This yellowish fungus looks a lot like a brain because of the ridges running through the surface and it was squishy. It is no bigger than a bottle cap and was found in the swampy area by the lake.
The Salal plant was very common in this area and grew at most elevations.
In the streams running through the estuary one of the most commonly seen plants were cattails.
This moss was found on most trees in this marsh area and covered the branches.
This yew was very unique because the bark itself was a deep red. We think the bark is red because of the iron in the water source. The tree grew very tall and there were several other yews in the forest.
This very leafy plant was commonly found on the ground in the marsh and grew about a foot in diameter. There were only about four or five leaves that split into smaller ones at the end.
This is some type of lichen that was found in a very wet area and has green and black coloring. It is shaped like a coral plant and is not very big.
Our group had seen several tree frogs hopping around just off the trail and were lucky enough to catch the one pictured here
Salal was one of the top plants we identified in the pack forest and did not control the majority of ground cover. The next day our group was at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge and found some there as well.
During the day we only spotted a few hawks and this one was on a tree right next to the trail. It took awhile to identify exactly which kind of hawk this one was but right before it flew away we could see clearly see the coloring on its underbelly that set it apart from other hawks found in the northwest.
There were large flocks all over the estuary and they would wander around on the trails fairly close to people.
This plant was a little sticky and had very small leaves that were opposite. It grew on the ground in a marshy area and was not very tall.
We spotted this snake when a shrew darted across the trail and the snake retreated back into its hole right when we began to move closer to it
This type of fungus was found on a cedar on the Longmire hike in Mt.Rainier. There were several similar to it and it was about 6 inches in diameter and was a whitish yellowish color
Salamanders were common because it was an estuary and several people recorded seeing them around the water edge.
There were several herons in the water and around the grassy fields. We also spotted a juvenile.
Specifically looking at the yellow lichen found on this tree branch in Mt. Rainier. It is surrounded by several other lichens like evernia.
At the estuary we spotted this owl through a telescope far off the trail in the trees. It was one of three in the tree
These ants have red and black bodies and have a nest in a pile of dirt and sticks. The ant hill was found a few feet away from a pond and they covered the mound.
Even though this is poor photo quality we spotted a cormorant across the river that was accompanied by two others.
