Final Journal~Golden Gardens

Daily Account: Golden Gardens, Final Journal
Date: June 3, 2012; Time: 3:30-5:30pm
Latitude: 47.69463200000 Longitude: -122.40410000000, and the surrounding area
Weather: About 55 degrees, partly mostly cloudy with a few sunbreaks, windy (apprx. 10mph, probably more in places on beach shore)

Today, I went to Golden Gardens to observe the natural history and the place as a natural area. This was an interesting change to the places inland in Seattle, and those more forested such as Seward Park, although there were many similarities. I should note that the park is actually quite large and I’m pretty sure it’s more forested as you move east from the beach, but my location led me to the upper part of the park, not far from the Northern tip of the beach, and I decided to stay around here as there was lots to observe, and it makes me nervous to walk around in the darker parts of the park where people are scarce. That being said, I spent most of my time observing the habitat and interactions of a fairly large pond/small lake which left me with plenty of interesting notes and observations.

I’ve been to Golden Gardens hundreds of times, as I usually play volleyball at the beach there, where there didn’t seem to be much aside from some seaweed and a few greedy seagulls. I didn’t realize how much green there is just a little further up. I noticed at least three different kinds of willows, the first, Sitka Willow (Salix sitchensis), a Scouler’s Willow (Salix scouleriana), and the Pacific Willow (Salix lucida). I noticed them in this order, but only noticed two trees of each, although I couldn’t tell for sure because they were dominant and disentangling the beginning of the plant from the end proved difficult, thus there very well could have been more there. These trees surrounded the outskirts of the pond probably every other tree. There were other signs of their abundance as well. Floating in the water I observed what a family next to me called a “fuzzy caterpillar floating in the water!” One could find several of these “caterpillars,” or the catkins floating in the water, their fuzzy qualities a result of the fine white hairs or tufts of hair bunched up around the flower. The surface of the water also had a good amount of white fluff on it in places where the wind doesn’t act so strongly. This was not the case in the middle of the lake, where the wind sent ripples across the pond. At first I thought these wisps might have come from a Black Cottonwood (Populus balsamifera), however, there were none to be found, at least nearby. Another thing that struck me as interesting about the catkins of these trees was the fact that when I picked one up, I noticed a fly tangled in the hairs. This may have been a coincidence, but it got me thinking about the life of the plant. I’m wondering first of all whether this bug catching is a strategy of the plant for pollination, or otherwise, how do they get pollenated, or spread their seeds? From what I read it sounds like they are mainly wind pollinated, so perhaps the fly was only there by chance. Apparently, many wind pollinated trees form catkins. They are typically formed in male flowers, and the wind takes the pollen in the tufts, at the end of a journey which they often make it to female flowers. Wow, that actually makes a lot of sense! Among the times I’ve seen cottonwood or willow trees, they usually tend to be in a location where wind plays a large role in the scene. They are usually on lake, river, or ocean shores, or in the open, subject to the elements, such as the Nisqually Delta, UBNA, and here at Golden Gardens. Pollination may not be the sole reason for this, however, it makes sense that these plants will grow where they pollinate and reproduce best.

