Diario de skylarwilkins

I never composed a journal entry for the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge so I have decided to do so here. Today we visited the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. It is located near the southernmost end of Puget Sound. As soon as we started walking there were many things to see. First there were birds, including two waterfowl which were Canada Geese, feeding along the edge of the path. There was also an American Robin feeding and flying around. As I continued down the path, there were many large trees. The first I identified was a Big Leaf Maple. There was also a cottonwood and red alder. These trees were a good introduction to understanding tree species. Further along the path there were more birds. In one of the trees was a Red-Tailed Hawk, which was very still on a branch moving its head back and forth until it decided to fly away. It was great to be able to watch this hawk individually for so long. Though that was exciting, I became more excited when I saw a Great Horned Owl. Owls are quite interesting and seeing this resting in a tree was memorable. At the end of the path I saw a Pacific Chorus Frog. I initially noticed it in a pile of leaves, and after I thought I lost it, even digging through leaves to try to see it, it re-emerged. It was bright green and tiny. The owl and the frog were my favorite things of the day. Near the frog there was a lookout onto the river, where some other types of waterfowl were located. There was a Great Blue Heron sitting behind a bush and flying around, as well as two common merganser's. These were particularly interesting because they perfectly displayed sexual dimorphism. The male and the female were very clear. I find common merganser's very interesting and have seen them even as far as the San Juan Islands here in Washington State. It was enjoyable because the merganser's disappeared for a while but then came back to show us their coloration display. Leaving the lookout area I walked until there was a large field. Great Blue Herons were located in this field, and in the distance on a large tree there was even a Bald Eagle. Near a pond there were Wood Ducks, which were great to see because I had seen the wood duck houses on trees that were built for them to use. Though many Great Blue Herons were present it was still interesting to see. There were many sights and sounds along this refuge it was quite an enjoyable experience.

I wasn't sure whether to enter this but I have decided to as a makeup. On the same day I travelled to Seward Park, I visited Leschi Park as well. The trip was cut a bit short because it was very cold, but I did observe some unique things. The environments were somewhat similar as they are both located on lake Washington, but Seward Park seemed more dense in certain locations whereas plant life in Leschi Park seemed a bit more distributed and spread out. There were a lot of individual large trees and smaller ones as well in Leschi Park. There were some maples, a pine that looked like a shore pine but may have been something else, some madrone trees, I believe some alder trees, and many other individual trees I could not identify. There were so many unique ones it would be interesting to know all of them. One had broad green leaves with reddish tips while another had leaves that were a similar shape as salal but were clearly growing on a large tree. Another had small round leaves and was very interesting. Overall it was worth taking this short trip to Leschi Park, because there were many unique things to see. It did not have the density of pant life as Seward Park however.

This is a continuation from a previous entry on the University of Washington. Walking around the campus on the Burke-GIlman trail I see Big-Leaf Maples and Madrone trees, as well as some Alder and Cedar. There are some birds flying around, primarily crows and robins. Near the UW Farm there is a Horse Chestnut Tree which is large and in its spring bloom. This bloom displays small reddish and pink like flowers. There is also a cottonwood in this area. As I walk close to the Heron Rookery there are large cedars and some great blue heron. These Western Redcedars are one of the most impressive trees because they are so large and have an interesting color on their bark. There is also low growth around the trees such as ivy. It does not look like english ivy as is common in other areas of Washington I have seen. There are ducks in the pond, including what looks like a mallard. The cherry trees in the quad are noticeable for their coloration being bright pink. Walking from the Burke-Gilman Trail to the Quad this is what I most readily identified. There were other trees and some plants growing that may have been more rare species, but these were common in the area, and some even common throughout the rest of campus as well. Despite the urban environmental there is clearly a lot of plant life.

I took a trip to Fay Bainbridge which is a park on Bainbridge Island. This park had two sections, one with a forest and one with a beach. These were separated by a small park road. The forest consisted primarily of madrone trees, maples, and some cedars. There was a lot of deer fern throughout the area as well. There were many Himalayan Blackberries growing along the path. There were some animals in the area, including mammals such as raccoons, and beers such as chickadees. There were also a number of crows. As you progressed down to the beach there were a number of seagulls, most likely Glaucous-winged gulls. This beach had many logs but it was unclear what kind of trees they came from, they were all driftwood that had washed up. The beach had some jellyfish that were dead but not much visible life. There were many seagulls which were primarily the life on the beach. Some Kelp was washed up as well, what looked like Bull Kelp. Overall it was interesting to see this direct transition from a forest to a beach. It makes these environments seem more similar than I previously thought they were.

