads growing in two long rows, parallel with long structure. It looks so interesting and blends well with the surrounding green natural world. The long spines look like they could be used for many things; decorative, structural and almost like it could be used as a broom. 

ID: Sword Fern

Organism Two: Bird

This black creature could be seen from along the trails within the park. It would move from tree to tree as I began walking closer towards it. The body of this creature was round, but it had two flat parts protruding from the center of the body which the creature would move up and down to get from tree to tree. The species walked on two stick like figures which it could use to grab onto tree branches very well with. The creature would make noises that sounded like “caw, caw, caw” which it would make especially when I would move toward it. The species had two circular dots on the top of its body opposite of the stick figures. The size of this creature could be comparable to a child’s head.  

ID: American Crow

Organism Three:

I found this organism squirming across some living vegetation on top of a bench that I was sitting on. The creature had an orange black body with a very fuzzy texture. The shape of this tiny organism was very long, and circular. It did not have anything protruding to help it move. Its body would rise in the middle when moving and then come back down as it moved about a centimeter at a time.   

ID: Catepillar

Part Three:

My perception of nature has changed so much more then I thought it would throughout the quarter. Before this class I always thought that I had a passion for nature and for being outside, but this class has made my nature experience something completely different. I am now able to walk through Southwest County Park and identify so many species. I can sit on the benches in the park and know where to look for certain birds and have a familiarity that I did not have 10 weeks ago. 

While I now can identify so many species, I can also critically think about the ways that certain species are interacting. This goes for the park, but for the whole Pacific Northwest as well. I don’t feel like I’m just a visitor in the park anymore, but I feel do feel like I am almost one with the park. There’s a new connection that I feel I’ve discovered while out in nature. I’m not just going to take a walk, but I notice changes that have happened over time and I see a new way that all species are interconnected. They all contribute to the biodiversity that exists in the Pacific Northwest and all of those small changes make such a huge difference in the ecosystem as a whole. 

My concept of “knowing a place” has changed dramatically this quarter. It’s not about knowing big landmarks and simply being able to identify a species, but it’s about knowing how all of those things are connected. How they work together and knowing how dramatically they change through the seasons. Again, I think it’s having that connection to the place, which allows one to really “know” that place.

ENVIR 280 Final Project

ENVIR 280 Natural History of the Pacific Northwest 

Southwest County Park, Edmonds WA  

Walking Tour - Final Project 

***I have another map that I have not attached yet with labeling/numbering of ALL sites*** 

Perrinville Creek Site:

This is my favorite part of the whole park. With the steep landscape, this site is a little bit harder to get to but it is definitely worth the short hike down. This site is the most quiet of all the sites and probably of the whole park. The sound of cars is drowned out just enough that you are left with the simplicity of flowing water and the slight chirp of a few birds. As you can see from the pictures provided, there is quite a large collection of down logs within the parameters of the the creek. A couple of these logs are also parallel with the walkway leading from the main trail, which help make it easier to get down to the creek. Although I have not seen any other park visitors down in this area, it seems to be a popular attraction to people. I have previously found forgotten articles of clothing as well as trash items along the creekside. There is also a leftover tire swing that looks like it has been used in previous years (hopefully not for jumping into the far too shallow creek).

                            




Fungi Site:

Throughout Southwest County Park you can see many examples of lichen and fungi right off of the walking trails. In the case of this site, you can see a perfect example of the popular mushroom fungi right in the parking lot of this park. This site is specially dedicated to the Fairy Ring Mushroom. These mushrooms are growing in a large group just off to the side of the lot. The mushrooms themselves can be described as slightly uplifted, as the sides of them curve up away from the ground. The tops of these mushrooms have a smooth, dull texture and the gills on the underside of the mushrooms are fairly close together as far as spacing goes. I've provided a picture of the spacing of these gills which have a little variability in each mushroom. An interesting little bit of history about fungi and these mushrooms is that if you pull this species up from the base of the stem, it will grow right back because of how much of the species lives and grows underground.

