Mt. Finlayson, San Juans 5/4

Mt. Finlayson is a short hike on the San Juan Islands that goes up a bluff on one side, and dips down in a very small sort of valley on the other side. Because half the hike is on a bluff on the coast there was a stark contrast between the two environments. Due to the fact that the San Juans only get around twenty inches of rain a year and the wind that comes off of the water. The trail that goes up by the coast is extremely dessicated, dominated mostly by long, prairie-like grass and windblown douglas firs that bent in the direction of the wind and were very patchy. There were a lot of wildflowers as well, such as lupine (small-flowered lupine) orchids (fairy slipper, western coralroot), elephants head; however, they were all mostly very short due to the wind force and frequency. We saw a red fox on the other side of the trail limping with his back foot up and a very bushy tail with a little white clump on the tip. The douglas firs all had bright green tips on their branches. Very short, only one to two inches, but it shows their new growth in the spring I'm assuming. At the midway point of the loop when we were at the most exposed point of the bluff we saw two bald eagles. I could tell because of their wings and gliding, as they were not upward in a "V" shape like vulture, and I could spot a little white on their heads. Then, we went through the trees and down out of the wind and transitioned to a much more coniferous wet forest environment dominated by douglas firs (not windblown any more) and lots of sword ferns on the forest floor. There was also lots of foamflower in the wetter environment, and what appeared to be false lily of the valley. I also observed a tent caterpillar and its nest on a shrub, what appeared to be perhaps a rose. There was only one very small caterpillar on the nest, however, but when I've seen nests previously they had many more. Perhaps it was due to the difficulty with the winds off of the Sound.
Species List:
Red fox
eagle
fairy slipper
douglas fir
sword fern
false lily of the valley
tent caterpillar
foamflower
western coralroot
elephants head
daisies
buttercups
daffodils
small flowered lupine
checker lily
death camas
small camas
red elderberry

Posted on June 4, 2012 06:25 PM by drwlyons drwlyons

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Poet's Narcissus (Narcissus poeticus)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

Did not appear to be wild, most likely introduced. In circular clumps about a foot or so in diameter, with about 20 or so white flowers with orange-reddish centers with tall grass interspersed in the circular clump

Photos / Sounds

What

Red-berried Elder (Sambucus racemosa)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

A shrub standing alone in a prairie like ecosystem about 8 feet tall. Green stems with leaves coming off in an alternate branching attached to twiglike stalks. At the end of the green stems coming of the brownish-purple stalks there are clumps of very small white flowers.

Photos / Sounds

What

Western Tent Caterpillar Moth (Malacosoma californica)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

I found a type of red caterpillar's nest located on the branch of a what appeared to be some sort of rose. The caterpillar was very small, and a sort of orangish color, on the tent like structure made out of layers of silk.

Photos / Sounds

What

Small Camas (Camassia quamash)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

Very common on the side of the trail, it was about 6 inches tall with the flowers branching off the stem alternately. The flowers were purple-blue with yellow tips of the stamens. Most of the flowers were still opening, with a few that had opened all the way. Each flower had 6 petals.

Photos / Sounds

What

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

A fox was seen across the road at the beginning of the hike. A rusty red color with a very bushy tail that ended in a white clump. Holding one of the back legs up in a limp, but it would not let us get very close to it. Once we passed it crossed the road and went into the woods.

Photos / Sounds

What

Checker Lily (Fritillaria affinis)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

Initially drooping downwards in a sort of bell shape, this flower's petals are yellow at the center, and begin to be spotted by a purplish-brown along the edges until near the tip it is almost completely that color.

Photos / Sounds

What

Meadow Deathcamas (Toxicoscordion venenosum)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

A short plant probably about 6 inches off the ground it had a relatively thick green stem, with small white flowers coming off the main stem at about a 30 degree angle up on short shoots that, becoming more dense at the top, where they round out and form a sort of cone of dense flowers at the top of the plant. In a wind blown prairie area on the coast, a sort of bluff.

Photos / Sounds

What

Miniature Lupine (Lupinus bicolor)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

A small hairy plant with a brown stalk that stood between half a foot and a foot high. Stems came off occasionally ending in thin, hairy leaves in groups of four or five that pointed up. The flowers were located at the tip of the plant, with only three purplish blue pea-like flowers

Photos / Sounds

What

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

Flying upwind, I saw two eagles gliding with flat wings, not upward, v-shaped wings, and although they were relatively far away I believe that I saw a speck of white on their heads, indicating it to be a bald eagle.

Photos / Sounds

What

Threeleaf Foamflower (Tiarella trifoliata)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

A single, hairy stalk that stood about 2 feet high, in a more wet forest right by a lagoon. Small white flowers drooping down with long stamens coming out. The flowers came off in what appeared to be a pretty random fashion. Near the base there were leaves that came in groups of three, and had a sort of rounded, multiple tips.

Photos / Sounds

What

Western Fairy-Slipper (Calypso bulbosa var. occidentalis)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

A single pink flower on a pinkish-purple stalk that curved at the top where the flower attached. A couple petals pointed upwards, while one sort of pouch droops below with one petal slightly covering the pouch opening. Found in a wet forest area near a lagoon.

Photos / Sounds

What

Spotted Coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata)

Observer

drwlyons

Date

May 4, 2012

Description

A very red pant with red stalk and with small, white flowers surrounded by larger red petals. At a close look, you can see how the flowers are in an orchid shape, with a the white part of the flower being a very small pouch, and the red petals covering the top of it going out and up. Found in a wettish forest area near a lagoon.

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