twitwer's Journal

After reviewing my coordinates and determining that the location was in Discovery Park, I set off to explore my designated area. The weather today was mostly overcast but still bright and a lower 50 degrees. There was a slight breeze blowing that brought a chill with it. Upon arriving at Discovery Park, I followed a trail that went deeper into the park en route to my location. The surrounding flora consisted of lots of stinging nettle, sword ferns, and large big leaf maples. A little ways down the path, I noticed a strange group of light orange spheres attached to a dead tree branch. The small balls looked to me like some type of slime mold or fungi. Also, I was curious as to what the small clusters of foam on branches and stems of shrubs were. I observed multiple cases of this “spit-like” substance on my journey to my designated coordinates. I determined this foam was most likely due to spit bugs or froghoppers that hide in the spit that also provides insulation. I was nearing my location when I stumbled across what looked like a bright white oyster mushroom. This mushroom stood out in the understory dominated by lush green stinging nettles, salal, and salmonberry.
After about a ten minute walk, I approached my assigned location. The surrounding area consisted of a parking lot and a street running along a patch of forested area. This patch of forest was my spot to explore. It was situated in a small ravine that dipped down with a stream running through it. The stream fell in a mini waterfall from a drainage pipe and continued on through the ravine. The stream created an ambient trickling noise which I enjoyed while exploring my surroundings. The patch was made of almost entirely big leaf maples that created a canopy over the ravine. There was one particularly large maple rising from the center and branching many times from the center. The homogeneity of the tree life struck me although I did notice a lone western red cedar on the outside recesses of the ring of big leaf maples. The trees were covered in different types of mosses and the ground was littered with dead maple leaves and woody material. The soil itself was very moist and dark colored and collapsed easily under my feet. The understory was dominated by giant sword ferns and stinging nettles. The understory was shadowed by the canopy of trees and the stream was lined with exposed tree roots and small stinging nettles. I sat and listened to the stream for about half an hour and took note of the species surrounding me. I was proud that I had been able to identify the majority of the plants I had seen, although the area did only host a handful of species. I heard birds chirping overhead that I presumed to be robins and chickadees based on their calls and I sat back and enjoyed nature in solitude.

Today we began class in the classroom (who would have guessed). The last two groups were presenting, starting with mammals, or in this case squirrels. W split off into various groups and began outside learning about the capture and monitoring of squirrels in the Northwest. The reason this is important is because the much more common eastern gray squirrel is driving the indigenous western gray squirrel to extinction. The eastern gray squirrel is the most common squirrel on campus and in Washington. After learning this, we continued into a small park on campus where we met and talked about the complex feeding habits of squirrels. Squirrels store their food in small holes and can remember thousands of them due to their very powerful spatial memory. In addition, they sometimes fake burying their food to fool thieves and instead take their food elsewhere. Continuing on, we came to a station where we actually got to feed campus squirrels. The squirrels hesitant at first but once they saw the food, they were no strangers. The campus squirrels have become heavily reliant on human contact for food and makes them completely different behaviorally wise to their friends that live in the wild. We then headed back inside to look at the differences of species in the squirrel family and how they vary in size. The second half of class was devoted to bees, butterflies, and beetles. We learned about different pollination techniques of butterflies and how they differ from moths. We learned that most species of bees are solitary and honey bees make up small percentage of the bee family. Bees are also an important element to our ecosystem. They pollinate far more than any other species but pesticide use is killing them off. I aslo learned bees hate the color black and feared for my life because I was wearing a black jacket while at the beehives by the UW farm. After bees, we learned about beetles and how important they are to us. like bees, they also pollinate and are important decomposers. Overall, today was very informative and helpful.

Today I presented our project on waterfowl along with Jin, Drew, Kate, and Victoria. Before we began our presentation though, we listened to the birds group present theirs. We began at UBNA and split into two groups and looped the trail within UBNA. Cara and Anisa led our group and talked about the various birds that are present in the UBNA, such as red winged blackbirds, barn swallows, and robins. We observed lots of swallows around the central pond in UBNA swooping down close to the water and chirping very loudly. The small body size of the swallow allows it to be extremely maneuverable and its distinction is its forked tail. As we made our way around, we came to an area with many cattails and tall grass where red winged blackbirds liked to hang out and presumably nest. The red winged blackbirds have a noticeable red spot at the base of theirs wings and is easy to point out when they are in flight. After completing their tour, it was our turn to present. I was stationed by the large pond in the center in hopes of seeing mallards. I was pleasantly surprised when mallards began to arrive because I had surveyed the area before class and hadn't seen any mallards. Our project consisted of five stations, each with a different topic. I talked about mallards, Drew talked about herons and shovelers, Kate about mergansers, Victoria about wood ducks and canada geese, and Jin about features of waterfowl. As a whole, I believe our project went smoothly and I learned a bunch in the process.

