brooke's Journal

Discovery Park: -122.414500 47.6625
Date June 5, 2012
Time: 1:20 PM

Weather: Slightly cloudy, but some blue sky. Close to 60 degrees. Occasional light breeze.

Area Description: Open grassy areas that lead into patches of shaded wood forests. There are lots of Douglas fir, easily identifiable by their pinecones that cover the ground. Under the trees it is very shady and the soil is darker. There is a lot of moss on the ground. Sword ferns and English ivy surround the tree trunks, along with a tall thin green grass and some other shrubs. Around the edges of the fir forests is a perimeter of pacific crab apple trees. Towards the east there is a shore pine that is approximately 30 feet tall. It has long thin needles and clusters of tan pinecones at the tip. Moving south there is a more open area with tall tan grass area with scotch broom and Himalayan blackberries. To the East there is a patch of pink and purple garden Lupin’s that look like they were planted. Further east there is a large red alder tree with the tree trunk covered in moss and downward swooping low branches.

Birds: I only saw two robins and three crows in the hour I spent in the area, but I heard the song of what I believe was a song sparrow.

Moss and Lichen: Moss covers the ground in the shady areas under the fir trees. Lichen is more common on the deciduous trees, but can be found on the branches of conifers as well. Shield Lichen is probably the most common. Red roof moss can be found on the cement walkways through the park.

Species Descriptions:
Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii
Pinecones are mostly brown (some green) and looks like mice legs and tail are sticking out of the back, flat green needles that are 2-8cm, the bark is brown and uneven, about 30 feet tall
Pacific Crab Apple Malus fusca
Alternating leaves, small white flowers that grow in clusters with 5 petals and tanish/brown extensions from the center, the leaves are pointed at the tip, dull, and smooth
Oakmoss Evernia Prunastri
Elongated lobes, long/ dangly 1-4 mm wide and up to almost a foot long, divergently branches, light green, soft
Shield Lichen Parmelia Sulcata
Grows closer to the bark, grey top with black underneath, rough feeling
Common Witch’s Hair Alectoria sarmentosa
Long thin, diverging lichen that grows in small clusters along branches of deciduous trees, pale green, no central branch
Lyell’s Bristle Moss Orthotrichum lyellii
Dark green to light green at tip, grows on ground and trees
Western Red Cedar Thuja plicata
Green overlapping braided scales, around 40 feet tall, smells good, thin brown cones
Black Cottonwood Populus balsamifera trichocarpa:
Heart shaped, shiny/waxy dark green leaves, has weird white bubble/ bumps on leaves, gray bark
Shore Pine Pinus contorta contorta
2-6 inch needles that grow around the branch in a circle and are somewhat spaced out, clusters of tan cones that are about 2 cm and pointed at the tip
White/ Paper Birch Betula papyrifera
White bark with gray pathes, leaves are decaying- brownish- looks like it is dying
Mountain maple Acer glabrum
About 4 feet tall with huge leaves (about 8 inches across), green, has 6 lobes, loosely serrated
Beach pea Lathyrus japonicus
Soft, dull roundish green leaves with flat pea pods covered in fine thin hairs, opposite leaflets that grow in even numbers
Yellow and Black Potter Wasp Delta campaniformis
Two seen in dandelion pollinating it, very small, only about ½ cm, mostly black but a few yellow stripes
Garden Lupin Lupinus polyphyllus
Pink and purple perennials growing straight upright, about 2 feet tall, 10-15 thin pointed leaflets at the base
Bark Barnacle Thelotrema lepadinum
Flat white bumpy lichen found on smooth bark
Moss Eurhynchium praelongum
About 2 cm long, dark green fuzzy moss
Scotch Broom Cytisus scoparius
About 4 feet tall, yellow flowers, small leafs

Other species observed:
Himalayan blackberry Rubus armeniacus
Sword Fern Polystichum munitum
Red Alder Alnus rubra: really big
Trailing Blackberry Rubus ursinus
Common Ivy Hedera helix
Dwarf Rose Rosa bridgesii
Dune Grass Swallenia alexandrae
Dull Oregon Grape Mahonia nervosa
Grass Calamagrostis nutkaenis
Brown Grass Alectoria sarmentosa
Daisy Chrysanthemum majus
Red clover Trifolium pratense
Common Dandelion Taraxacum officinale
Bitter Cherry Prunus emarginata

5/13/ 2012 12:30 University of Washington Lichen Observations

Walking to class at the University of Washington students pass probably an average of 5-10 lichen. Along memorial way several can be observed. It is very difficult to identify and distinguish between particular species, but from my observations I believe all the species listed below can be found along memorial way alone.

