The Pack Forest area on Mt. Rainier had a large, grassy field lined with scotch broom, large trees and other plants like Indian Plum or salal. In the afternoon our group took a walk through the forest on a trail that led in to a more dense forest with a thick canopy. The ground was muddy from rainfall that morning and there was a cloud cover. It was shocking to me how lichen could be found on almost every tree and the several species we identified were intermixed. In the northwest alone there are over 1,000 species of lichen. Some of the species I identified of lichen were Evernia, Usnea and Crustos lichen. I learned that lichen is composed of fungus and algae and represents a symbiotic relationship. The fungus protects the algae and gets nutrient while the algae gives sugar. On the deciduous trees red column shapes hung vertically off the branches and are called catkins; these were also very common in the Pack Forest area. The majority of trees we saw were Douglass Fir and Western Hemlock with the occasional Big Leaf Maple. Also while examining the pinecones from these trees I was told that female pinecones are longer than male pinecones. For the ground cover the most commonly spotted plants were salal, oregon grape, sword fern, and himalayan blackberries. There was not one plant that seemed to dominate over the others and at least ninety percent of the ground was covered. Pack Forest had several invasive species, including the himalayan blackberry, scotch broom and english ivy. The people working at Pack Forest told us they were working on low-impact removal projects to take these species out of the environment.
Species Identified:
Salal
Evernia prunastri
Douglass Fir
Western Hemlock
Big Leaf Maple
Western Swordfern
Catkins
Red-flowering currant
Custose Lichen
Common Ivy
Western Lady Fern
Scotch Broom
Usnea lichenoconium
Mushroom
Osoberry
Indian Plum
At around 3pm our group drove to a higher elevation on Mt. Rainier to a hiking trail to catalog the different species with the altitude change. There was snow covering the ground and on most of the trail itself and the temperature was about 15 degrees colder than at Pack Forest (roughly 30 degrees fahrenheit). There was minimal cloud cover and the sun was shining making the snowy field reflect a ton of light, a lot different than where we spent the morning. One of the first things that caught my eye on the trail were the deer ferns lining the stream banks and their coppery coloring. This was an outcome of the high levels of iron found in the water and dyed their leaves the copper color. On the trail where the snow was melted all the ground plants were flattened from the heavy packed snow lying on top of them all winter. What was similar about this area to Pack Forest were the lichens, oregon grape and trees, all very prominent in the ecosystem. All of the trees had branches starting much higher up the trunk to assist in the competition for light resources. Also this area contained certain kinds of trees that would absorb nutrients from the soil it did not necessarily need in order to withhold them from the surrounding plants that need them. Off the trail we saw several nursing logs that Hemlock seedlings grew out of and created a whole new tree using those nutrients. One tree that stood out was the Western Yew and its red bark. We attributed this coloring to the many minerals found in the water. The lake in that the trail circled had three beaver dams and one person actually saw a beaver swimming around. The water was uncharacteristically warm and had bubbles from the CO2 releasing causing different types of bacteria not found in our reference books to grow along the water edge.
Species Identified:
Lodgepole Pine
Olaria
Polmate Coltsfoot
Western Yew
Threshing Berry
Western White Pine
Common Bear Berry
Evergreen Blackberry
Alaska Cedar
fungus
On the drive from Mt. Rainier we had passed a deer and coyote on the way to Nisqually. At the beginning of the day we met with some educators from the refuge that told us about the area and what they have been doing to preserve the many species living in the environment. The climate was much different than Mt. Rainier because we were on the coast of the Puget Sound in a protected estuary that housed many plant species that thrive close to water and birds. The weather was cloudy and about 45 degrees and windy because there was no protection from the winds coming off of the water. After walking on the boardwalk for only a few minutes we saw a Robin in a tree only five feet or so away and heard a Yellow Warbler in the distance. Once again the plants we saw included Indian Plum and Oregon Grape. The tree density was much lower than in the higher elevation and there was a lot more space between each tree. The ground was very marshy and not solid to walk on. Throughout the day there were Canadian Geese flying in flocks around the grounds. Using binoculars we saw three Great Horned Owls perched in one of the trees in the distance across the big grassy field. By chance we witnessed a garter snake chasing a shrew out of its burrow and across the path in front of us and off into the grass. Herons wandered close to the boardwalk and some stood in shallow water waiting for a fish to swim by.
My personal favorite spot of the day was the bright green tree frog hiding in the leaves next to the trail. People had heard them all day but had not yet found them. Its colors were so vibrant and I got to observe him up close.
Watching the many bird species was my main focus for the day not only because we spent the previous day only observing plants but because I had a lot to learn about identifying different bird calls and how to find them with binoculars or a telescope.