I visited a park on Bainbridge Island called Meig’s Park, which was part meadow and part wetland. The wetland could not be walked on but a lot could be seen. The meadow had many daisy’s and grasses, with some alders and other trees. There was a lot of Himalayan blackberry growing. The wetland had waterfowl such as Great Blue Heron and ducks. After walking down a path to the edge of a wetland, a giant Great Blue Heron flew across and its colors were very clear. I wanted to know what it was feeding on but I am still unsure. There were stinging nettles in this park which I had to step carefully around, and I continued down one dirt path until there were too many blackberry’s and I had to turn around. There were a lot of birds , including the already mentioned waterfowl and some robins. I saw a distant hawk but couldn’t see it well enough to identify it, though it appeared to be a red tailed hawk. I saw one bird which was a Steller’s Jay I learned, which was bright blue. There were some salmonberry plants in this park as well. One thing that was very interesting was not the natural wildlife but instead things people had put there – seemingly intentionally. There were bathtubs all around the park that looked old and rusted, as well as a collapsed cabin. It was interesting to see the natural plants, but these other things were interesting as well. In times I have visited this park in the past I have seen Barred owls, but I didn’t see any this time though I wish I had. After a while I could hear frogs but did not see any. This meadow/wetland was quite unique and interesting.

Today I went to Fort Ward Park on Bainbridge Island. I started on a path in the forest that led all the way to a meadow which was next to a rocky beach. The forest path immediately had wildlife on it, as I saw a banana slug on the ground and raccoon climbing a tree. I had never seen a raccoon climb a tree in this way before. It was a unique behavior and certainly interesting, digging its claws as it circled near the top of a tree. There were so many trees in this park! At first I saw a Western Hemlock as well as Douglas Firs and various pines. There were many ferns and small plants, including beach strawberry plants. At the end of the path I walked across a grassy meadow to a beach, only to see a Townsend’s chipmunk on the beach. It was difficult to get a picture of it because it was running so quickly under large rocks, but it was interesting to see this chipmunk in a different environment. I walked past a WWII bunker in the park which had ferns and moss growing on it, and found a small path that went along the edge of a forest and beach. The forest had a lot of small trees and pants including a plum tree. At the end of this path I hiked back through the forest looking at many large trees. It was clear that these trees were very old.

Visiting Lincoln Park in West Seattle, I travelled from a forest to the beach and back through a forest. Despite being in a forest, there were many clues that this was still part of an urban environment. For example, there was a lot of litter and things that people brought with them, much more than in other parks I have been to. It is probably its location in a major city that creates this. Beyond that, there were many trees and plants throughout the forest. There was a lot of ivy growing on the ground, and large trees such as Red Cedars and Douglas Firs. As I continued to walk I found myself on the beach, where there were many animals. I saw sea stars and sea anemones as well as crabs under rocks. Barnacles were largely present on the rocks, walking along the beach, until I found a path leading upward. This path had Madrone trees and large maples and pines, as well as many small flowers, some fungi, and lots of grass. There was less litter in this path probably because it was more distant from the entrance of the park. I was surprised by how many large trees there were in this park, how big this park is, and how many trees are growing right in a major city.

I found myself on Alki Beach and wanted to look at marine life, but was surprised by how much I saw. Initially I noticed barnacles, sea stars, and sea anemones. There were many types of sea stars including Purple Sea Stars and large orange colored sea stars. Anemones varied in color as well, though many were green. Walking along the beach there were many Seagulls, which I believe were Glaucous-Winged gulls based on their coloration. Some juveniles were present which were obvious because of their brownish color. There were some crabs in the beach, including dead ones that appeared to be Dungeness crabs. Crows were flying around the beach as well. In one tidepool along the beach there were gunnels. I thought they were fish but they turned out to be gunnels. Walking further down the beach I walked under a pier that made many blue mussels growing on it, well enough to see the tide line of the water. Walking further out I saw many of the same species until I came across a pool of sand dollars which was interesting. There were many of them, purple in color and fuzzy looking almost. This was the furthest point I walked out to, until I turned around and walked back along the beach. It was cool to see all this marine life and it made me think about how much we have focused on the terrestrial environment when the marine environment in the northwest is so interesting as well.

Seward Park in Seattle had a lot of large trees. There were Douglas Firs, Madrone Trees, Western Red Cedars, and many others. I started with some madrone trees standing on a bridge which put me closer to the top of the tree. It was interesting to get this angle. Walking down from the bridge it was obvious many of these large trees had been there for a very long time. I couldn’t identify all the trees and I wish there was a guide or person who could identify everything, but I identified as many trees and plants as I could. Some friends I had with me learned about madrone trees and firs and pines, as well as flowers. Some pointed out daisy’s I had not previously identified because I was just walking over them, but after looking it up I found they were oxeye daisy’s. There was a reddish moss growing along cement at certain locations which I still am note positive of the species. But it was interesting. There were also many large flowering plants that were clearly horticultural, but I stuck to identifying what was natural. There were some waterfowl on the lake, mostly ducks, and I heard some robins and chickadees in the park as well. The sheer size of the trees is what impressed me, surrounded by a maintained park lawn. It is nice to know these trees are being preserved.

Walking around campus today (April 12th, 2012) I find it difficult to identify horticultural plants and natural growing plants. Cherry trees are clearly horticultural, but others like Cedars and Maples are obviously natural. There are many plants for an urban environment, but it is difficult to identify every plant, flower, and tree.

More to come...