Its bulbous neck twists and turns with the curvature of a snake
Tattered chest drapings appear stringy like a feather duster; against the smoothness of its grey flyer
Soundless, motionless save for the quick motion of its long pointed snout snatching a small fish from the water
Standing amongst reeds and cattails
Humpback; graceful
Stands on two pillars preening its interior folds
Arms folded open in a heart shape to reveal its openness and it's symmetry
Tall, when neck erect
Great Blue Heron.
Disguised as one plant to the ignorant eye, yet emerged as another to its humble students
Marsh, wet growth, tall success
Achieving height for its production: a delicate crown on the giant beanstalk
Tissue paper, a song, streaks on its petals and greens
Yellow Iris.
Analogous to the Pacific Northwest
A symbol of freedom
Common, counted, awed
Connections to my island while visiting another
Great Bald Eagle.
Reflection
My perception of the observation site has fluctuated throughout the quarter, first towards feelings of annoyance and then towards achievement. My first visit to Marsh Island was really enjoyable, but I was nervous about finding enough species to document. From that point forward, dread seemed to crop up whenever I anticipated "needing" to do a sit spot. In reality, my time there would be inevitably enjoyable, but the act of enjoying nature because it was required rather than spontaneous was not appealing. Those feelings eventually faded as I started visiting the site more regularly, and I found a certain connection with the places and species I was observing. The scientific language aspect had turned me away, but I found new connections with this assignment especially. I did these poems while floating in a canoe around the island, and it was the most successful way (so far) to get me in touch with the natural history of a place. I left Washington with strong feelings of appreciation for Marsh Island and all of the plants and animals I can now identify!
My sense of the Puget Sound region is overall more confident and more intimate. I had grown up enjoying the natural world quite often, but never on the level of knowledge I now have. Even during my short time thus far in Sitka, Alaska -- I have used my plant and bird identification skills to help me better acquaint myself with this new place. The Puget Sound region had re-opened itself to exploration for me. From the humanities perspective, it has also inspired me to continue artistic endeavors that I had lost the time for recently. Watercolor painting and journaling in a non-scientific manner is still a wonderful way to experience natural history and learn things about a place.
Intimately knowing a place (like Marsh Island, Seattle, or even Sitka) takes trial and error, frustration, practice, and love. This is applicable in a city, small town, and even the forest. Interestingly, I still do not feel like an expert even in the places I have spent many hours. I believe that my level of intimacy with my sit spot can develop as I continue to canoe and walk around it.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Week 8
Date: Monday June 3, 2013
Weather: Sunny and very warm
Temperature: ~ 74 degrees F
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Marsh Island
Walking the path on Marsh Island today truly felt like summer. The island is swamped with water, perhaps a result of the increased activity of watercraft in the Arboretum. The waters on both sides of the island were crawling with canoes and kayaks. Brian and I visited the site together and shared photos in an attempt to prepare for the final project. There are still many species we need to identify around the Arboretum, and this visit proved that there is still some exploratory work to be done.
I observed a huge growth in yellow iris and pond lilies. The amount of greenery is immense compared to only a few weeks ago. The air was alive with photosynthesis! There was algal growth in the murky water, and the yellow iris were blooming beautiful flowers. I heard and observed several birds, including crows, great blue heron, gadwall ducks, bewick's wren, American robin, and marsh wren. There were still a lot of red ants in the mud, which unfortunately I felt the effects of in my bare feet. (The mud was so deep that I had to take off my shoes to avoid sinking.) The Scouler's willow and Pacific willow were so much larger than during April, it was almost surprising how abundant the leaves were. I noticed some foliose lichen on the trunks of trees, common horsetail growing thickly along the path, and tall grasses identified by their nodes. The cattails looked like true fuzzy cat tails, and this is where I saw the Great Blue Heron nestled. I noticed some flies, and identified one as a diptera individual. The blackberries were in bloom, as were a few other types of flower that I had trouble identifying. One yellow flowering plant looked like it could be subalpine buttercup. I noticed paper birch and black cottonwood, and a lot of new growth on the lady ferns. There were some new species I hadn't noticed before and was unsuccessful in identifying, including a medium size tree leaning out over the water and a shrubby tree -- both I presumed to be invasive species.
