Diario de hsin119

The first stop of our field trip was at the Pack Forest located in Eatonville, WA, just roughly 45km from Puyallup. Latitude: 47.14; longitude: -122.49. The weather was much better than I had expected. Rainy, but mostly just sprinkles. 42℉ and humid.

We first spent a little time walking along the trail, observing the local ecosystem here. Douglas fir and hemlock were the dominant trees here. Judging from the fact that there were some Scotch brooms present in the open grassy area, there must have been some sort of human interventions here.

What caught my eye first were the moss-like dangling objects on some trees. These plants are lichens, not moss. They are very unique because they are formed by a symbiotic organism (fungus) with a photosynthetic organism. Thousands kinds of lichens have been seen all over the world. Chances are there can be several types of lichens on one tree. It is almost like a little ecosystem on a tree trunk or a tree branch!

*See more details in my written journal 1

In addition to douglas fir and western hemlock. Species such as red alders and western white pine can also be found here. The lower shrubs we observed includes sword fern (which is very common to see in a western hemlock-dominant ecosystem), Indian plum, as well as salal.

*See more details in my written journal 1

In the afternoon, we arrived at Mt. Rainier National Pak and began the exploration along the Trail of Shadows. The national park is located in Longmire, WA with latitude of 46.75 and longitude -121.81. It was very sunny in the afternoon, which exceeded far better than my expectation. As the snow has begun to melt in this season, the temperature felt even lower and more humid in the woods.

Along the trail is the old growth forest stand, where conifers such as the western red cedar, douglas fir, and mountain hemlocks are the main species here. The heavy amount of moisture in this place and the number of mt. hemlocks growing on decay logs point to the fact that this is an old growth forst.

We also saw more species as we arrived at the thermal spring. For example, we saw this tiny, bright-colored species on a small log (which is called "Oomycetes"). They reminded my of the orange-flavor vitamin gummies that I used to eat...
In addition, we also saw the lipstick cladonia.

• Again, see written journal for more detail

From lickens, fungi, to ferns and conifers, we saw the distinctive culture of each ecosystem that we visited today.

[Species List]
Old Man's Beard (Usnea longissima)
Parmelia (Parmelia saxatilis)
Oomycetes
Lipstick Cladonia (Cladonia bellidiflora)
Morel mushrooms
Sword fern
Indian plum
Salal
Oregon grape
Douglas fir
Western hemlock
Western white pine
Red alder
Western redcedar
Alaska cedar
Pacific silver fir

The second day of our field trip was very different from the first day as we were exploring the intertidal ecosystem here in the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. It is located in Thurston, WA (47.09 and -122.71), which is about 18 miles southeast of Olympia.
Along the trail were many red alders and common shrubs, including Indian plum, red flowering currant, snow berry, salmon berry, and nootka rose.

• see written journal for more detail

In addition to the common shrubs, the Nisqually is also habitats of many birds. In between the red alders hid a great horned owl (bubo virginianus), who was resting peacefully on the tree branch. Furthermore, a juvenile red-tailed hawk was also spotted resting on a bigleaf maple.

As we walk along the trail toward the estuary, we found a garter snake hiding inside the westland grass. It was a black (or even dark green) with neon green strips. These little guys like to hang out in aquatic areas.

There were several Northern shovelers hanging out in the pond. At first glance, one might mistaken them with mallards, which also have green heads and colorful fur. However, the shovelers' beaks are black and a little longer and wider than mallards'. Due to competition, only male shovelers have colorful fur that change during breeding seasons. At the estuary, there was a marsh hawk or Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) circling around in the air, waiting for the perfect moment to catch its food. The marsh hawks tend to scare off the crows on the field before preying for food.

• See written journal 2 for more detail

[Species List]
Red alder
Indian plum
Red flowering currant
Snow berry
Alder berry
Salmon berry
Nootka rose
Skunk cabbage
Great horned owl
Ted-tailed hawk
Garter snake
Northern shoveler
Marsh hawk
Great blue heron
Canada Geese