Today, I decided to trek to the Arboretum to try and identify some things I had not yet seen and also admire the beautiful Seattle weather. It was sunny, bright, and perfect weather for spending time by the water. On the walk over, I passed behind the UW training facilities and found some interesting species in an inlet by the Conibear Shellhouse. The inlet was narrow but deep and was littered with large lillypads and plant debris. This area was also home to ducks, insects, and herons feeding. Along the edge of this inlet, there was also some interesting foliage that I did not recognize. Later, with the help of the inaturalist community I was able to identify them as hawthorns. Continuing down the road, I began to see other species I did not recognize scattered amongst fir and cedar trees. For example, across the street from a grove of Douglas firs, I spotted a strange looking redwood tree with flaky bark and peculiar needles. As it turns out it was a dawn redwood. Just before crossing the Montlake bridge to enter the arboretum, I came across a large shrub with vibrant yellow flowers hanging from its branches. I then crossed the bridge and went down the steep steps to the arboretum where I immediately was surrounded by wildflowers. There were flowers of all colors in front of me: blue, violet, yellow, and white. I began the identification process and came across creeping buttercup, borage, hardhack, red osier dogwood, bluebell, and leatherleaf viburnum. All of these plants were strewn along the edge of the path where they could receive sunlight. The other plants towered above them but were further off the path and in a much denser area. I continued down the path to the edge of the water where I was able to see a pair of northern shovelers returning to their female counterparts. I did not delve too deep into the arboretum because the ground was soaked with water from Lake Washington but I was surprised at the diversity I found while on my short hike from the edge of the Montlake bridge down to the waterfront.

Today I ventured back to Ravenna park to delve deeper into its many pathways. I began by following a trail down a few sets of stairs to an area dominated by large sword ferns and doulgas fir and western red cedars. I was particularly interested in some of the understory I could not yet identify. I began by looking at plants tucked beneath and around the sword ferns and identified rose campion, devil's club, piggyback plant, and a spinulose wood fern. These were easy to spot considering the mostly homogeneous understory of Ravenna park (i.e. salal, sword fern, oregon grape). After following this path, I went under the large bridge that goes over the park and noticed some artist's bracket growing on a large tree. I could tell by the distinctive white bottom and brown top. I then ventured off the path a little and went down to the creek where I found smaller shrubs such as false solomon's seal, marsh marigold, western skunk cabbage, and horse chestnut growing. When I began my hike the weather was pretty overcast and windy but by the end, it had cleared up and the sun was shining through the canopy of trees and onto the path I was traveling on. On my way back to my house, I came across a salmonberry that had a few ripe berries which I enjoyed snacking on.

Today in class we met at Union Bay Natural Area for two group projects. The fungi group went first and was set up in 5 different stations focusing on different types of fungi. We began by receiving a brief but informational background on fungi and their characteristics and continued on our tour. We met with Ross and discussed an artist's bracket that was found on a dead tree. Artist's bracket was intriguing due to it's impressionable underside that gives the fungi its name. After this station, we continued to a station that was focused on oyster mushrooms that had grown on a tree. The mushrooms always grow horizontally but some were situated vertically on the downed tree suggesting that they grew after the tree had fallen over. I found this quite fascinating to say the least. We then went to a station focusing on turkey tails growing on a dead log. Like the oyster mushrooms, the turkey tails also grow horizontally in plates. After this station we went and observed Japanese parasol mushrooms. After the fungi group, we moved on to forbs where we observed skunk cabbage and had some dandelion wine. After the sample, we went on to observe various wildflowers in UBNA. We were lucky to see a native wildflower and other non native species such as white clover, dandelions, common vetch, queen anne's lace, and thimbleberry. It was a great day in UBNA and the group presentations were very informative.