Weather: Sunny and very warm
Temperature: ~ 74 degrees F
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Marsh Island
Walking the path on Marsh Island today truly felt like summer. The island is swamped with water, perhaps a result of the increased activity of watercraft in the Arboretum. The waters on both sides of the island were crawling with canoes and kayaks. Brian and I visited the site together and shared photos in an attempt to prepare for the final project. There are still many species we need to identify around the Arboretum, and this visit proved that there is still some exploratory work to be done.
I observed a huge growth in yellow iris and pond lilies. The amount of greenery is immense compared to only a few weeks ago. The air was alive with photosynthesis! There was algal growth in the murky water, and the yellow iris were blooming beautiful flowers. I heard and observed several birds, including crows, great blue heron, gadwall ducks, bewick's wren, American robin, and marsh wren. There were still a lot of red ants in the mud, which unfortunately I felt the effects of in my bare feet. (The mud was so deep that I had to take off my shoes to avoid sinking.) The Scouler's willow and Pacific willow were so much larger than during April, it was almost surprising how abundant the leaves were. I noticed some foliose lichen on the trunks of trees, common horsetail growing thickly along the path, and tall grasses identified by their nodes. The cattails looked like true fuzzy cat tails, and this is where I saw the Great Blue Heron nestled. I noticed some flies, and identified one as a diptera individual. The blackberries were in bloom, as were a few other types of flower that I had trouble identifying. One yellow flowering plant looked like it could be subalpine buttercup. I noticed paper birch and black cottonwood, and a lot of new growth on the lady ferns. There were some new species I hadn't noticed before and was unsuccessful in identifying, including a medium size tree leaning out over the water and a shrubby tree -- both I presumed to be invasive species.
Foliose!
New tree growth along the north side
Pond lilies
Birch tree
Blue flowers we could not identify
Tree we could not identify
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Week 7
Date: Tuesday May 21, 2013
Weather: Drizzly rain and partly overcast
Temperature: ~ 55 degrees F
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Marsh Island (with notes on Mt. St. Helens and Gifford Pinchot National Forest)
For this week's blog, I tried to explore the fungi and lichen that occupy Marsh Island, but unfortunately there seems to be few. I will primarily reflect on my field trip experience over the weekend. I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday exploring the S. Cascades Range with my ESRM class on old growth forests, led by Jerry Franklin. He is the foremost guru of old growth ecological management, and I feel many of the things we discussed have a strong connection to natural history. Since this is a blog about the Puget Sound, this information will hopefully be interesting to you!
First, I have included the ID of two lichen species that can be found on Marsh Island, but to my dismay, the list is short:
Our field trip to the S. Cascades began with a visit to the Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mt. St. Helens. We discussed the landslides and lahars that followed the eruption in May of 1980, and the impacts on the Toutle river and surrounding valley. The tephra ash falls and pyroclastic flows further contributed to an altered landscape through a severe disturbance regime. I learned that lateral blasts gave information to volcanologists about past eruptions and provided new, previously undocumented data. The legacies that remained after the blast gave ecologists the most clear understanding of eruptions and their role in succession. The landscape is incredibly diverse in the Cascade range-- no species of plant was lost completely. The new habitats created (like early-seral) provided non-forest landscapes for species like elk to move in. The Mt. St. Helens area now hosts the largest herd of elk in the state! Congress created the Mt. St. Helens monument, and even Weyerhaeuser supported it due to boundary disputes. One interesting impact of the eruption was the alteration of Spirit Lake to avoid overflow. The lake had originally had the Toutle river as its outlet, and engineers didn't want the lake to overflow and breach after the eruption. They drilled a tunnel at the desired elevation to maintain the lake level since the river could no longer serve its original function. This is a fascinating example of how humans can alter the natural history of a region, and participate themselves in landscape shifting events.
We spent the next two days at Wind River and in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. We visited the crane the Jerry Franklin brought to the Wind River experimental forest to observe the high canopy. The crane is currently being used for measuring carbon exchange in the atmosphere, and noting the diernal variation between day and night. Continual data collection provides them a lot of information about the role of old growth forests as a carbon sink. Although a lot of decay and respiration occurs, the outcome is an overall uptake of carbon rather than production. With climate change, these conditions could change. Drought causes stomata to close during the day, meaning less photosynthesis and less carbon dioxide uptake can occur. Assimilation is occurring constantly, even when above ground growth has stopped. Below ground processes allow the flow of water and nutrients available to a tree.
