Steamboat Island, Olympia, WA. 2012/5/26.
Steamboat Island, Olympia, WA. 14:40.
Unfortunately for my girlfriend's nephew Noah, we were not able to go to a park today...instead, we explored my girlfriend's back yard. Their house sits atop a cliff facing the northwest side of Steamboat Island, which is an island about twenty minutes outside of Olympia, WA. They own about six acres of beautiful forest and cliff-face that culminates in a stunning view of Puget Sound. Fortunately for my naturalist catalog, my girlfriend's father is adamant about preserving nature as it is, as a true Olympian should be. Thus, I was given the opportunity to witness the beautiful natural landscape of Steamboat Island.
Two minute's walk to the west of my girlfriend's house is a beautiful forest of Alder (Alnus), Douglas Fir (Pseudosuga menziesii), Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum), and Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata). The forest floor is mainly composed of small shrubs and plants, including Oregon-grape (Mahonia aquifolium), English Holly (Ilex aquifolium), English Ivy (Hedera helix), Salal (Gaultheria Shallon), Sword Ferns (Polystichum minutum), and Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus armeniacus). The invasive species have unfortunately consumed most of the territory surrounding the native species, but it is interesting to see the interaction between them.
I saw four Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) that appeared to be foraging for food, a Raven (Corvus corax) flying overhead through the canopy, two Brown Creepers (Certhia americana) which were feasting on the bark of a Douglas Fir and a trio of Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia). One of the Song Sparrows was sitting on a 10m tall branch of a Western Red Cedar chirping. The other two were flying between the lower shrubs and plants in search of food.
I also was able to identify a series of Artist's Conks (Ganoderma applanatum) that were on a downed conifer and some Oyster Mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) on the bark of a standing Douglas Fir. I wonder if they were eating away at it from the inside?
Noah in particular had fun looking for animals, and was quite excited to learn the names of the species that we saw. I had a lot of entertainment hearing him pronounce the scientific names!
Species Observed:
Sciurus carolinensis
Certhia americana
Corvus corax
Melospiza melodia
Ganoderma applanatum
Pleurotus ostreatus
Gaultheria Shallon
Hedera helix
Ilex aquifolium
Mahonia aquifolium
Polystichum minutum
Rubus armeniacus
Acer macrophyllum
Alnus
Pseudosuga menziesii
Thuja plicata
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