Speaking of catkins, I also saw one Red Alder (Alnus rubra), adjacent to the willow. I remember learning at the beginning of the quarter that Red Alder is a nitrogen fixing tree, which can improve the soil in disturbed locations. This may be another reason why all the green I saw (more which I have yet to describe) is able to grow so close to the beach, and why the willows were so happy in this location (trust me, they were practically laughing). The point about being so close to the beach is also very interesting. It came to my attention when I noticed all the sand on the boardwalk and bridge through the pond, and reached the ocean’s finger that there is potentially a lot of salt in the soil nearby, carried in from the sea. I’d have to learn how to test the soil (I think you’d test pH), but it made me wonder how so many things are still able to grow. I think there are a few reasons, one being a result of Red Alder’s nitrogen fixing characteristics, but seeing as these weren’t especially abundant (though I don’t know how much it takes), I’m wondering if the water is any indication or is related to the soil quality in any way. I remember reading in Kruckberg’s book about lake water eutrophication, and am wondering whether the salt from the ocean is helping this effect, or keeping the water at a higher pH, as something I read mentioned. Also, I’m wondering if the pond/lake is salt water or fresh water. Since I don’t think the ducks or turtles I saw would be able to live in a saltwater environment, I have a feeling it’s a freshwater pool, though that doesn’t mean there is absolutely not salt in it. I also saw some beer bottles in the pond, and though I don’t think this has a large effect on the water quality, I’m sure it has something to do with it. Regardless, the soil around the pond must be reasonably high in nutrients, as I saw many other plants along the path. I saw Salmonberry (Rubus spectalis), with many berries about to ripen; Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), with white flowers on the plant, some of them wrinkled, but no signs of berries yet. Is the wilting flower an in between stage, or does this mean the plant is not as happy as it could be? It’s interesting, now wherever I go, if there’s thimbleberry, I check the texture of the leaves. When I first touched some earlier this year at Seward Park, they were very soft and lived up to the name “nature’s charmin.” These plants were located in the midst of a moist and well developed temperate forest habitat. The ones I felt today and even at UBNA were hardly soft at all, nothing like the same plant in a different location. I have a feeling this connects back to the soil quality, as some of the other smaller plants I saw were doing so-so. For example, I saw Tall Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium), whose plants were fairly abundant and growing tall (about six feet above ground), however, some of the leaves were red or brown, and had clusters of green non-ripe berries above the leaves. Perhaps the leaves brown naturally, but this seemed somewhat early given their location was not in the sun. I also saw Silverweed (Potentilla anserina), whose flowers look like a yellow version of the Nootka Rose (Rosa nutkana), another plant occupying the area, but with different leaves, these being more toothed and coming up only about a foot above the ground, their leaves alternate, and flowers on leafless stalks. Apparently, they like marshy and sandy areas, wet spots, and are usually near the sea, which explains why I haven’t seen them before. As predicted, these were very abundant and found between patches of tall grass and around the Nootka rose, very close to the shore where the soil is wet. Also, the roots, if cooked taste like sweet potatoes; it’s amazing what the Native Americans discovered about so many plants. There were also at least two Black Hawthorn trees (Crataegus douglasii) with berries on them. I mistook their leaves for red alder at first, but the berries were a giveaway. There were also a few patches of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense) with rich purple violet colored flowers, and Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens) with greasy looking yellow flowers, growing in more bare areas between trees and grasses. A few plants I could not identify, one, a small shrub whose leaves were non-symmetrical and flowers were a dark purple with tiny yellow parts, that grew in the wet soil right against the water. There was also a fairly abundant grass, whose leaves and flowers felt very soft, with a purplish tinge to the ends. Actually, I think it might be Common Velvet-Grass (Holcus lanatus). Apparently this is one of several grass species that has developed populations that are resistant/tolerant to the heavy metals in mine tailings, etc. I wonder if the nearby train tracks have any ties to these types of metal and whether this is one reason it can grow here. I know the train tracks have been there at least since the early 1900s, but I don’t know whether there is a correlation.

On the subject of trains and beer bottles, I was thinking about the human impact on this area, particularly on the animal species that live here. One of the first things I noticed when I reached the pond, was an adult mallard couple and their tiny ducklings, even smaller than the ones at UBNA. I watched them for a while, and noticed for the first time the resemblance between mother and ducklings. They do look quite different, the babies having dark patches instead of the mature dark flecks the adults have. They also swam significantly differently; I’m assuming it was because their legs are a lot smaller, so they had to work to keep up with the parents. I was trying to figure out how sensitive they are to the noise from the train and people, but it was hard to tell, since only one train passed while I was there. After this group left, another family of mallards came along with seven young ones about the same age as the first group, the adult ducks seemed to avoid the center of the pond and stay close to its edges (perhaps because of predators), crossing the open water only once when I was there. After this, when the sun came out, the ducks sat preening on logs (about two to a log) in the middle of the lake. I also saw a Red Eared Slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans), with the small red band on the side of its head, and yellow stripes down its neck. This guy was sunning on a log when I found him, and the sun had just broken out a few minutes before. Interestingly, when the sun went away and the wind started to pick up, he crawled into the water. Are they sensitive to the changes in weather? I only saw one turtle, but I have a feeling there were more in the pond.