Scoliciosporum sarothamni AKA Vezda or Vainio: found on the trunk of nearly every tree along memorial way, soft to touch, grows in large patches (3-18 ft)
• gray to light green dust lichen
• dust lichens are closely attached, composed of tiny powdery granules, most don’t produce fruiting bodies- instead spread the powdery granules
• grows well in polluted areas
• usually found on bark, but occasionally rock. prefers smooth bark

Candelaria concolor: found on about a third of the trees along memorial way, generally growing in smaller patches (1/2 inch- 1 ft)
• Yellow to bright green and powdery
• Grows on branches and shrubs
• Looks like it is crustose, but it actually has rhizines so it’s foliose
• One of the most common small foliose lichens
• Relatively tolerant of pollution
• Common in coastal regions, especially in Hawaii
• Environment Hamilton is training high school students to use this lichen to monitor air pollution in neighborhoods by measuring the density and distribution over time

Evernia prunastri: found growing on about ¼ of the trees along memorial way, generally higher up on the tree, in very small clumps
• AKA Antlered Perfume or oakmoss
• mountainous temperate regions in NA and across S. central Europe
• Elongated lobes
• Long/ dangly 1-4 mm wide and up to almost a foot long
• Divergently branches
• Light green
• Soft
• On trees (deciduous and coniferous), shrubs, mostly lower elevations
• Looks and is closely related to spruce moss but that is generally more white
• Commercially harvested for perfume in Europe and sent to France
• Has been used since 16th century to make perfumes, helps the fragrance stay place
• Grows slowly despite it’s name meaning “sprouting well”

Parmelia sulcata: covers nearly every tree on memorial way
• AKA shield lichen
• One of the most common in North America
• Used in dying wool
• Loose larger leaved
• 1-3 mm wide
• Pale grey top, black underneath
• Soredia (use for reproduction) in cracks
• Grows on trees and sometimes rocks, mostly open areas
• Likes shade
• Hummingbirds like to use in nest building
• Spreads to California and Arizona

Some interesting facts about lichen:
• Fungi gives lichen its shape
• Can live in all different kids of habitats
• Dry lichen can absorb water super fast- 3-35 times its weight in seconds, also dry out slowly
• Obtain most their water and nutrients from the air- so they respond dramatically to air quality
• Metals, gasses, and acid all effect lichens
• You can detect how stressed lichens are by the number of their reproductive structures
• Surface lichen grows on is called substrate
• 1,000 known species in the Pacific Northwest, 3,600 in the United States and over 25,000 worldwide.
• Pioneer species- so they are the first on newly cleared areas
• Some are N fixers
• Lichens also produce an arsenal of more than 500 unique
biochemical compounds. Some of these are used by humans in medicines, perfumes, and dyes.- they also serve to keep away predators and competitors and control light exposure
• Lichen tolerance decreases with complexity
• Crustose are the little dust like kinds- they are very tolerant to changes in air chemistry
• Foliose are next most complex, so somewhat tolerant
• Fruticose are generally the least tolerant
• Lichen diversity is highest in the most pristine habitats
• Certain lichen species grow primarily (or even exclusively) in undisturbed habitats. Pseudocyphellaria rainierensis, for instance, grows in the old-growth coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest.
• Lichens are used in air quality studies and research
• If there are factories or other large polluters it will be difficult to find lichen downwind from them
• Deer, elk, caribou, and birds eat lichen

5/31/2012 2:30 University of Washington Butterflies, Bees, and Beetles
Butterflies
There are 4 stages in a butterfly’s life: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult (butterfly). Their lifespan ranges, but is generally very short. The small cabbage white butterfly is one of the earliest to emerge and is very small and has a long lifespan. Painted ladies, on the other hand, only live for about two weeks. This means they must find a mate quickly. They females lay eggs on a host plant and they incubate for 3-5 days then hatch. Due to their short lifespan some butterflies don’t eat at all, but most drink nectar. They are very bad pollinators, but still try, which is why they are easiest to find around flowers.