  

Bird Site:  

Every time that I have gone back to my site to make observations since my visit dedicated to observing birds, I have seen the same Bewick's Wren each time. This site is located in the inner loop trail on the South side of Olympic View Drive. At this site you can hear a variety of bird calls including the Song Sparrow, the Hairy Woodpecker and the American Robin just to name a few. The Bewick's Wren that I usually see flies and hops back in the shrubbery off of the trail a ways. Some of the dominant species in this spot include Indian Plum, Oregon Ash, Salmonberry, Western Hemlock and Western Red Cedar. The very first time that I saw this Bewick's Wren in this location, towards the end of my observation it was being chased by another bird that was too quick to identify. This is such a fun site though, just because there are so many birds nearby, so there are a lot of interactions to watch out for. This site is also just far enough away from the noisy road that the bird calls are a little more easy to hear and distinguish.     

  

Visible Effect of Ecological Disturbance Site:  

This site immediately reminds me of the weekend field trip that our class took to the Olympics. During this trip, there were a couple examples of broken trees due to wind disturbance. Something interesting that students learned was that the tree will continue to grow out to the side and then up just as normal. This created the perfect habitat for many birds! I imagine that the type of disturbance that can be seen in the photo below was due to wind just as seen in the Olympic forest. A similar effect of the disturbance was that the tree began to grow out perpendicular beneath where the breakage happened and then continued to go up like there was no disturbance at all. It's hard to see up to where the breakage happened, but I imagine that this is now a great spot for a birds nest! The part of the tree that was broken off also provides a unique habitat for the understory of the forest as a nurse log. There is so much to learn out in nature, and what is more fascinating then seeing the visible recovery of an ecological disturbance?!   

5) Land Use History Site:  

Historically, this 120 acre forested park was used primarily as a logging site. Still today, there is a special location dedicated to educating park visitors about this interesting history, which was turned into what is called the "Historical loop". This loop, is a small trail just off of the main trail on the North side of Olympic View Drive. In this loop, there is signage providing visitors with information about the tools that were once used, as well as a little bit of background on the reason for cutting notches in what are today's Southwest County Park trees. I've provided photographs of these signs and a great example of notches in a tree that was cut down when this site was still a logging site. When walking the trails, there are many examples of these notches as well as other stumps that were cut down years ago. The history of this piece of land makes me so thankful for the preservation of the current park and all the species that inhabit it. It gives a rich perspective on natural history and the ways that we continue to change the uses of our precious land.  

  

Week Eight

Date: Saturday, May 31, 2014
Time: 10:00am-5:00pm
Weather: Sunny/Partly Cloudy
Temperature: 80s
Location: Ellensburg; Umtanum Ridge/Yakama Canyon/Waterfall Trail

What a fun weekend field trip this was to the Eastern side of the Cascades! We saw so many new species being in a new environment, and many similar species. We began our observations at Umtanum Ridge, a park just south of Ellensburg in a Ponderosa Forest. Right off the bat, we saw a variety of swallows flying around the parking lot and along the Yakama River. We saw both Barn Swallows and Cliff Swallows. We also got to observe a Bald Eagle that was flying fairly low in the Yakama Valley. The landscape was really beautiful in this park and the weather was very nice. It was apparent that this location receives quite a bit of sunshine by the more dry habitat and provided that the area receives roughly 20 inches of rain per year. The steep rocky slopes surrounding the river were the perfect habitat for many birds that we saw as well as Big Horned Sheep.

Among the many birds that we saw, one of my favorites was the beautiful Lazuli Bunting, a vibrant blue bird with patches of orange and white. The coloring stuck out to me in contrast to the lightly colored dry landscape. We also got to observe the Bullock's Oriole at the park which was uniquely identifiable by the orange color and slender bill. One of the smaller birds that we saw was a Yellow-Brested Chat. This species had a yellow colored breast, per the name and a grey, green colored upper body. A familiar sounding bird that we saw and heard was the Black-Headed Grosbeak which sounded very similar to the Robin's "cherrily, cheer up" call, but it was a little bit faster. This bird had a yellow, black colored head with black polka dots. We could also hear Chickadees and Cedar Waxwings. It was very handy to have our TA, Jorge's scope to see all of these species up close and personal.

