April 18, 2012 (UW Seattle Campus)

Location: The crow and squirrel were found in the area along King Lane, the squirrel was found on the left side of the road closest to Savery and the crow was found in one of the grassy areas closer to Denny. The Prunus x yedoensis was found along Clallam Lane, which is near the law school building (William H. Gates Hall), in the grassy area next to the path. The bumble bee was found on the ground outside Lander Hall next to the bus stop there and was moved by me into the same garden area as the cherry laurel from a previous entry.

Route: King Lane can be reached by going up the path through the middle of the Quad at the UW Seattle campus that runs between Savery and Raitt halls. Clallam Lane can be reached by going across the main street near Denny Hall. Clallam Lane is the right path on this side of the street rather than the left path. The coordinates of the tree specifically are 47.6545295715332, -122.31402587890625.

Weather: The weather that day was extremely sunny with only a couple wispy clouds in the sky. Cloud cover was at maybe 10% or less throughout the day. There was very little wind and the temperature was about 64 degrees Fahrenheit. The lighting was excellent as the sun was shining brightly all day.

Habitat: The area the squirrel, crow, and Prunus x yedoensis were found was rather barren of plants. What was there had been planted by the UW. There were quite a few tall trees in the area where the squirrel was found, and the squirrels seemed quite fond of them as there were about 5 or 6 running around in that one area alone. The crow didn't seemed to mind the lack of large plants, as it was content to land on the buildings and look for food in the grass. The Prunus x yedoensis was also planted and there were no other trees immediately surrounding it, only a few large conifers here and there and some other small planted trees. The area I placed the bumble bee in was little more than a garden with large flower bushes and a huge cherry laurel.

Vegetation: The trees were predominantly conifers, though a few deciduous trees were present as well. The plants low to the ground were all planted and were all flowering bushes of various types that were all likely not native. The only real plant growing in all of these areas and completely covering them was grass.

General Comments: These eastern gray squirrels are all over the UW Seattle campus. They're almost always out on sunny days looking for food, and the one in particular I observed was a crazy little thing that would get close to my legs and dart away again a second later. It clearly wanted food from me and gave up when it was obvious I didn't have any for it. The crow was a female that was hopping around a grassy area looking for worms, other insects, and human scraps. It was accompanied by a larger male. These birds are also incredibly common all over campus. These two species are clear examples of how humans affect animal species. They have completely adapted to living with humans and neither were afraid of my approach. If I had had food, I could have probably gotten close enough to touch them. These animals are taking advantage of what we humans drop and of the fact that we think watching them eat the food we offer them is "cute". The Prunus x yedoensis was obviously planted there for its beautiful white flowers. It is definitely not native to the area. Finally, the bumble bee I found was on the verge of dying. I removed it from the ground it was lying on and put it in the garden area behind the bus stop because I was afraid it would get stepped on. These bumble bees are another common sight on campus, but this is the first one I have seen in such a weak state. I am almost certain it died at some point after I rescued it simply because it was in such bad shape when I saw it last. Certain parts of the UW Seattle campus are great examples of how humanity takes over an area and how an area and the species in it can change with human influence. The crow, bumble bee, and squirrel just happened to be in rather barren areas, so that is not such a problem, but the tree is an example of how plant species that don't belong in an area will be added by humans to enhance the landscape. While these areas are interesting to examine, I know I need to turn my focus to native species in the future.

Species List:
Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Prunus x yedoensis
Yellow-faced Bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenkii)

Posted on April 29, 2012 09:05 AM by tessaf