Bees
There are over 100 species of bees on campus. Bees and ants both evolved from wasps. They are very vulnerable to cold, and they keep their nests very warm, usually around 97 degrees. They do this by flapping their wings very fast- up to 235 times per second! There are two kinds of bees: communal and solitary. Most of the bees on campus are communal, but in the real world 95% are solitary. Communal bees have a queen bee who is randomly chosen by the bees when she is a larva and then is fed more and is the only one to lay eggs. They have worker bees who are all female and collect pollen and nectar. They collect pollen in their hair. They communicate with each other by flying in certain angles to the sun, this is known as dancing. Recently there has been an increase in what is called colony collapse disorder, where bees leave their hive. It is predicted that they are dying from pesticides. Solitary bee species are different because all the females are fertile. Each female makes her own nest and there are no worker bees. The females leave the larvae alone in the nest but provide food for when they hatch. They die annually and only have a few weeks to reproduce. Some other interesting facts about bees:

• They don’t like the color black
• They can’t see the color red
• They use their sting as a defensive mechanism, but it is also a reproductive organ
• Honeybees are not native here. They originated in Europe and Africa and were brought to the USA. They are extremely dependent upon humans here.

Beetles
Like butterflies, they have a four part life cycle; egg larvae, pupa, and adult. All beetles have either hard shells or leathery wings. They are found in almost every environment, except polar regions and the ocean. Beetles are really important ecologically because they are decomposers. They have gotten a bad rap in the news (like the Pine beetle), and aren’t appreciated by society for all their hard work. There are probably around 1 million species out there, but only 4,000 have been named. Some specific kinds of beetles are listed below.
California firefly: They have a red edges pronotum. They are part of the firefly family but they can’t illuminate.
Greater Night Stalking Tiger Beetle: Live on the forest floor, have abnormally small wings and therefore can’t fly, they are slow so instead they ambush their victim and pull it into their lair to eat
Alder Flee Beetle: Found in Western North America and are pests to alder trees.

5/31/2012 1:30 University of Washington Squirrels
Some interesting facts about squirrels:

• They build nests for there young
• They often hold their hands over their hearts
• Squirrel skulls have changed very little over time, which can be observed by looking at their skulls
• They have a wide field of view, but have trouble seeing right in front of them
• Their ankle joints on their back feet can twist all the way around to help them climb and dangle upside down

• Radiotelemetry is used to track squirrel location and find their territory
  Some specific species:
  Eastern Gray: They are smaller and more red than the Western gray, and they have chased the Western gray out and caused them to decline by taking their territory ever since they were introduced to the area in 1925. There are three genetically isolate species. Due to this competition in 1993 the Western gray was placed on the threatened list.
  Yellow Bellied Marmot: The males are larger than the females, causing a wide variation in species size (from 3.5-11 lbs). They are heaviest before hibernation. They are omnivores, use rocks for shelter, and have small litter sizes (3-5).
  Douglas Squirrel: Small, energetic, and doesn’t hibernate. They are found in Western Washington but generally away from urban areas. Are grayish brown with a yellow chest. They live alone in tree holes, underground, and in nests. They are mostly herbivores but occasionally eat insects.
  Columbia ground squirrel: Very small, usually 1-2 lbs. They live in Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Montana. They prefer grassy alpine areas. They live in colonies and are very territorial. They hibernate 7-8 months of the year.
  Antelope Ground Squirrel: There are 5 different species. They are very small (only 0.3 lbs) and live in burrows in Arizona and New Mexico. They are not native to the Northwest area, and prefer rocky, shrub, desert areas. They have large litter sizes- up to 14!

