Cutt's Island, Gig Harbor, WA. 2012/5/12.
Cutt's (Dead Man's) Island, Gig Harbor, WA. 12:00.
Another gorgeous day in Gig Harbor. The sun in shining at 73 degrees, I have just been on a boat, and have been hanging out on Cutt's Island. It is a favorite place to go for seafaring folk, and it also proved to be an interesting location for Natural History as well! We set out from Wollochet Bay via boat and drove for approx. 30 minutes before arriving at our destination. The cool breeze whisking past us was the perfect compliment to the warm rays of the sun. When we anchored the boat near the sand bar of Cutt's Island State Park, which faces Northeast. From here, you get a scenic vista of the Olympic Mountain range, and this radiant section of Puget Sound.
Looking into the water from the boat, I saw a 6 inch wide Pacific Rock Crab (Cancer productus) scuttling across some rocks. I jumped out of the boat into the water and waded to shore. The makeup of the spit oriented to the northeast of the island is mainly made up of broken calcium carbonate seashells that have been bleached white by the sun. These shells sit upon a mixture of sand and small rocks. When the tide is low, it is possible to wade along the spit for around 1/4 mile to the shore of Raft Island. I have never done this, but I have seen people attempt it. I have also seen deep-hulled watercraft attempt to drive over the spit unknowingly. If the tide is low, it can be an interesting sight to see, as they literally do not know what is happening to their boats most of the time! There should probably be a warning sign out there now that I think of it.
Cutts island is the shape of an avocado more or less, and southwest of the spit there is a constantly eroding landmass that sits at least 15m above the shore of the island. It is said that with rising sea levels, it will surely erode entirely. Fortunately, that has not happened yet, and Cutt's Island is still home to a variety of different plants and animals.
The plant life is very similar to the surrounding landmasses, with a variety of trees, including Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), Madrone (Arbutus menziesii), Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum), Alder (Alnus), and Douglas Fir (Pseudosuga menziesii). The local legend surrounding the island was that the Native Americans that used to inhabit the surrounding land would hang their dead in the trees of Cutt's Island in order to release their spirits with greater east. Thus, the island is colloquially known as Dead Man's Island. It would be interesting to learn more about the legend from a person that knows the Puget Sound Native history.
In addition to the trees, the island sports an immense amount of Western Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) as a child. It is almost everywhere, so it is a good idea to not stray from the paths atop the island bluff. There are many mosses, grasses, and Sword Ferns (Polystichum munitum) there as well. I was able to identify one variety of liverwort as well, the Tree-Ruffle Liverwort (Porella navicularis) and a variety of Horsetail, the Northern Scouring-Rush (Equisetum hyemale).
I was able to see twenty-or-so Pacific Gulls (Larus pacificus) as well in various places on the island. I also saw a murder of six American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos) up in an Alder tree.
Along the beach I saw a man digging for Geoducks (Panopea generosa) using a 50 gallon steel drum with its bottoms cut out. He would lodge the bucket around the Geoduck so an influx of water would not aid it in its attempt at escape as he dug it out. To be honest I am not sure if it is legal to hunt Geoducks or if there is a season, but he said that they are delicious!
Species Observed:
Acer macrophyllum
Alnus
Arbutus menziesii
Pseudosuga menziesii
Thuja plicata
Tsuga heterophylla
Equisetum hyemale
Polystichum munitum
Porella navicularis
Toxicodendron diversilobum
Corvus brachyrhynchos
Larus pacificus
Cancer productus
Panopea generosa
Comentarios
Agregar un comentario