May 12th

May 12th
12:00-4:20
UBNA – personal nature walk

So I missed one of our class field trips and therefore took it upon myself to make up for it by spending the day at the Union Bay Natural Area. UBNA is a part of UW campus, it is a marsh land area growing on top of what once was a landfill. This is a restoration area that is covered with tall grasses, shrubs, deciduous trees and many different types of birds. Until recently, much of the land off of the trails was covered in Himalayan Blackberry Rubus armeniacus an invasive, thorny plant that has become a large problem in the greater Puget Sound area. Due to the conservation efforts of UW students and other dedicated individuals, much of the Himalayan Blackberry has been removed and other native plants have been given an opportunity to flourish in the newly available space. On may 12th the weather was partly cloudy – sunny and the temperature was at a humid 75 degrees with a refreshing light breeze.
I walked along the trails and immediately encountered this yellow iris that I believe to be is Yellow Flag Iris pseudacorus (See journal entry May 12th for sketch and iNaturalist account for picture). It was growing in patches along the banks of the site. It had a tall green stalk with one long tipped, deciduous leaf. The petals were yellow. The three long outer petals had intricate brown markings and the six inner petals were plain yellow, with now markings. If my identification is correct (and according to an agreement on iNaturalist I believe it is…) then this is a non-native plant. Originally from Europe, Asia and Africa; Yellow Flags are herbaceous perennial plants, aka: a forb. It is a very pretty plant and I believe many more will have bloomed by the end of the month.
Next I ran into a plant that I identified to be Common Vetch (Vicia sativa). (See Journal entry May 12 and iNaturalist) It seems to be growing everywhere. I could tell that it is a pea plant from its petals. They are a dark purple with traces of white and are arranged in a very distinct way. In some areas it grows very high, above my waits. In other areas it grows very low, barely visible and by my ankles. The leaves are oblong, much longer than they are wide. And it has vine like tendrils that curl around the nearby grasses and other larger plants.
Not far down the trail I saw a Thimbleberry bush Rubus parviflorus (see iNaturalist) It had white flowers and huge maple-leaf like leaves. The leaves were fuzzy and the stalks had no thorns. The flowers seemed to be a big hit with the bee life. There were many Honey Bees Apis mellifera (see iNaturalist) and bumblebees that couldn’t seem to get enough of this plant. There didn’t seem to be any berries yet, but it doesn’t seem like thimbleberries ripen until late summer anyways.
I also saw this strange plant with very long stalks and small bright-yellow flowers, some seemed to have a splash of red on their petals as well. It would grow in great quantities together and seemed to be fairly successful in some areas of UBNA. This plant is called Scotch Broom Cytisus scoparius (see iNaturalist) According to my Plants of the Pacific NW Coast book Scotch Broom is one of our many invasive plants.
I didn’t just see plants though! UBNA is absolutely crawling with birdlife. Even though I came here to look at forbs my eyes kept darting around trying to locate the source of many different birdcalls. Great Blue Herons Ardea Herodias is one of the most exciting birds to see in UBNA and it’s also one of the easiest to locate. They have a truly horrific call; I think of a Velociraptor every time I hear one of them. They are fairly large birds with long necks that bob up and down when they fly. They have long large beaks that they use to scoop up fish from the water.
I also saw many Red Winged Blackbirds Agelaius phoeniceus the males are dark back with bright red patches on their shoulders. They can be hard to see when they are hanging out up in the trees but every once in a while they will spread their wings in flight and it is really magnificent. The females are small and drab, they have the normal brown speckled markings you normally see on female birds. They have a very distinct call; they really cannot be mistaken for anything else.
I saw Mallard ducks Anas platyrhynchos (see iNaturalist account) these are fairly common birds but for the sake of thoroughness, I will describe them as well. Male mallards have extravagant iridescent green head feathers with white, gray, and black body feathers. The females have the regular, drab, speckled brown and white feathers that are found with almost every sexually dimorphic bird.

Posted on June 5, 2012 06:55 AM by mhf5