lmcthe01's Journal

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is located in Olympia. It is on top of an estuary; where the Nisqually River meets the ocean. While there I mostly observed birds, and a couple amphibians. I first saw a robin and a song sparrow. The song sparrow was playing in a puddle just off of the boardwalk that has been built over most of the refuge. Later on I saw two Canadian Geese feeding just off the boardwalk, and I also saw a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk perched in a Red Alder tree. I knew the bird had to be juvenile because it had not developed its trademark red tail yet. Later on i saw a lichen called Antler Perfume that Kat, one of the volunteers had taken off of a conifer. Moving off the boardwalk onto a gravel trail I saw more geese in flocks as well as some Mallard Ducks. On the other side of the trail a student found a Garter Snake in a bush, and we also found a Pacific Tree Frog on the ground in close proximity to the snake. The trail was next to an area that had been flooded, it looked like a wasteland with only a few snags left, the perfect perches for hawks. This area was wet and muddy.

Questions: Do Garter Snakes eat Pacific Tree Frogs? When we found the snake were we interrupting it’s dinner time? Do hawks also eat frogs? Are the hawks competing with the snakes for food?

Species List:
Robin
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
Canadian Geese (Branta canadensis)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
Antler Perfume
Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
Garter Snake (Thamnophis elegans)
Pacific Tree Frog (Hyla regilla)

Date: March 29, 2012
Location: Trail of Shadows, Mt. Rainer
Weather: Cold, moist air.
Climate: Alpine Zone climate- cold and snowy

The Trail of Shadows is located in Mt. Rainer National Park. When we got there the first thing i noticed was all the snow that was on the ground and how much colder it was than in Pack Forest. Then I noticed how many tall trees were around. The first one i identified was a western hemlock. I knew this because the branches of the tree were sloping down, and the tree had very small needles. Next, i saw old mans beard, a lichen that was attached to a bottom branch of a douglas fur. Across from this symbiosis was a iron rich swampy area that had c02 bubbles coming up from it. I then came across a deer fern, a understory shade plant that is commonly found growing alongside hemlock and other large conifers. The deer fern was a lot smaller than the sword fern i had previously observed, but similar in shape. I then came across a pacific yew. Yew’s are actually a shrub and get to be only about 15 ft tall. They have scaly red bark and red berries when their baring fruit. The yew i saw had yet to bare its fruit, suggesting that they bloom later in the spring. Along with the yew i also encountered a pacific fur. This tree had splotchy bark with an array of lichen growing on it. On of the volunteers then pointed out some lipstick cladonia he had found. One of the more interesting lichens to look at, this plant had red apothhecia that gave it its name. The last plant i saw was devils club and happened to be growing in the swamp. It had rather twig-like branches with thorns completely encompassing it.

Questions: Does the presence of iron somehow benefit the plants in the surrounding area? Does lichen have a mutualistic relationship with the conifers it grows on? What type of organisms live in the iron rich swamp? Why was the iron rich swamp so warm? Why is the devils club so thorny? What relationship through evolution made it this way?

Species List:
Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)
Old Man’s Beard (Usnea trichodea)
Deer Fern (Blechnum spicant)
Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia)
Pacific Fir (Abies amabilis)
Lipstick Cladonia (Cladonia macilenta)
Devils Club (Oplopanax horridus)

Date:April 12,2012
Location:Union Bay Naturalist Area in the U district
Weather: Overcoast, started off humid and then got windy and colder
Climate: Rainy

Today i went the Union Bay Naturalist Area to practice journal sketches. I found a nice overgrown apple tree that i spent quite a while sketching. It had really interesting bark patterns, the bark seems to be wrapping itself around the tree trunk in circles. The flowers had not yet started to bloom but were getting very close. I also saw a cottonwood right across from the apple tree which i did not know was a cotton wood at the time. This tree also had interesting bark, its branches were making slits where they were coming out from the trunk making them appear to be coming out of a bunch of little mouths. I also saw some dead rose and sketched it, and then got distracted by some crows that landed in front of me and started sketching them. Around the same area as the crows and rose i came across a tree that I have never seen before. Unfortunately, my camera sucks and i was unable to get a good picture of its flowers because I cannot take close ups. To be a good naturalist i should probably upgrade my technology. In the mean time, I hope that someone can identify my mystery tree with blurry flowers. (I don't even know if they are flowers, they could be fruit or cones of some sort)