May 8 2012 1:30 UW Campus Fungi Observations
In this lesson I learned many things about mushrooms and fungi in generally, as well as some interesting facts about a few local species. To begin with, what I learned about fungi in general is that they have a commitment to making lots of spores in order to reproduce, which can be done both sexually and asexually. Mushrooms are a type of spore. Researchers are currently interested in finding how different fungi function in the environment. What we currently know is that they are decomposers or saprotrophs, meaning they break down dead organic material. They are especially important in the decompostition of woody material. Wood is made of carbon, water, lignin, cellulose, and hemipectins. Soft rot and brown rot fungi help build soil. White rot can strip off lignin in wood and access the carbon underneath. A biotroph is an organism that requires a living host, and has a symbiotic relationship with it. There are quite a few invasive fungi in the Pacific Northwest, many of which are biotrophs. Fungi absorb material (such as carbon) through the cell wall at the tip of the spore. Fungi produce enzymes that break complex molecules down into simple ones, which can then be absorbed. The hyphae tips are where all the action occurs: reproduction, enzymes out, and molecule/nutrients in. Fungi spores often get darker with age. The rest is information I learned about specific kinds of fungi.
Agrocybe praecox: Grows in dense, overlapping patches in groups of 1- 50. The mushrooms sometimes spore print onto each other. There are big white cracks on some of the mushrooms. The younger mushrooms have veils that serve as a protective layer for the spores on the underside.
Coprinus: They have black spores. Some of the mushrooms shrink with age and melt and become inky.
Oyster Mushroom: white rot, edible, can order mycelium online to colonize log, native, used in cholesterol lowering drug. Hair is sometime used to absorb oil from oil spills then oyster mushrooms can be grown on the hair and break down the oil
Shitake Mushroom: Native to Japan, people inoculate and grow here- but it hasn’t spread to become invasive
Turkey Mushroom: white rot, native, often grows in huge numbers on logs, top has a suede fuzz, used in a cancer drug
Button mushroom: native, kind that people often buy in grocery store, start out pink then turn brown, Portobello are the mature version

Burke Museum
4/26/2012 Birds- Sex, Treachery, and Death
Today at the Burke we learned about mating, population, child rearing, nesting possibilities, eggs, fighting, and gender differences in birds. It was cool to get to see the different eggs, plumage patterns, and changes in species over time. The lesson was divided into three separate parts- treachery, sex, and death.
Treachery: Laying eggs and raising young is a costly investment for birds. It takes time and energy, but it is worth it in order to pass on genes. Colonial nesters, or birds that all nest in the same tree, often have different egg colors and patterns. This is so that parents can identify if someone has added an egg to their nest. The weaver egg can be white, tan, turquoise, and may be speckled or not. This helps them to identify if an intruder was trying to reduce the amount of work in raising their young. But some birds have adapted an interesting way of shortcutting this process. The brown headed cowbird (BHC) doesn’t build a nest at all, instead it lays its eggs in other birds nests, often the yellow warbler. Yellow warbler eggs are much less varied than weavers, and it’s obvious when a BHC has added an egg, but they get away with it anyway. This is possible because BHC eggs are 30% thicker, so it’s hard for the little warbler to break the egg. The warbler does have a sharp beak though, so sometimes it is possible. But they have to be careful to not damage their own eggs in the process. A quarter of the time warblers try to pierce a BHC egg they damage their own in the process, so they have to decide if it’s worth the risk. That is, if the warbler was willing to risk doing such a thing. BHCs will attack, kill, and bully other birds into raising their young. If BHC discovers that their young was not raised or properly cared for they will sometimes come back and kill the babies in the nest. This kind of enforcement is called the mafia hypothesis. Sometimes warblers will stack nests up on top of each other and wait to lay their eggs because BHC’s will continue to fill up their nests. This process of a bird laying its eggs in another bird’s nest is called parasitizing. Once the young are hatched the male warbler often feeds the BHC chick. Females tend to spread the food around evenly, whereas the male often feed the biggest chick, which is the BHC. Studies show that BHC brains get bigger during egg lying season in order to keep track of all the nests they’ve parasitized.
Death: We can use museums to infer many things about bird population structure. It is important to know about population structure to make sure populations are stable. The ratio of juveniles to adult, birth rate, death rate, life expectancy, and migration can all help figure out how bird populations are doing. Population graphs can be helpful in many ways, but they have one major drawback: they can’t specify where changes or problems are coming from. One interesting fact I learned in this lesson is that seabirds are often white underneath, to disguise and camouflage themselves form underwater predators, and dark on top so they are harder for predators from above to see. I also learned that when Townsend and Hermit warblers migrate the juveniles often end up higher on the mountain. This is because the males are territorial and come back and claim the best space at the bottom, then the juveniles arrive later and have to find places at higher elevations.
Sex: Male birds are generally bigger and more colorful to attract mates and ward off competition. Being this way is costly for survival, but it’s worth it because it’s good for reproduction. This is known as sexual selection. There are a few exceptions when males are smaller and less colorful than the females. In these cases the male is in charge of parental care. Females will often establish a territory and then have multiple mates but only one father cares for all the young. This is known as cuckeling- when a bird raises someone else’s egg. If there is one male that mates with lots of females in a species that species will have smaller testes in proportion to their body than if there is lots of males and the female has her choice. Gorillas, for example, have one male in the group that mates with whoever they want- so they have very small testes. Female chimps, on the other hand, mate with many males so chimps have larger testes in proportion to their body. A random interesting fact that I learned in this part of the lesson is that male pheasants have a sharp, pointed spur for fighting over mates.