Part of the study involves the life of the tree, but also the death. We learned that 97% of Douglas firs (the dominant species in primary succession of these forests) die from butt rot, bark beetles or true uproot.
The Yacoult burn in 1902 left a lot of big snags and downed wood in the forest site. The Western hemlock served as a seed source, and now the forest is in a stem exclusion stage because there is dense growth of W. hemlock. The fire was caused (as many in this region are) but a synoptic weather pattern and suppressed fires. The weather pattern brings dry hot air into the forest and dries out all the fuel sources. Since smaller fires have been suppressed, fuel has built up and creates an immense fire. In some forests, thinning takes place to allow forests to become more complex. The lack of density can come from a pre-commercial thinning, which means the trees weren't big enough to use for anything and it helped shade intolerant species to grow up.
Franklin has made it clear that timber production will never again be a primary goal for the forest service. Rather, his concept of ecological forestry has started to take hold as the new approach. One interesting aspect of his approach to dry forests (East of the Cascades) is restoration for pre-adaptation. Historically, ponderosa pine dominated the dry forests because natural fires were frequent enough to eliminate the Douglas firs and grand firs. With fire suppression, these tree species have grown up and are threatening the Ponderosa pine. In restoration efforts, we can remove the trees that are not meant to grow in those conditions and instate fire as part of the management regime. This will better prepare the region for climate change that will make forests drier and bring synoptic weather patterns more often. The key message I got from this field trip was: Don't let the perfect get in the way of the good. Cutting trees is necessary, and sometimes even important for the ecosystem.
Marsh Island was flooded more than ever this week, so I plan to wear boots next week!
Weather: Drizzly rain and partly overcast
Temperature: ~ 55 degrees F
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Marsh Island (with notes on Mt. St. Helens and Gifford Pinchot National Forest)
For this week's blog, I tried to explore the fungi and lichen that occupy Marsh Island, but unfortunately there seems to be few. I will primarily reflect on my field trip experience over the weekend. I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday exploring the S. Cascades Range with my ESRM class on old growth forests, led by Jerry Franklin. He is the foremost guru of old growth ecological management, and I feel many of the things we discussed have a strong connection to natural history. Since this is a blog about the Puget Sound, this information will hopefully be interesting to you!
First, I have included the ID of two lichen species that can be found on Marsh Island, but to my dismay, the list is short:
Waxpaper Lichen (Parmelia sulcata)
Hooded Rosette (Physcia adscendens)
Our field trip to the S. Cascades began with a visit to the Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mt. St. Helens. We discussed the landslides and lahars that followed the eruption in May of 1980, and the impacts on the Toutle river and surrounding valley. The tephra ash falls and pyroclastic flows further contributed to an altered landscape through a severe disturbance regime. I learned that lateral blasts gave information to volcanologists about past eruptions and provided new, previously undocumented data. The legacies that remained after the blast gave ecologists the most clear understanding of eruptions and their role in succession. The landscape is incredibly diverse in the Cascade range-- no species of plant was lost completely. The new habitats created (like early-seral) provided non-forest landscapes for species like elk to move in. The Mt. St. Helens area now hosts the largest herd of elk in the state! Congress created the Mt. St. Helens monument, and even Weyerhaeuser supported it due to boundary disputes. One interesting impact of the eruption was the alteration of Spirit Lake to avoid overflow. The lake had originally had the Toutle river as its outlet, and engineers didn't want the lake to overflow and breach after the eruption. They drilled a tunnel at the desired elevation to maintain the lake level since the river could no longer serve its original function. This is a fascinating example of how humans can alter the natural history of a region, and participate themselves in landscape shifting events.
