Observations by kates17

I saw these barnacles at South Beach on San Juan Island. They are pretty large (about 1.5 in. diameter) and are found on most large rocks and the balsaltic rock formations, especially near the water and tide pools. Barnacles are sessile and attach themselves permanently to hard substrate. They use feather-like appendages to draw in plankton.

I saw this Gadwall floating at UBNA after my class. I was really stumped when I saw this bird! At first I thought it was a female Cinnamon Teal, but then I saw that it has bright white speculum feathers, while the Cinnamon teal's are edged with blue/black. The beak is also too small to be a Cinnamon Teal. Fortunately, someone knew it was a Gadwall! I will have to add this species to the waterfowl website.

This deciduous tree is very common in the Seattle area. It has large, 5 point leaves and smooth bark. It can grow to be quite tall and is found in moist, temperate forests. It does especially well in close proximity to streams.

Finally, a seaweed that I recognize! Bullwhip kelp has a green, long (many feet) tail that ends in a round, hollow (sometimes whitish) bulb. Attached to the bulb is a cluster of long ribbon-like seaweed. This kelp is edible and I actually ate it in a chutney last week during a lesson about foraging.

This seaweed is found all over San Juan Island. It has semi-transparent ribbon-like pieces attached to 2 lobed pouched filled with air. I imagine these make the seaweed somewhat buoyant, assisting it in some way. I wish I knew of a better resource for identifying seaweed!

This little crab was dead when I found it on the beach. It is very small (2 in) and the coloration is white and orange, although I don't know if the colors faded after it died. These small crabs are commonly found under rocks on the beach, especially when the tide is out at the bay.

I saw these sea anemone in a tide pool at south beach. They have little "feelers" around the perimeter of their mouths that respond to movement. If you brush them with your finger they suction closed around it. This is somewhat similar to the terrestrial venus flytrap.

From the shell, this little guy looks exactly like a hermit crab except smaller. However, rather than a crab body, a little snail lives inside! I found this one in a tide pool in the balsaltic rock formations.

This slug was much skinnier than the robust brown slug and had a smoother body with more distinct antennae. It was a honey color rather than dark brown. See journal entry for carkeek park for more info on slug comparison.

I saw this specimen off the trail at Carkeek Park. The leaves are opposite and oval shaped, coming to a point at the end. They are serrated in ridges on the edges. I distinguished it from dull oregon grape by the tall woody stalk and shiny dark green leaves.