Some of the plant species that we saw at Umtanum Ridge were the popular Sagebrush, Bitterbrush, Ponderosa Pine, and the beautiful, yellow Fragile Prickly Pear which is pictured below. It was so great to embrace the fragrance of Sagebrush. Sage is one of the most comforting scents to me, bringing me back to my childhood. I found myself extensively rubbing the leaves between my fingers to hold the smell. It was fascinating to learn about how deep the roots of this species and the capacity of water storage. The Fragile Prickly Pear, was one of my favorite species that we saw just because of how unique it is. We don't see cacti like this very often especially in the Pacific Northwest, so it was a breath of fresh air to find this species, and what a pleasure to see the flowers in bloom! Interesting adaptations of this species is the ability to hold water to survive long dry spells as well as the sharp spines to keep certain species or predators away.

Landscape view of the southern side of Umtanum Ridge

The popular: East of the Cascades, Sagebrush.

Similar looking Bitterbrush

 

Fragile Prickly Pear- Opuntia fragilis

 The second site that we stopped at was dominated by smaller Sagebrush and was much higher in elevation. This site was still on the East slope of the Cascades with a similar 20 inches of rain like the first site, but was a slightly more green color. On a clear day, it is said that Mount Rainier and Mt. Adams can be seen, but while we were there it was too cloudy. From this particular location (and kind of in the picture below) you can see thicker forests on the North facing slopes similar to the geography in our region and as seen on the Olympic Peninsula field trip. The geographic history of this site was unique in that instead of having a glacial history like the western side of the Cascades, this site was formed by old lava flow. This made the soil quite different that that of our own backyard. Lots of lichen could be seen growing on the ground which helped to keep the soil together and to prevent movement in the wind. We saw many wildflowers at this site that I had never seen before, making this site quite memorable. In the photos below, I have captured the Subalpine Daisy, the Arrowleaf Balsamroot, the Bitterroot and what I believe to be the Woolypod Milkvetch. An interesting adaptation to many of these floral species is the waxy cuticle texture of the leaves and the addition of hair on leaves which helps to slow the movement and loss of water. Since it is so dry in this habitat, again, storage and efficient usage of water is necessary for survival.  

Also pictured and captioned below is the Short-horned Lizard a very quick species that could be found on the surface floor among the wildflowers and brush. It was very exciting to see these little guys, a kind of reptile that I had never been exposed to until this trip. I was still too afraid to pick any of them up though!!   

       

Landscape view at Site Two

Woolypod Milkvetch- Astragalus purshii?

Subalpine Daisy- Erigeron peregrinus

Arrowleaf Balsamroot- Balsamorhiza sagittata

Bitterroot- Lewisia rediviva beginning to bloom. 

Little Short-horned Lizard

 The third and final site that we stopped at was just west of site two and was significantly wetter and more green then even 100 yards away. This site had a really nice trail that led to a gorgeous waterfall on top of basalt rock. At this site we saw many more familiar species, such as Nootka Rose, Snowberry, Ponderosa Pine, Willows, Serviceberry, Northern Flicker, Robins, Song Sparrow, Douglas Maple and even a few Douglas Fir trees. It was incredible to see how fast the vegetation could change from the previous site and the drastic change in productivity. I provided a picture below of the Rocky Mountain Iris, identifiable by the pretty violet color. There were a couple different spots at this site where this flower could be found. A really interesting species interaction that I was able to observe at this site was a couple Western Tanagers chasing a Stellar's Jay through a variety of Ponderosa Pines. This was an exciting way to end our field trip and was a very unique interaction of species.  

Rocky Mountain Iris- Iris missouriensis

The waterfall at the end of the hike.

Ponderosa Pine!

We even saw some Douglas Fir!