We spent the next two days at Wind River and in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. We visited the crane the Jerry Franklin brought to the Wind River experimental forest to observe the high canopy. The crane is currently being used for measuring carbon exchange in the atmosphere, and noting the diernal variation between day and night. Continual data collection provides them a lot of information about the role of old growth forests as a carbon sink. Although a lot of decay and respiration occurs, the outcome is an overall uptake of carbon rather than production. With climate change, these conditions could change. Drought causes stomata to close during the day, meaning less photosynthesis and less carbon dioxide uptake can occur. Assimilation is occurring constantly, even when above ground growth has stopped. Below ground processes allow the flow of water and nutrients available to a tree.
Part of the study involves the life of the tree, but also the death. We learned that 97% of Douglas firs (the dominant species in primary succession of these forests) die from butt rot, bark beetles or true uproot.
The Yacoult burn in 1902 left a lot of big snags and downed wood in the forest site. The Western hemlock served as a seed source, and now the forest is in a stem exclusion stage because there is dense growth of W. hemlock. The fire was caused (as many in this region are) but a synoptic weather pattern and suppressed fires. The weather pattern brings dry hot air into the forest and dries out all the fuel sources. Since smaller fires have been suppressed, fuel has built up and creates an immense fire. In some forests, thinning takes place to allow forests to become more complex. The lack of density can come from a pre-commercial thinning, which means the trees weren't big enough to use for anything and it helped shade intolerant species to grow up.
Franklin has made it clear that timber production will never again be a primary goal for the forest service. Rather, his concept of ecological forestry has started to take hold as the new approach. One interesting aspect of his approach to dry forests (East of the Cascades) is restoration for pre-adaptation. Historically, ponderosa pine dominated the dry forests because natural fires were frequent enough to eliminate the Douglas firs and grand firs. With fire suppression, these tree species have grown up and are threatening the Ponderosa pine. In restoration efforts, we can remove the trees that are not meant to grow in those conditions and instate fire as part of the management regime. This will better prepare the region for climate change that will make forests drier and bring synoptic weather patterns more often. The key message I got from this field trip was: Don't let the perfect get in the way of the good. Cutting trees is necessary, and sometimes even important for the ecosystem.
Marsh Island was flooded more than ever this week, so I plan to wear boots next week!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Week 6
Date: Saturday May 11, 2013
Weather: Sunny and warm
Temperature: ~ 65 degrees F
Time: 8 am to 8 pm
Location: Nisqually Wildlife Refuge and Mt. Rainier National Park
This week's blog post will be about the field trip our natural history class took on Saturday May 11th. We left around 8 am, traveling south to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge for bird watching. Although bird watching is not my area of interest, it was wonderful to walk around the restoration area and see the tremendous changes that have taken place in an effort to restore the Nisqually River Delta. Below is a list of animals we observed and some descriptions of their behavior that I noticed:
Yellow Warbler:
- Olive-yellow and bright yellow
- Last note of song goes down, song is cheerful and rapid
- Insectavore
- Stays high in the canopy
- Migratory
- Tends to be near water (woodlands near water)
Wilson's Warbler:
- Olive-green and olive-yellow
- Song stays the same pitch
- Stays lower in the canopy
Brown Headed Cow Bird:
- Parasitic nester
- Blackbird sub-family
- Males are dark and shiny
- Females are dull brown
- Aggressive males- we observed 2 males fighting over a female (puffing up their wings, standing tall and facing the other male). Another male flew in and quickly flew away, and the female followed him as if to say, "Your fighting is annoying." The 2 fighting males followed the other 2 birds away.
Sharp-Shinned Hawk:
- Small
- Angular tail
- Flies with fast wingbeats followed by glides
Bald Eagle:
- Immature adult eagle had yet to gain white head
- 2 mature adult eagles circling (white heads indicate at least 3-4 years of age)
- Immense wing span!
Turtle (in pond at Nisqually)
Robin
Raven (at Mt. Rainier)
Red-winged Blackbird:
- Aggressive males (as we observed at the Union Bay Natural Area)
- Males are shiny black with red on wings
- Females are streaked brown, smaller
Common Garter Snake:
- Yellowish back stripe
- Found dead on path
Cliff Swallow:
- Orange chin
- Glides in circles, high in air
Tree Swallow:
- Shiny metallic blue back
- Snowy white belly
- Tail notched
- Habitat is wetlands
Northern Pintail Duck:
- Waterfowl family
- Females quack while males "prip prip"
- Marshes, ponds
- Gray bill
- Long pointed tail
- Dabbler
Mallard Duck:
- Waterfowl family
- Male has gray body and wings with green head
- Female is mottled brown
- Ponds, rivers, marshes
- Dabbler
Coot:
- Knows how to count eggs and will kill extra eggs!