On the day of the field trip, I instead traveled north to Deception Pass to explore and enjoy the weather and observe more species. Our day started by following a trail that led down a steep grade and into a large covered forest dominated by firs, cedars, and pines. The trail split off into multiple smaller trails going in all different directions. I noticed the understory was dominated by snowberry, salal, and oregon grape but there were also some species I had not seen in the Seattle area. It began with indian paintbrush which I found in a clearing on a hillside which was also in close proximity to lavender peavine. As we followed the trail along the shore, I saw many different wildflowers that I had not seen before such as western starflower and an unknown purple flower. Further down the trail, it opened up to a rocky meadow overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was here that I observed colorado stonecrop and common yarrow growing out of the rocky substrate. From the clearing, I made my way down to the beach and found barnacles glued to the rocks and bull kelp lining the shore. As I continued back on the trail, I came to an opening on a plateau covered in grasses and flowers such as daisies and another white flower I could not identify. We then took another trail back and went back into the forest where I found two species of fungi that I found interesting. It was a great day at Deception Pass and very refreshing to see species I would not otherwise see in the Seattle area.

After class I headed over to UBNA to explore and identify various species. The UBNA is a large restored landfill that has been supporting plant and animal life for the last 50 years or so. The area has a path that creates a loop around the area and is on the waterfront of Lake Washington. Many waterfowl and other bird species nest in this area. The plant life in the area is very dense with mostly non-native species such as scotchbroom. Upon entering the area, I immediately saw some plant species I did not recognize. Along the side of the trail was a small shrub with large bulb on it. After searching the field guide, I determined it was a baldhip rose. Continuing a little further, I came across a large shrub that towered above all the other smaller plants about 10 feet off the trail. It had large grooved leaves with small clustered buds. I identified the plant as a cascara specimen. As I circled the trail, I found the UBNA to be quite lively with small swallows diving and singing and ducks continually landing and taking off from ponds. Along the waterfront there were many canada geese and a notable amount of Great Blue herons. The weather was amazing so I assume this is why so many birds were so active. I approached the pond in the center of UBNA and watched various birds take flight and scavenge for food on the water's surface. The barn swallows were fond of nesting in the large pacific willows lining the pond. Overall, the UBNA was a great place to experience and learn about different plants and animals.

For our class period today we met in Mary Gates Hall and were greeted by a mycologist working at UW. His assistant and himself split the class into two groups and we explored the campus looking for various fungi. We began by heading to a woodchip area across the street from the Architecture building. The area was covered with woodchips and had a few large cedars around it. Also, there were some shrubs lining the clearing. We looked at the characteristics of mushrooms, specifically their hyphae and gills. The woodchip area was dominated by one type of mushroom, agrocybe praecox. This particular mushroom was a light to medium brown color and there were various aged specimens in the area. The older ones were cracking and darker colored. The spore print is a dark brown color. After checking out this area, we continued to an area around the UW farm. We observed a turkey tail mushroom growing on a dead log and also saw a button mushroom growing on the compost pile.In addition, we found an oyster mushroom growing on another dead piece of woody material. On this trip we were able to observe various whiterot mushrooms. I enjoyed this class period because fungi is a group I know little about and I find quite interesting.

For our class period we met at the Burke Museum today. Once everyone had arrived, we split into our project groups and rotated between three stations led by Susan, Josh, and an employee of the Burke Museum. The topics for each station were sex, treachery, and death. We entered the back area of the museum which I had never been to and has a large collection of thousands of birds. I began with the employee at the Burke and we examined sexual dimorphism between different types of birds. We learned about size dimorphisms and color dimorphisms. Arctic shorebirds select for a smaller body size in males in order to do mating maneuvers to court female mates. At the next station we learned about treachery with Josh and how certain birds disguise eggs and drop them in other bird’s nests. This is common behavior in cowbirds. Cowbirds wait for a bird to leave and drop their eggs in different nests. Their eggs are thicker and harder to break than warbler eggs and if the warbler try and break them, they can roll and destroy the warbler’s own eggs. Also, there is a theory called the mafia theory when cowbirds discover that there eggs have been destroyed, they come back to the warbler’s nest and kill their young. After learning about how big of jerks cowbirds are, we rotated to Susan’s station to learn about death and population dynamics. We took a look at demographics for different countries such as India and Japan and compared what their expected growth rates might be. We then looked at differences between juvenile and adult birds and mortality rates.