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.
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 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.
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.