Species List:
Apple Tree (Malus pumila)
mystery tree
cottonwood (genus populus)
rose(genus rosa)
American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

Date: April 13th
Location: University District near Portage Bay
Weather: Sunny and breezy, clear skies
Climate: Wet, seasonal

Observations:
While waiting for a friend to meet me for lunch i wondered around Boat street along Portage Bay. First, I saw a European starling that was finding food in the grass next to the Marine Science Building. The starlings peek was yellow, which will eventually turn back to brown after their mating season. They court and mate in the early spring, which is why its beak was yellow, and also probably why the area was so noisy with birds. I then saw a nest in a Big Leaf Maple tree nearby, but it couldn't of been a starling's nest because they only nest in cavities. I'm unsure who the nest belonged to. Along the side of the building I saw Cherry Lourel and Weeping Bottlebrush growing next to each other. I had also seen Cherry Lourel up in Pack Forrest, so i was able to identify it fairly easily. Weeping Bottlebrush eventually gets these amazing red flowers, since it was not flowering yet I assume it flowers later on in the Spring.On the other side of the lawn I found Viburnum that smelt amazing. I never knew how many varieties of Viburnum there were until I tried to identify this one! In front of the building there is some sort of pine growing, but i was unable to identify it. It had very long pine needles and small cones that were attached at the very ends of its branches. I then walked across the street to the water and saw a mallard duck bobbing it's head for food. An American Crow was nearby in the park area also looking for food. Near the crow I also found a lot of horsetails growing, which i remember seeing a lot of when i lived in Northern California.

Questions:
What makes the sterling's beak change color? Is it hormones, or perhaps the warmer weather? What type of pine did i see? What pollinates viburnum? Why does it smell so nice?

Species List:
Cherry Lourel (Prunus laurocerasus)
Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)
Viburnum (viburnum carlesii)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
Horsetails (Genus Equisetum)
Mystery Pine
Weeping Bottlebrush (Callistemon viminalis)

Location:Wallingford, Seattle, near Gas Works Park
Weather: sunny, warm, smoggy
Climate: wet, windy
Time of day: close to sunset (around 7:30 PM)

Wallingford has a large variety of trees growing on its city blocks. The most abundant are Japanese Maple Trees which exist in green and red. Both varieties can be seen in Wallingford. The Japanese Maple can also be turned into a Bonsai Tree by controlling its growth. The second most abundant tree in Wallingford is the Cherry Tree. There are lots of the common Cherry Blossom Trees, and I also saw and photographed a Japanese Cherry. I also saw a katsura which has heart shaped leaves that looked and felt like lily pads. I also saw some type of Chestnut tree, but i didn't see any nuts on it so it is proving to be hard to identify. I also saw a Juniper that looked really out of place among all the maples and cherry trees. It has odd blue berries in small bundles. The last tree i saw I'm fairly certain is an elephant tree because it has weird branches that curl across each other to almost look like elephant trunks. The flowers i saw were magnolias, and Lenten Rose. Lenten Rose is a weird flower that is green and purple. The texture is more like an algae or some aquatic plant than a flower. The last thing i saw was Common Ivy in its mature form, which looks nothing like its juvenile form that is more commonly seen. Mature ivy has spiky leaves and blue berries, very different from the vine like Ivy I am use to seeing!

Species List:
Elephant Tree
Common Ivy
Magnolia
Chestnut
Common Juniper (Juniperus communis)
Katsura Tree (Cercidiphyllum)
Japanese Cherry (Prunus serrulata)
Cherry
Japanese Maple