Deception Pass 5/12
The weather was sunny and a little bit windy off of the Puget Sound. Deception pass served to have multiple different environments. We first headed down a steep path into a more wooded environment with paths going through out into open bluff areas right off of the water with prairie-like grass and wind blown trees. Also, once we got behind a peninsula we got into this little cove where we saw a Great Blue Heron standing where the water was out due to tides, leaving a muddy area where we saw people out clamming, and just on the other side of this was a beach habitat. There were a lot of wildflowers and flowering plants out, especially on the rocky bluffs area by the water. However, in the more wet environment in the forest we found some as well, like the western starflower was somewhat common, and we saw a lot of Indian paintbrush lining the path. There were also larger flowering shrubs in the forest, like ocean spray. A lot of wildflowers, however, seem to prefer the more rocky outcrops, although they usually seem to stay smaller, probably due to limited soil and strong winds. There were a lot of pea pants flowering all over, like purple peavine, lupines, common vetch, etc. i did see one type of plant that was extremely bright colored and was on a rocky outcrop on a bluff right by the water. It was bright yellow on the top beginning to flower, and then transitioned into amore pink color further down the base, with buds coming off that haven't opened. My guess was stonecrop, and that the whole plant must turn yellow when its all flowering, because of the way the color transitioned down to the stalk. It grew in bunches concentrated with small, velvety plants that stood only an inch or so off the ground. They seemed to be both occupying the same area in the two patches we saw.
There were a lot of madrones on the hill that went up from the bridge down to the water areas, as well as some wind blown pines and douglas firs on the bluff areas. There were multiple downed trees near the paths.
Species List:
common vetch
baldhip rose
snowberry
western starflower
coast fawn lily (?)
daisy
common yarrow
colorado stonecrop
douglas fir
shore pine
madrone
indian paintbrush
ocean spray
purple peavine
great blue heron
lupine
larkspurs
unknown caterpillar
cerastium
barnacles
bull kelp
salaal
ferns
Observations
Photos / Sounds
What
Harsh Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja hispida)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A little taller than the dull oregon grape it was next to, this plant has a hairy stalk, getting hairier as it gets closer to the top. It has thin leaves with five points, and the lines on the leaves go vertical along, maintaining a completely straight line. Near the top of the plant there are orange-red flowers, but they appear to be more like individual petals at the end of each offshoot from the main stalk, they become extremely concentrated at the very tip, with a couple appearing a little over halfway up. Seems to have three sections where about four leaves branch off of the main stalk.
Photos / Sounds
What
Sierra Nevada Peavine (Lathyrus nevadensis)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
This plant was about 1-2 feet tall, with branches coming off the main stalk with leaves exhibiting opposite branching, in pairs of about three. At the end of the stalk, there was one pinkish-purple pea-like flower, and one other pod that was beginning to flower.
Photos / Sounds
What
Ocean Spray (Holodiscus discolor)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A tall shrub, probably about 8 feet tall, with alternate branching leaves with multiple, more rounded points, ending in a structure hanging off the very tips of the branches with a lot of white buds that had not yet begun to flower. The bark was a sort of reddish-brown color nearer the ends where the clusters of buds were located.
Photos / Sounds
What
Baldhip Rose (Rosa gymnocarpa)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A medium height plant, the entire stalk covered in fine, small thorns, with branches of groups of five leaves coming off relatively frequently, with two pairs showing opposite branching with one leaf at the very tip of the stem. I could see no berries or flowers at this point.
Photos / Sounds
What
Broad-leaved Stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A very unique looking plant. It was in clusters very low to the ground, on a rocky outcrop right next to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The flowers were located at the very tip of the plants in clusters, yellow on top and fading into pink underneath. Only the buds at the very tip had flowered, with the stalk being a pinkish-reddish-orange color, with ovalish, leaf-like buds of the same color continuing all the way down the stem.
Photos / Sounds
What
Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
Located on a rocky outcrop off the Strait of Juan de Fuca, this plant stood about 1-2 feet tall, with a hairy stem, and fern-like leaves showing alternate branching. Near the top of the plant, there were about 4 groups of large clusters of white flowers per plant, most just budding, with a few that had flowered.
Photos / Sounds
What
Western Starflower (Lysimachia latifolia)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A very small star shaped white flower with six petals. Just a little off the ground it had four leaves, with three of them the same size, and one of them significantly smaller. They are oval shaped, and the stamen that protrude from the flower are very yellow.
Photos / Sounds
What
Lawn Daisy (Bellis perennis)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A white flower at the end of a hairy green stalk with many very thin white petals, and a very yellow center comprised of many very small stamen.
Photos / Sounds
What
Common Vetch (Vicia sativa)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A plant with a purple pea-like flower near the top, with branches of leaves showing opposite branching with about four pairs of oval shaped leaves with a very distinctive line going down the center. At the end of the stem with the leaves it turns into a sort of wispy frond.
Photos / Sounds
What
Mouse-ear Chickweeds (Genus Cerastium)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
This plant was a little under a foot tall, with very small leaves that appeared in segments of about four up the plant aiming out in different directions from the plant in a sort of circular manner. At the top of the plant there were two flowers, and two that were just budding.
Photos / Sounds
What
Onions (Genus Allium)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
A single bud per stalk, they stood under a foot tall on a rocky outcrop area right by the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The stalk drooped back on itself to almost half its height. Neither of the buds on the end of the drooping stalk had started to flower yet.
Photos / Sounds
What
Larkspurs (Genus Delphinium)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
The plant stood about a foot tall, with a single stem and some very small stems branching off in an alternate fashion. Leaves only seen on one of the small stems branching off, very similar to lupine leaves, being very thin, pointing upward in pairs of seven. At the tip of the plant, there were three bluish-purple flowers, with the petals opening outward and starting to curl back on itself. The stems attach to the flower near its middle, and at the point where the stem attaches to the flower it narrows substantially. The flowers make make me think it belongs is a type of lily, but I was unable to find it in the book.
Photos / Sounds
What
Silver-spotted Tiger Moth (Lophocampa argentata)Observer
drwlyonsDescription
I observed this caterpillar on the hand rail of the bridge that goes across Deception Pass. It was only a couple inches long, very hairy with the main body being black and the fuzzy clumps that come off of it start in a yellow area and extent out being an orange color.
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