Location is the gravel road at approximately 47.653747,-122.298506, leading to the Union Bay Natural Area from University of Washington main campus.
While walking to the Union Bay Natural Area, I was looking over the bay, not looking at anything in particular when I found myself observing waterfowl. It took me a few seconds to realize what I was looking at, but it was a male cinnamon teal in full breeding plumage, it was simply floating along, drifting with the water surface, if it weren’t for the outstanding crimson color I’d have mistaken it for driftwood.
Despite the teal’s impressive plumage, he was not the most outstanding fowl I was able to observe; When I was standing observing the teal, directly in front of me was a stand of cattails, out of which came a great blue heron, neck crooked in the distinct “S” shape usually held when in flight, it slowly and methodically moved into position above a clearing in the grass to stalk a small area of shallow open water, not 10 feet away from me. I waited and watched, after about 5 minutes of complete stillness the Heron quickly darted its beak under the water and immediately withdrew a small fish, about 3-4 inches long, which it quickly gulped down, and directly after that, it dove in its beak again to withdraw a similarly sized fish, and ate that as quickly as the first.
While this was not the most diverse observation, It did help me discover that seeing nature in action can definitely instill a passion for knowledge, to discover more exciting natural phenomenon, even if they appear to some to be normal, daily occurances.
At the Burke, we observed several Avian specimens, and learned how the Burke and its vast collection tie into the general picture of natural history. we learn of several ways that we can collect and store data on birds, for instance, one simple way is to collect specimens, The Burke has different ways that can store that knowledge, in skeletal, plumage and DNA samples, all of which can give certain information about the organism that each of the other lack, respectfully, size, behavior, and its place in evolution.
We also observed how difference in plumage can also be indicative of behavior in the context of sexual dimorphism, where generally there is male=male competition that drives them to be brightly colored, and larger to attract females, but we also learned that there are Always exceptions to the rule, and we observed species where that was completely reversed.
University of Washington Farm.
Weather was sunny, high 60's.
in our class discussion we went over the different types of fungi and symbiotic relationships, went over several physiological adaptations of plants to accommodate fungal relationships.
the advantages of having symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi was made obvious when examining the plant. the root system of the plant is completely changed when developed with mycorrhizal fungi, the plant does not need to develop several root hairs in its root system, instead it can extend its root system as the fungus spreads.
Species examined included western hemlock, Douglas fir, one of the most dominant species of tree in Washington's forests.
The weather was overcast, and lightly drizzled on and off, wind was negligible until about mid-day when it picked up, and strong gusts blew for several minutes before calming down again.
Many impressive species of bird were encountered here, most of the birds of prey are listed on my iNaturalist observations attached here, species such as the bald eagle, spotted owl, and red tailed hawk.
The canopy here consisted almost entirely of deciduous trees, Big Leaf maple,as well as others, it was extremely difficult to identify them due to distance, as well as lack of foliage.
Along with the more charismatic birds to be seen here, there were also several plant species along the trails, some expected in the marshy habitat such as skunk cabbage, but also those that were unique to me; for instance finding a member of the carrot family, Cow Parsnip, was a wonderful surprise.
A flock upwards of 40 ducks was also am impressive sight to behold, several species were included in the flock such as the;
Ring Neck Duck
Northern Shoveler
American Widgeon
and Northern Pintail
Chikadees and songbirds were also common, although not seen their calls were heard throughout the trip.
As we arrived at Longmire, the weather changed from overcast to clear skies with only a few clouds to be seen.
The canopy over the trail of shadows was mostly Douglas fir, Western Red cedar and Western Hemlock, there were also other, rare specimens such as Alaska cedar and western yew.
the <1mile trail offered surprisingly little under story growth, mostly consisting of western hemlock saplings, and usually then only on nurse logs. There was also several feet of snow along much of the trail, and that I believe to be a rather large contributing factor in the lack of understory shrubbery. The trail itself wrapped around iron hot springs, interestingly The hot springs here bubbled with CO2, but unfortunately I cannot define the cause.
All species that I encountered here, and could identify, are defined in the attached observations.
Environmental 280 Final
the exact point for my GPS coordinate was in the middle of the upper level parking lot at Golden Gardens, So I decided to survey the area up-slope of that point.
The area seemed to be a high traffic area, with many walking trails going from the parking lot, up the steep slope to the east. soil was very dry, with remnants of wood chips that used to cover area near parking lot. (In fact, there was a area within sight that had piles of wood-chips that I assume were meant to be spread on this area for maintenance soon).
Weather was low 50's, overcast, no recent precipitation.
The canopy of the area was dominated by Douglas fir and many big leaf maples. Underbrush edge is dominated by horsetail as well as budding Himalayan Blackberry and English Ivy. A few feet away from the edge of the parking lot continuing inwards there can be seen Lady fern as well as Western sword ferns. several types of grass and are present, and difficult to identify. further in there were tall plants I could only identify as shrubs with alder-like leaves.
As an interesting note, the Himalayan Blackberry was at most only around 2-3 feet long; I attribute this lack of growth to constant maintenance by the park staff.
Overall the area seems to be dominated by fast growing species, no doubt due to the constant battery of disturbance of the area in order to keep the edges of the natural area from dominating the parking area.
Oddly, the only animal observed here were seagulls, off in the distance towards Puget Sound, and I didn't not see them, but instead only heard their calls. I suspect the lack of insects was due to the extremely low temperature.
Species encountered on this outing:
Douglas fir
Red Alder
Big Leaf Maple
Horsetail
English Ivy
Himalayan Blackberry
Pacific Trailing Blackberry
Western Swordfern
4 types of grasses
3 types of non-flowering shrubs
On a class trip to UW experimental forest 'Pack Forest' near Mt. Rainier small groups were led throughout trails in the areas immediately surrounding the facilities provided by UW.
Weather was overcast, mid 50's
The lowland forested area canopy consisted mostly of Douglas fir and Western hemlock, while the understory often consisted of plants such as Salmonberry, Huckleberry, Flowering Red Currant, as well as western sword fern, dull oregon grape, english ivy, pacific trailing blackberry and Salal.
there was an abrupt change in under story plants as the soil changed from wet to dry moving up slope, changing from mostly dense sword fern, and salal to a more shrub dominated environment in drier soil, where more salmon-berry, and Flowering Rec Currant could be seen. The canopy also shifted as we moved up slope, changing to more deciduous trees, such as Red alder and Big Leaf Maple.
many different types of epiphytes grow on the trees here, and unlike in the city, they can grow to be quite large, many of the ones seen are posted on iNaturalist.
my species list includes those attached to this journal as well as;
Schtchbroom
Lodgepole Pine
Cat Tail
Xanthoria (orange lichen)
Hymenoptera-ant hills
Hypogymnia
Winter Wren
American Robin
Pillated Woodpecker-holes observed
Usnea