Species Identified:
Salmonberry
Canadian Geese
Robin
Yellow Warbler
Song Sparrow
Juvenile Eagle
Skunk Cabbage
Elderberry
Chickadees
Great Horned Owl
Brown Creeper
Snow Berry
Red-tailed Hawk
Rufous Hummingbird
Blue Heron
Double-Crested Cormorant
Pacific Tree Frog
Salamander
Garter Snake
Shrew
Northern Shoveler
Bald Eagle
Norther Herrier
Today during the class period we toured the greenhouse on campus to learn about different ways plants around the world have adapted to their environment and protect themselves from predators.
Miracle berries: the first stop was sampling a berry that changes your tastebuds to make a lemon wedge taste as sweet as candy after only sucking the juice out of one berry. It takes advantage of an organism's sensory reactions to help in an effort to become pollinated through the animal's digestion and then spreading seeds through their waste.
Ghost Chili's: the 'hotness' sensation from eating this chili stimulates the same neurons that resemble touching a hot surface with your hand. However, there is no actual spiciness to it because the heat is not a taste and is only a simulation of eating a real chili. When you consume this chili your taste buds tell the body that tissue damage is occurring, causing the hot sensation, when in fact nothing is happening. An interesting fact about birds is they can not feel the heat so they are high pollinators of the plant.
One of the plants we saw had holes covering its leaves in order to discourage adult butterflies from laying their eggs to hatch there because there would snot be enough food for their offspring.
Some highly evolved plants, usually living in areas of scarce water, created a 'window' in order to implement the process of photosynthesis without losing any water.
The most interesting plant I saw in the greenhouse was a very large, almost six foot tall round shaped plant that added layers onto the outside of its structure while inside it decomposed the old layers for nutrients. This shocked me because plants are so innovative in how they acquire their resources even in low-nutrient environments.
The Union Bay Natural Area is very similar to the Nisqually Refuge Center because it is very marshy and has expansive grassy fields with only clumps of trees, opposed to thick forests. For the class period we practiced sketching shapes of the landscape in both general descriptions and close details. By slowing down to really capture every small bend in one single branch on a tree made me notice different things about the tree then I would have seen then just looking at a photograph. I enjoyed the exercise a lot because it introduced me to a new way to observe the environment and helped narrow down a huge landscape of trees to just a snapshot of the trees.
I chose to draw a mallard swimming in the water close to the walking path and observed its behaviors for several minutes. It dove beneath the surface a couple of times a minute for about five-seven seconds before popping back above surface. The specific mallard I was observing was a male because of the dark, vibrant colors are a way for the males to impress females during mating. There were many waterfowl around the area and some of the same songbirds I had seen in Nisqually.
My favorite exercise was taking one small part of a branch and sketching it and then zooming out to a slightly bigger area, sketching it and repeating two times so the final result was four panels that were the same subject but held more and more detail with each addition to space covered.
I live just off campus so Ravenna Park is extremely close to my house. I embraced the sunny and rather warm weather to walk down 17th ave all the way to the intersection with Ravenna and continued down that road until reaching the park. Just on the walk down there were several trees usually found in urban areas in the median and on the sidewalks that were blooming with all the sunshine from the past few weeks. The two trees that were most common were the Pacific Dogwood, with white flowers, and the big leaf maple. Since it is a residential area many rhododendrons and flowering plants like the spanish bluebell were in the front of lawns next to the sidewalk. There was a variety of plant species planted that are natural to the area and included plants like ferns and oregon grape amount the flowering plants. Some interesting finds were mushrooms and two different phenotypes of spanish bluebell. The area around the U district is well planted with native plants and a high variation of plants so walking down 17th was perfect for documenting several native species to the Puget Sound area.
The first sight of the park is an open grassy field with a few cedars and a lot of pink or yellow flowers blooming. Birds that I saw a lot were robins and little sparrows around the park. After walking for a few minutes the scenery changes more into the tall trees and thick canopy of classic northwest forest with lots of ferns by the base of trees and dune grass near the stream running through the park. On the banks of the stream the skunk cabbage is easy to spot because of the distinct rotten egg smell it gives off. Because there were so many of the plants the smell was very pungent and recognizable right away. Also found just about everywhere in the park were the giant horsetail
One flower that I spotted right before I left Ravenna was a bright pink blossom that stood tall above its grassy base and the petals were shaped in a heart. I had never seen anything like it, especially the shapes.
Species Identified:
Bleeding Heart
Genus Euphorbia
Spanish Bluebell
Yellow archangel
Genus Amanita
Magnolia
Rhododendron
Cedar
Dunegrass
Sitka Mountain Ash
Pacific Dogwood
Dandelion
Red Huckleberry
Bracken Fern
Clover
European Holly
Western Buttercup
Skunk Cabbage
Giant Horsetail
Common Snowberry
Sticky Currant
