I saw this orange lichen at the Mill Creek Nature Preserve. I think it is called Xanthoria, but I'm not sure...anybody?
I saw this white-tailed deer at South Beach on San Juan Island, WA. This is a very unique ecosystem, with prairie near the ocean. There are many invasive grasses on the prairie, and deer are found very close to the beach. This particular deer was in a group of 4 in the tall grass, approximately 500 feet from the water.
This western sword fern was seen in Carkeek Park off the side of the trail. It has dark green fronds that are shiny on top and have round, yellow sori on the bottom in rows of 2.
This Pacific Northwest native species is abundant throughout this Mill Creek Nature preserve. The skunk cabbage was found in the wet woods near a stream. The plant gives off a skunky odor and is over a foot tall. It is characterized by large yellow flowers, yellow spathes and waxy light green leaves.
I found this salamander (plethodon vehiculum) under a log after dark (~9:45 pm) on a biology field trip to Camp Long near Seattle. The salamander had a stripe down its back and the log was on the side of the trail in close proximity to a pond. I estimated its size to be around 9 cm.
These gulls were on the lawn outside by George cafe on the UW campus looking for food scraps. They seemed to be waiting for people to leave their tables. They have an impressive wingspan and strong, sharp beaks. I have seen them dropping shells onto hard surfaces while in flight in order to access the meat inside.
I saw this tree at the Arboretum in Seattle. I was not familiar with the water oak, but the majority of the tree species are labeled. The water oak was very tall (I would estimate 60 ft). It has rough ridges in the bark and produces acorns. It is native to the East Coast (FL).
I saw these Venus Flytraps in the UW Botany Greenhouse. They are carnivorous plants that close their "mouth" on their prey when they sense a motion stimulus. The Venus Flytraps were about 1 in across and had small sensing hairs around the mouth opening.
We saw this lichen hiking on a trail at Pack Forest near Eatonville, WA. There are several species pictured here. Parmelia sulcata is commonly known as shield lichen. It is light gray and leafy. Evernia is prunastri is a very light green and has flat branches. Usnea hangs down, suspended from the branches. It is light green and has finer branches that resemble hair.
We saw this Turkey Vulture on San Juan Island. It has a red face and brown/black feathers. This bird is a scavenger, feeding mainly on carrion. It relies heavily on its sense of sight and smell.
I saw these three turkey tail fungi growing on a log. They always grow horizontally, parallel to the ground. They are each about 3 inches long and have a striped variation in color.
This tree was smaller with relatively thin branches and trunk. The leaves are almond shaped and have distinct veins. It also has upward facing bunches of tiny white flowers.
I saw this plant while walking from the road down to the beach at Deadman Cove. I identified it as thimbleberry because of the white flowers with 5 petals and golden center and the light green leaves with 5 points and serrated edges.
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.
This mysterious glob of light yellow gelatinous substance was on the side of a dense, wet forest trail. It sure looked like it was naturally occurring, but maybe not? I have no idea what this could be! It was about 8 inches long and very gooey...I did not touch it, but it looked very slimy.
I saw this beautiful blue jay just south of Drumheller Fountain on the UW campus. I recognize it at a Steller's jay because of its distinct blue plumage and black head/upper body. I believe this species is also known as the Mountain Jay. It is a native bird and is commonly found in coniferous forests. When I observed this specimen, it was eating worms on the lawn.
I saw this brown slug beside the trail in a pile of wet, dead leaves. It has a rounded body with a flat underside and a ridged, slimy brown body. It is about 2 in long.
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.
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!
I'm not sure what species this seaweed is, but it is thin and stringy like hair.
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.
I saw this conifer on Stevens Way (at UW Seattle) while walking to class. I noticed it has a curving trunk, which I do not see very often on trees of this type. I'm not sure what species it is (I will have to try and get a closer look at the cones and needles). Does anyone know why the trunk curves?
The petals on these flowers are pink and delicate. The leaves have jagged edges and fine prickles. This specimen was found in the wet forest area. Salmonberry thrives in poorly drained soils.
Although there were no pink flowers, I recognized this plant by the brightly colored berries and leaf shape.
This salamander is kept in a tank at the UW Botany Greenhouse
I saw this salal on a walk around the UW campus. It was seen near NE Stevens Wat and Rainier Vista. It has oval leathery leaves, (see journal).
This bush has dense branches with long, thin leaves. It has bright purple flowers with interestingly shaped petals. The petals curve away from the center of the flower
My dad and I saw this fox near San Juan Island National Historic Park (South Beach). It had blonde fur and very skinny legs. In the summertime, there are giant groups of rabbits running around the grassy fields. I often see foxes in this area, and I assume they predate these rabbits.
I saw this black fox while walking near our house on Wescott Bay (San Juan Island, WA). This area has some very interesting wild life! It was about 2 feet tall and had black fur. It was not intimidated by our presence at all, which leads me to believe it has grown accustomed to humans approaching it for pictures.