- Black body, white bill
- Shaped like a duck, acts like a duck, but not a duck
Yellow-Leg Shore Bird
- Didn't actually observe this one, but heard it described by others
Dowicher:
- Long, thin bill
- Skinny legs
After eating lunch at Nisqually and driving for 2.5 hours, we arrived at Mt. Rainier National Park. We moved up 3 elevation gradients, stopping at each one and observing the changes in vegetation and glacial presence. We visited the Kautz creek, which had its last major flooding event in 2006. This is a glacial melt river that flows off of the mountain. A glacial outwash event, like one at Kautz in 1947, can occur when a built-up lake inside a glacier breaks free and causes a huge flood in a single valley. These disturbances regimes are very important for the habitat in order to create early-seral ecosystems of Red Alder. We learned that the last eruption on Mt. Rainier was 5,000 years ago, and it is still a very active volcano. Our final stop was at Paradise (approx. 5,300 ft of elevation) with a beautiful view of the mountain as storm clouds gathered above the peak. We slid down banks of snow and discussed the firs that dominate the high-elevation glacial ecosystems. The field trip was a wonderful opportunity to explore Washington and spend a sunny Saturday outside.
Weather: Sunny and warm
Temperature: ~ 65 degrees F
Time: 8 am to 8 pm
Location: Nisqually Wildlife Refuge and Mt. Rainier National Park
This week's blog post will be about the field trip our natural history class took on Saturday May 11th. We left around 8 am, traveling south to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge for bird watching. Although bird watching is not my area of interest, it was wonderful to walk around the restoration area and see the tremendous changes that have taken place in an effort to restore the Nisqually River Delta. Below is a list of animals we observed and some descriptions of their behavior that I noticed:
Yellow Warbler:
- Olive-yellow and bright yellow
- Last note of song goes down, song is cheerful and rapid
- Insectavore
- Stays high in the canopy
- Migratory
- Tends to be near water (woodlands near water)
Wilson's Warbler:
- Olive-green and olive-yellow
- Song stays the same pitch
- Stays lower in the canopy
Brown Headed Cow Bird:
- Parasitic nester
- Blackbird sub-family
- Males are dark and shiny
- Females are dull brown
- Aggressive males- we observed 2 males fighting over a female (puffing up their wings, standing tall and facing the other male). Another male flew in and quickly flew away, and the female followed him as if to say, "Your fighting is annoying." The 2 fighting males followed the other 2 birds away.
Sharp-Shinned Hawk:
- Small
- Angular tail
- Flies with fast wingbeats followed by glides
Bald Eagle:
- Immature adult eagle had yet to gain white head
- 2 mature adult eagles circling (white heads indicate at least 3-4 years of age)
- Immense wing span!
Turtle (in pond at Nisqually)
Robin
Raven (at Mt. Rainier)
Red-winged Blackbird:
- Aggressive males (as we observed at the Union Bay Natural Area)
- Males are shiny black with red on wings
- Females are streaked brown, smaller
Common Garter Snake:
- Yellowish back stripe
- Found dead on path
Cliff Swallow:
- Orange chin
- Glides in circles, high in air
Tree Swallow:
- Shiny metallic blue back
- Snowy white belly
- Tail notched
- Habitat is wetlands
Northern Pintail Duck:
- Waterfowl family
- Females quack while males "prip prip"
- Marshes, ponds
- Gray bill
- Long pointed tail
- Dabbler
Mallard Duck:
- Waterfowl family
- Male has gray body and wings with green head
- Female is mottled brown
- Ponds, rivers, marshes
- Dabbler
Coot:
- Knows how to count eggs and will kill extra eggs!
