Saratoga Woods

I decided to take a day trip to my cabin on Whidbey Island on April 21 to study all the species the island had to offer. During my times spent up at Whidbey, I would occasionally hike in Saratoga Woods on the South end of the island. These woods are quite diverse-and truly evoke curiosity and adventure. The weather was mainly overcast with some sun breaks while temperature was in the 50s. I believe many of the trees in these woods are old growth. The main site of the forest is a giant glacial rock that was deposited here during the previous ice age. I've had a few wonderful picnics on the top. :) The start to my journey involved finding a light colored fir at the entrance to the trail. I have yet to clearly define it, but it must have been planted there since there were no other trees like it in the forest. I found two different types of snails on my journey, including a still unidentified red flying bug. I wasn't able to see many other creatures, beside MANY bees and a pair of small birds. The first major observation I made was when I stumbled upon a turkey tail fungus growing on a fallen tree on the perimeter of the trail. I also found many shelf fungi, as well as witch's butter. The first trail I found had many Cedars on it, and I decided to switch it up by taking the Pacific Yew trail. This trail was incredibly diverse in that I found 3 different kinds of mosses. There were hardly any undergrowth plants until I found the glacial rock. In this area, there were many tall Oregon Grapes, Red Alder, and Salal. On the trail back (Bent Tree Trail) I found mostly Red Alder and California Huckleberry under giant Western Red Cedars, often bent in strange shapes. I couldn't find a reason for the bent shape other than a human physically manipulated the bark ( as in the bent forest in Europe where someone bent trees for furniture construction). I'd say the major highlight of this observation was seeing all the different kinds of fungi in the forest. This inspired me to be in the Fungi group for the group project. Hopefully it works out!

Publicado el mayo 2, 2012 11:36 TARDE por ajwick24