University of Washington Arboretum
4/26/2012 5 PM gray, cloudy, dry, slightly windy, about 50 degrees
The arboretum was beautiful and very much in bloom. The grassy hills leading into the park were covered in daisies and dandelions. The arboretum is interesting because it has the original plants of the Pacific Northwest growing naturally, as well as some carefully planned gardens. The area was good practice for tree identification. Many of the trees had young, small cones, making it easier to figure out which one I was looking at. I saw Big leaf maple, Dogwood, Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, willow, and many others. The sitka spruce had tons of little red cones at the tips of its branches growing in clusters and it made the tree look like it was in bloom with red flowers. I found it difficult to identify many of the flowering shrubs, but occasionally there were labels to help. The arboretum probably has all the different kinds of ferns that grow in this area, but the only ones I examined close enough to identify were sword, lady, bracken, and oak fern. The lady fern had lots of pairs of leaflets- the few I counted had between 20 and 30.
There was a red flowering shrub that I couldn’t identify. The flowers had 5 petals and were a dark/bright pinkish red. The leaves grew mostly in clusters of 3 or 4 and were oval shaped with thin, long white hairs on the top and bottom. There were no hairs on the branches or twigs.

4/29/2012 2:30 PM slightly overcast but some blue sky, humid, about 58 degrees
I went back to the Arboretum because I didn’t make it to the Foster Island, Duck Bay part of the arboretum and wanted to see some birds. I saw lots of mallard ducks, mostly in pairs. The female is brown/ tan with dark brown and black tipped feathers. She has a darker streak that goes from her beak, across her eye, and ends on the side of her head. The beak on both male and female is yellow and the feet orange. The male has a florescent looking dark green head and neck, dark brown chest, and gray wings and body. I saw one white chested male mallard. I thought it may be a different species, but after researching it at home I found that it is basically the same, just a common hybrid of mallards. It was acting just like the other ducks and seemed to fit in just well. In researching this subject I discovered that there are many hybrids or look alikes when it comes to Mallards. One of these is the Rouen, which looks almost exactly like a mallard except that it is bigger/ chubbier.
I also saw a few wood ducks, both male and female. The male had a green head, with a crown of feathers that looked like hair. The male has a white streak down it’s beak and up around its eyes. The chest was a rusty orange color with black speckles. The wings are dark bluish with white edges, and the body tan with a dark brown chest. The wood ducks were smaller and more stalky than the mallards.
I also saw seagulls and crows coming to eat cheerios that some little girls were throwing for the ducks. One of the crows flew by and scuffled with one duck for a moment. This was a new duck I hadn’t seen before. There was only one of this kind. The duck was mostly gray with lots of little black speckles on its head and chest. The top parts of the wings were light bottom and the bottom/ tail was black. The duck’s eyes were bigger than the other ducks. It stayed off to the side by itself. It closely resembles the Eurasian widgeon, but I’m not positive this is the proper ID.