- Black body, white bill
- Shaped like a duck, acts like a duck, but not a duck
Yellow-Leg Shore Bird
- Didn't actually observe this one, but heard it described by others
Dowicher:
- Long, thin bill
- Skinny legs
After eating lunch at Nisqually and driving for 2.5 hours, we arrived at Mt. Rainier National Park. We moved up 3 elevation gradients, stopping at each one and observing the changes in vegetation and glacial presence. We visited the Kautz creek, which had its last major flooding event in 2006. This is a glacial melt river that flows off of the mountain. A glacial outwash event, like one at Kautz in 1947, can occur when a built-up lake inside a glacier breaks free and causes a huge flood in a single valley. These disturbances regimes are very important for the habitat in order to create early-seral ecosystems of Red Alder. We learned that the last eruption on Mt. Rainier was 5,000 years ago, and it is still a very active volcano. Our final stop was at Paradise (approx. 5,300 ft of elevation) with a beautiful view of the mountain as storm clouds gathered above the peak. We slid down banks of snow and discussed the firs that dominate the high-elevation glacial ecosystems. The field trip was a wonderful opportunity to explore Washington and spend a sunny Saturday outside.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Week 5
Date: May 8, 2013
Weather: Sunny and warm
Temperature: ~70 degrees F
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: Marsh Island, Arboretum
 |
| Iris? |
 |
| Repeat photo of 1 m square area |
 |
| Repeat photo of observation area |
 |
| Unknown shrub? |
 |
| Oregon Grape and Lady Fern |
 |
| New shrub growth. ID? |
 |
| Small red ants stung my feet in the mud! |
 |
| Cottonwood tree against the evening sky |
 |
| Lots of flooding on Marsh Island! |
Below are my observations of insects!
Arachnid - Evidence of a spider web
Diptera - Clouds of very small flies
[No photo]
Lepidoptera - Cabbage moth
[No photo]
Diptera - Fly (2 translucent wings, 4 legs, yellow body piece visually segmented, ~1/4")
Hymenoptera - Red ants (a LOT of them, right near the water, stinging)
Coleoptera - Beetle (small, orangeish body piece that split down the middle into wings)
[No photo]
Hymenoptera - Bumblebee (large, froze on ground when I got close enough for a picture -- protection?)
Hymenoptera - Ant (black, more bulbous and much larger, moving fast for its size)
[No photo]
Worm-like organism (very small, no distinctive features)
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Week 4
This journal entry will be from my observation experiences last weekend on the Olympic Peninsula. My class traveled to Lake Crescent for a field trip and stayed at the environmental education institute Nature Bridge on Barnes Point.
The Vashon ice sheet created the extremely deep lake: 1000 feet deep! We witnessed the epitome of ecosystem function-- biotic interactions with non-living organisms and the flows/fluxes of energy and material. Structure, function, and composition are the foundations of these forests. Below is an incomplete list of the organisms I was able to witness (or learn about) while on the trip:
Roosevelt Elk
Barrow's Goldeneye
Red-breasted Sap Sucker
Raven
Douglas Squirrel
Trillium
Vanilla leaf
Stair step moss
Manzanita
Bleeding heart
Twin flower
Prince's pine
Native blackberry
Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla)
Grand fir (Abies grandis)
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis)
Western red cedar (Thuja plicata)
Deer Fern
Lady Fern
Sword Fern
Bracken Fern
Licorice Fern
Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
Salal
Snowberry
Red Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium)
Big-leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum with epiphytic mosses)
Oregon grape
Madrone (Arbutus meziesii)
Vine maple
False lily of the valley
Devil's club
Elderberry
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)
Indian Plum
I did some observation while sitting on a downed log (and a journal entry) down by the river on Saturday afternoon:
Date: April 27, 2013
Weather: Partly sunny with occasional drizzle
Temperature: ~ 50 degrees F
Time: 5:00 pm
Location: Barnes Point, Olympic Peninsula
I can observe about a dozen plants species all around me-- plant identification is much easier with practice! I find myself excited at the prospect of identifying the vegetation around me because it adds layers to my connection with nature. Appreciation is the most superficial level, and delving deeper into identification helps me feel an even stronger sense of stewardship and 'belonging.' There is a rushing stream straight ahead, and I listen to its flow while pondering the role of facilitation, competition, disturbance, and predation in this small subset of the ecosystem.
Facilitation:
Nitrogen fixation and symbiotic relationships (mosses and trees, myccorizae, fungi)
Downed nurse logs and course woody debris
Nutrient cycling and sharing
Riparian interactions with plants
Pollination
Competition:
Trees/plants for sunlight, canopy space, resources, water, nutrients
Seedlings with brushy shrubs
Ferns being shaded nearby, are they dead?
