Snohomish County Park: 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.