Ravenna Park 4/13/2012 4:00 PM Lat: 47.6715421, Lon: -122.303767
Weather: warm, sunny, blue-sky day with a slight breeze.
I go to Ravenna Park pretty often, on runs or sunny days, but this was the first time I looked closely at some of the species present. I saw tons of robins, especially around the open grassy field. Around the edges of the park are many trees in bloom with pink, white, and yellow flowers. As you go into the woods the vegetation begins to look more like the natural Pacific Northwest greenery. There are lots of little streams around the lower trails. There are pine, madrone, and maple trees, as well as what I identified as birch. The understory is mostly ferns and other green shrubs. There is some moss and lichen, but less than the amount at Pack Forest. One species I found particularly interesting was the giant horsetail. Lately I have seen these growing everywhere near water. Even in extremely polluted areas such as under the 45th street bridge leading to the university village. From my guidebook I learned that these grasses, which look like giant spiny asparagus, often grow near water or in moist areas. Native American tribes around the Pacific Northwest used to eat them.
Another interesting tree I hadn’t seen before was the Sticky Currant. It had velvety looking closed blooms but when you touch them they are sticky instead of soft. The leaves are also sticky and covered in little hairs. Nearby I found a related stink currant. Although I didn’t notice its smell, the serrated 7 lobed leaves matched the picture in the guidebook. The leaves sagged downward from the point where they were connected to the branch.
I found a tiny little snail under a log. When I got home I searched snails of the Pacific Northwest and I assume that it was an Oregon Forestsnail. When I picked it up the snail retreated into it’s shell so I didn’t see it’s body much. There were no other snails with it. I put it back on the ground and waited to see if it would come out of its shell or move but it did not.
After I went home I decided to research the history of the area. I wanted to know how long it had been a park, where the streams came from, and what was there before the park. The area that is now known as Cowen or Ravenna Park was once covered by the Vashon Ice Glacial Sheet. When the Glacier melted there were streams that connected from the park to Greek Lake. There is leftover glacial till and lots of little rocks in the woods and soil. The park has changed its name several times and shrunk in size over the years. The area has inspired many artists and authors over the years.

Species Identified
• Oregon Forestsnail: Allogona townsendiana
• Sticky Currant: Ribes viscosissimum
• Stink Currant: Ribes bracteosum
• Pacific Madrone: Arbutus menziesii
• Common Ivy: Hedera helix
• Giant Horsetail: Equisetum telmateia
• Paper Birch: Betula papyrifera
• Bitter Cherry: Prunus emarginata
• Pacific Crab Apple: Malus fusca
• Old man’s beard: Clematis drummondii

Nisqually Wildlife Refuge 4/1/12 12PM Lat: 47.0857019, Lon: -122.7061657
Today we went to the Nisqually watershed and saw lots of birds. It was a gray, cloudy, windy, cold day. We got an introduction to the area where I learned that it’s an estuary habitat (where salt and fresh water meet) that was once used as farmland. The site has been diked, used for shellfish harvesting, and was almost made into a landfill before becoming a wildlife refuge. Coho salmon use the estuaries to acclimate between the fresh and salt water.
It was interesting to see the birds in their natural habitat. I paid much more attention to the birds then the plants and trees. There were mostly deciduous trees, shrubs, Himalayan blackberries, and marine grasses. The first tree I saw there was reddish purple berry tree that had small light bumps on stem, thin fuzz on leaves, serrated leaves and red, wrinkled shiny berries. They hang in clumps. After looking in the guidebook I found out they were Black Hawthorn. When they are in bloom they have stinky white flowers that make them easier to identify, but the one I saw wasn’t in bloom yet. Besides this tree I didn’t pay close attention to the plants.
The first birds I saw were Robins and Canadian Geese. There were probably more than 40 of each of these species. All the geese were in pairs, mostly sitting in the grass. There was more wooded area around the estuary where we spotted some birds of prey. First we saw two baby/ juvenile great horned owls sitting on different branches halfway up a tree, far away from the path. We could tell they were young from the light white fuzz, white spots underneath, undeveloped facial disks, and small horns. They were probably waiting for their mother to return with food. We heard and saw multiple song sparrows. The song they were singing was one to distract unwelcome visitors from their nest. Then we saw a juvenile Red Tailed Hawk. It had a sharp grey bill pointed down, with a light yellow streak on top. It was sitting on a low branch near the path above the water. After watching it for a few minutes it flew away, displaying its large wingspan. Nearby we also saw some Brown Creepers. The small, brown (white chested), birds were going up and spiraling down a maple tree.
As we headed towards the tide flats we saw Wood Ducks and Northern Shovelers. The Shovelers were swimming in small circles in pairs. At first I thought it was some kind of mating activity, but as I watched more it looked like a way to stir up food. We also spotted a Great Blue Heron across the river. My favorite bird I spotted was the American Bittern. It was tannish yellow, with a black tail and a long narrow neck and beak. It walked with it’s neck extended and its head low to the ground. It creeped slowly forward carefully, picking up its large lime green feet.
I spotted two green tree frogs in the grass at the bottom of a maple tree. We also found a dead salamander frozen mid-step to the rocks of the gravel path. It was about 2-3 inches long and all black.
I realized that it’s much harder to identify birds that you don’t already know then plants. They are hard to see when they are in flight and difficult to follow with binoculars. I would like to be able to identify more birds by their songs, because that’s another method to tell which species are present.

