ENVIR 280 Natural History of the Pacific Northwest
Southwest County Park, Edmonds WA
Walking Tour - Final Project
This Walking Tour was designed for ENVIR 280 at the University of Washington. The tour is made up of 10 different educational sites throughout Southwest County Park. Enjoy!
While visitors can see a variety of species throughout the park, the trails on the Southern side of Olympic View Drive have signs that inform the public about some of the more popular plants. A couple examples of these signs that I provided are for the Big Leaf Maple, Western Hemlock and Red Elderberry. Those are just a few of the many species that inhabit this 120 acre park. The informative signs along the walking trails make it very easy for people to learn not only how to identify a variety of species, but also little fun facts that make them more memorable. Some of the taller trees that can be found in this park are the two I mentioned before along with Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, and Red Alder. These trees can be seen directly from both the North and South trails. Some popular lower vegetation that can be found throughout the park are Salal and Salmonberry which are pictured below, as well as Stinging Nettle, Oregon Grape, Indian Plum, and Common Ivy. With the density of the upper canopy, it is necessary for the shrubbery species growing on the ground to be shade tolerant since so little sunlight makes it down to that vegetation.
2) 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.
3) 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.
4) Geology/Geomorphology Site:
The glacial history of the Pacific Northwest is one that is very rich. This site overlooks the valley where Perrinville Creek resides on the Northern side of Olympic View Drive. As you can see in the pictures below, the hillside is very steep. There is a down log parallel with the incline that acts almost as a handrail leading down to the creek. Perrinville Creek eventually leads to the Puget Sound, roughly a mile west. Alluvial parent material can be found at the base of the valley characterized by the softly shaped, round rocks. The soils in this location seem to be moderately drained and are the foundation for many trees and shrubs growing on the hillside. Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar can all be seen growing at this site along with many Sword Fern, Salmonberry, and Oregon Grape.
5) Invertebrates Site:
While many invertebrates can be found in this site, there is one area in particular where I have been lucky enough to find multiple Ensatina Salamanders like the one pictured below. This site is on the incline leading from the parking area down to the creek. It is covered in a lot of Ferns, Salal, Stinging Nettle, various deciduous and conifer trees and many down nurse logs. In this area the hiding places that salamanders can easily be found are beneath woody debris, and leaves or other decomposing material. Another species that can be found in this area is the Slug that is pictured below. The moisture in this area and the closeness to Perrinville Creek also attract many insects. Amongst the gnats, stone flies and mosquitoes, I have seen bumblebees around this area pollinating on surrounding flowers. When moving leaves and woody debris it is also likely to find various beetles and millipedes. You just have to look with some patience.
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| Ensatina Salamander |
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| Black Slug |
6) 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).
7) 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?!
8) 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.
9) Animal Behavior Site:
Evidence of woodpeckers can be seen throughout Southwest County Park. The picture below is of damage that was done to a Western Red Cedar tree by a Hairy Woodpecker. Similar damage to other trees can be seen throughout the park off of both the North and South trails. Other trees which also show evidence of damage are the Big Leaf Maple, Western Hemlock and I have even seen a couple of Red Alders with holes. Although it is hard to get close to birds to snap a photo this bird in particular has been easily identifiable by it's distinct, repetitive, short and sharp "peek" note. Click the link below to listen to this species' multiple calls. Since the park is so large, I am assuming there are other Woodpeckers that are also wreaking havoc on these poor trees. There just isn't enough time to observe every single species, let alone a tiny fraction of them. This is a defining behavior of Woodpeckers in general and adds to the unique diversity of species that inhabit ecosystems within the Pacific Northwest.
Click here to listen to the Hairy Woodpecker!
10) Visible Ecological Interaction Between Species:
Another example of an ecological interaction between species similar to the Hairy Woodpecker and the Western Red Cedar (at the last site) is the growth of Common Ivy and various Fungus on trees. There are so many examples of this ecological interaction throughout both the North and South trails that run through the park. Not only do trees provide the surface area for these species to thrive, but it also can be beautiful for the human eye. This interaction creates a unique habitat for other species as well. This site in particular is about half way along the trail on the North side of Olympic View Drive and it has a number of trees with both crustose and fruticose lichen growing on them. This location specifically seems like it had the most amount of visible fungus. This site also is one of the more dense parts of the park in that during late spring there is almost no sunlight that can make it through the upper canopy of the forest. 
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