Do different species compete for the same resources?
Disturbance:
Fire, Wind
Tourists
Course woody debris falling on understory (tree death)
Erosion
Climate Change
Predation:
Herbivores (elk, squirrel, others?)
Do symbiotic relationships count? (Ex. mosses feeding on photosynthetic material of a tree)
Insects, Bacteria, Fungi
 |
| Douglas Fir |
 |
| Grand Fir |
 |
| Vanilla Leaf |
 |
| Trillium |
 |
| Indian Plum |
 |
| False lily of the valley |
 |
| Sword Fern |
 |
| Salmonberry |
Monday, April 22, 2013
Week 3
Date: Monday, April 22 2013
Weather: Sunny and warm, strong occassional breeze
Temperature: ~58 F
Time: 5:50 - 7:00 pm
Location: Marsh Island, Washington Park Arboretum
Weather: Sunny and warm, strong occassional breeze
Temperature: ~58 F
Time: 5:50 - 7:00 pm
Location: Marsh Island, Washington Park Arboretum
Happy Earth Day! Today was the epitome of a perfect Seattle spring afternoon. The wind began to pick up as I rode my bike to the park, but the sun was still very warm. I walked slowly along the trail, trying not to disturb the peace in hopes of beginning observing birds right away. I veered off to the right to try my luck at the concrete island anchored to the south side of Marsh Island (facing 520). There was a moment of mutual surprise as I startled a Great Blue Heron, and it startled me. It flew off a little further away from the path and settled long enough for me to snap a photo. I have had good luck each week so far in spotting one of these large birds!
Today I focused on observing my surrondings without taking intricate notes-- merely soaking in the sun and the changes in plants since my last visit. I observed a lot more green growth on the shrubs and trees. There were less bird calls, and less birds floating on the water, than the last time I was here. Perhaps it is the time of day? Since it was so late in the evening, the bird activity may have died down. The most notable observation was my own curiosity in identifying plants. I found myself seeing more and more shrubs that had been hidden to my eyes before. I still cannot successfully identify most of them, but my interest in doing so has been piqued.
Below, I have included some photos of the plants I observed most precisely. I tried to take note of their distinctive features and how they may differ from their similar neighbors. Below each photo is a description of the plant and ways to identify it.
Common Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
Located in moist to wet forests, meadows, swamps; Often weedy
Jointed stems
Scouler's Willow (Salix scouleriana)
Tall shrub or multi-branched small tree with yellowish brown branches
Leaves are broad, alternate, tapered to a narrow base and pointed at top
Young leaves (as shown in photo) are velvety; catkins
Common in wetlands
Yellow Pond-Lily (Nuphar polysepalum)
Aquatic, perennial
Leaves are floating egg or heart-shaped
Flowers are yellow and large
Iris (species unknown)
Leaves are both dark and light green, erect with horizontal dimples/waves near top
About 2-3 feet tall
Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina)
Fronds are clustered; Leaves are scaly at base with blades narrow at base and tip
2-3 times pinnate; Located in moist to wet forests and swamps
Pacific Willow (Salix lucida)
Tall and slender shrub/tree
Leaves are alternate and lance-shaped, tapering to a long tip; margins finely toothed
Leaves deep green, not hairy; Catkins
Black Cottonwood (Populus balsamifera trichocarpa)
Large, tall deciduous tree
Bark is dark grey and deeply furrowed
Leaves are alternate, thick, oval, rounded base, sharp-pointed tip
Leaf stalks are round; Margins finely toothed
Sitka Willow (Salix sitchensis)
Tall shrub or tree
Twigs are very velvety
Leaves are alternate, tapering from above the middle to the base
Lower side of leaves satiny
 The trail was very muddy (as usual) despite the beautiful weather. |
Unidentified plant! Could not find it in the field guide.... Will continue the hunt next week.
Evidence of a beaver!
Repeat photo of my observation spot (note Black Cottonwood on right).
Repeat photo of my 1 m area.
Invasive species: Blackberry
Invasive species: Holly
Invasive species: Ivy
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