Species Identified
• Black Hawthorn: Crataegus douglasii
• Robin: Turdus migratorius
• Wood ducks: Aix sponsa
• Song sparrow: Melospiza melodia
• Himalayan Blackberry: Rubus discolor
• Canadian Geese: Branta canadensis
• Great Horned Owl: Bubo virginianus
• Brown Creeper: Certhia americana
• Red tailed hawk: Buteo jamaicensis
• Great blue heron: Ardea herodias
• American Bittern: Botaurus lentiginosus
• Northern shovelers: Anas clypeata
• Pacific Tree frog: Hyla regilla
• Salamander: ?

Pack Forest Lat: 46.83 Long: -122.295 March 31, 2012

Today we drove to Pack Forest and explored the area there, then went to Mount Rainier National Park. Before Pack Forest there was an open grassy field, then some scotch broom, then the trees began to thicken and it became the woods. What initially surprised me was the amount of lichens, moss, and liverworts covering the trees, plants, and ground. We began by identifying trees. The first step is to determine whether they are deciduous or coniferous. Then you see if the tree has leaves, needles, of scales. Then you look at if the branches and/or leaves are alternating (switching from left to right side of trunk or branch) or opposite (symmetrically diving off on both sides). Some other determining factors could be arrangements, pairings, and order around the branches. Previously I thought you could just look at the bark and the leaves and it would be obvious what kind of tree you are looking at, but I learned you need to look much closer. After that I began using the Pojar guidebook to identify some of the many mosses and lichens surrounding me. I learned that there are two kinds of mosses: peat mosses and true mosses, and that peat mosses have stem leaves. I also learned that lichen are part of the fungal kingdom, and there are over one thousand different kinds in the Pacific Northwest. On our trek through the woods we discovered a few mushroom, including a morel, as well a centipede, snail, wild rose, and squirrel. The majority of trees were Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock, as well as some Bigleaf Maple covered in a dense layer of moss. The understory was largely Salal and Sword ferns. Pack Forest was slightly damp, with a few light showers and gray skies and about fifty degrees.
Around 3 PM we got back in the vans and drove to Rainier. Here it was much colder, with a few inches of snow still covering the ground. This area was more old growth, with bigger trees. There were fewer shrubs and deciduous trees, and the area seemed less diverse (perhaps due to the snow cover). I learned about nurse logs, and how Hemlock seedlings grow from these to use nutrients of the decaying tree. There were some interesting sulfur and/or other chemical pools in the area. They made the water warmer and different colors including blue and orange.

Species Identified
• Tall clustered thread moss- Bryum pseudotriquetrum
• Douglas Fir- Pseudotsuga menziesii
• Moss: Menzies neckera
• Red flowering currant- Ribes sanguineum
• Sword Fern- Polystichum munitum
• Western White Pine- Pinus monticola
• Western Hemlock- Tsuga heterophylla
• Snowberry- Symphoricarpos albus
• Red Alder- Alnus rubra
• Frog Pelt- Peltigera neopolydactyla
• Wild Rose- Rosa arkansana
• Liberty Cap- Psilocybe semilanceata
• Salal -Gaultheria shallon
• Morel- Morchella esculenta
• Tree Ruffle Liverwort- Porella navicularis
• Beaded Bone- Hypogymia enteromorpha
• Shelf Mushroom: Fomitopsis pinicola