Also next to the pond, I found a Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera), not blooming yet, about 15ft tall, with red branches on the upper ends but not at the base. This fits in with what I read about this species liking moist soils. There were also some Snowberry bushes (Symphoricarpos racemosa), and what I think was a very young Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum). Marsh forget me nots hid among the grass too, and there were patches of what I’d guess from the edges was a sedge, though it could have been a grass. Wow, this place isn’t even an old growth forest and there are so many species.

Next I moved closer to the beach to see how the ecology changed. It was definitely blended, but here I found more plants I’d never seen. I think however, that I found Beach Pea (lathyrus japonicas), with multicolored with purple flowers below and violet-pink flowers above/behind. This was growing underneath a maple and had stretched out in the sand, in a few different places where the sand meets the outer green edge of the pond. There was also Milk Thistle (Silybum adans), which is apparently invasive, and I don’t think it’s native to Washington either. The willows I mentioned ealier came right up to the sand’s edge, probably happy with all the wind. Here I found a Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens), and what I think was a beetle called the California Prionus (Prionus californicus), although it looked exactly the same aside from having a red head instead, and red under its black wings I noticed when it flew down, so it may be a slightly different species. It landed on a willow, so perhaps the larva have some kind of relationship with the willow, though I feel like this is a hasty conclusion. Towards the more dune-like part of the beach there were some pine trees, and a ton of a particular plant that is shrub like and looks a lot like Nootka Rose. The flowers on the other hand are much larger and darker pink, and I came to the conclusion they must be Rosehip (Rosa rugosa), and I was surprised at how abundant they actually were. They took up a large stretch of the inner beach. I wonder what pollinates this plant. I doubt it is wind pollinated, but surprised it likes this location so much. I think the few patches of Scotchbroom (Cytisus scoparius) hints that it might be Bumblebees, but I’m not sure. There were a number of crows and one seagull, I observed scavenging for food, but otherwise, I didn’t see too much sea life, since the tide was way in. There was Kelp (Laminariales) along the beach, which makes sense seeing as it is mostly found in the salty waters of the ocean, and apparently, kelp grows in the structure of a forest in shallow oceans and requires nutrient-rich water which might tell us something about the Puget Sound.

Overall, I saw lots of interesting things today, and discovered some new relationships I hadn’t noticed before. I’d like to spend more time there observing the course of the weather and the resulting changes, since I know the weather can change a lot by the sea.

Species List:

Sitka Willow (Salix sitchensis)
Scouler’s Willow (Salix scouleriana)
Pacific Willow (Salix lucida).

Black Cottonwood (Populus balsamifera)
Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
Salmonberry (Rubus spectalis)
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)
Black Hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii)
Tall Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium)
Nootka Rose (Rosa nutkana)
Black Hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii)
Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens)
Common Velvet-Grass (Holcus lanatus)
Red Eared Slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans),
Red Osier Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera)
Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos racemosa
Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)
Beach pea (lathyrus japonica)
Lady Beetle (Hippodamia convergens)
California Prionus (Prionus californicus)
Silverweed (Potentilla anserina)
Milk Thistle (Silybum adans)
Kelp (Laminariales)
Pine tree (Genus pinus)
Scotchbroom (Cytisus scoparius)

Posted on June 4, 2012 10:17 PM by aclay232