Observations of Boren Park: A Sensory Experience - Journal Entry 7

It’s November 18^th, 2015 and it’s about two in the afternoon at Boren Park.  I arrive two days after very large storm system with high winds and heavy rains that came through our region on Tuesday.  There is lots of woody debris and lichen strewn about the forest floor that must have been torn down from high up in the canopy during the mini maelstrom.  The park trail that leads up to my site is almost completely covered with leaf litter so that it is almost indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape.   As I approach my observation point I realize I have forgotten my handy outdoor thermometer.   If I had to wager the temperature it would probably be somewhere around 40 and 45 degrees. 

After the storm earlier in the week the park is even wetter than before.  The bird activity during this visit is highest I have ever noticed in all my time in the park.  I wonder if it has to do with the fact that I am paying more attention to the birds or if it was because the bugs seemed to be out in numbers that day.  Coincidentally, it was also a good day for an invertebrate hunt for this week’s blog post, but you can read more about that in my next post.  Hearing all of these bird calls I took an audio recording with my IPhone so that I could upload them to my blog.  I even made a few calls myself to see if I could illicit a response.  I was also successful in getting a response from a bird in a tree nearby.  Most noticeably was a flock of Black-Capped Chickadees mobbing in a tree on the other side of the ravine.  Having just read the reading about the complexity of chickadee calls they must have been responding to a predator. Chicka-dee-dee-dee! Unfortunately, I tried to upload my bird call audio file that I recorded that day but I was not successful.  As soon as I figure out how to get the file online I will add it to this post.    I was quite annoyed by the constant biting of mosquitos.  There must be some standing water somewhere in the woods where they are reproducing.

Boren Park: Autumn Invertibrate Hunt (Photos, Sketches & a Poem) - Journal Entry 7

Order: Isopoda - Common Pillbug (Armadillium vulgare)

Order: Isopoda - Common Pillbug (Armadillium vulgare)
Turned over leaf litter to find many pillbugs scurrying to find cover.  

Order: Gastropoda - Unknown Snail
I found this very tiny snail on a leaf.  It appears to be deep inside its shell was not moving.  

Order: Diplopoda - Unknown Millipede
Found many examples of this specimen all of which were found curled up under leaf litter in the top soil.  Is possible they are in hibernation or dead from recent rains? 

Order: Diplopoda - Unknown Millipede

Order: Oligochaeta - Earthworm
This earthworm was not happy to be uncovered.  It wriggled back into the soil to avoid exposure.  

Order: Diplopoda - Unknown Millipede
This millipede was found crawling over a small stick I happened to pick up to use a a probing device.  

Order: Diplopoda - Unknown Millipede

Order: Gastropoda - Slug
This slug was either playing dead or was really dead. Found under a log.  

Order: Coleoptera - Beetle
This beetle was found in wood debris that collected in the space between buttressing tree roots.  

Order: Coleoptera - Beetle

Order: Chilopoda - Unknown Centipede
Removed leaf litter and this centipede fell out.  It quickly turned itself over and proceeded to take cover.

Order: Chilopoda & Diplopoda - Centipede and Millipedes
Found under a log, all subjects began to dig down to escape exposure.  

Haiku for the forest bloodsucker (Mosquito)

You used your syringe.
You took a small part of me.

Slap! Vengeance is mine!

Boren Park: Birds! Birds! Birds!: Journal Entry 6

   

The two sketches and their companion photographs (above and below) were taken in Boren Park before the coming of an autumn storm.  It was very difficult to photograph this specimen let alone sketch it in the field because high winds seemed to scatter the birds before I was able to get a good  look or decent photograph.  What cannot be seen, is that these birds were part of a larger flock of tiny birds that were moving from tree to tree.  This large group  of what I believe to be Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapilla), because of their distinct chickadee-dee-dee-dee call, were found at the top of the tree canopy.  However, I was never able to get close enough to make out any markings of coloration.  I followed them around for a while  but was not able to actually observe them feeding due to their  distance from my viewpoint.   This flock of birds seemed highly social in that their appeared to be a lot of chatter from the flock.  Eventually the winds drove them out of view. 

The photograph and sketch above are of a black Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) that was part of a very large group of crows.  I believe a flock of crows is called a murder and this murder was mobbing somewhere in the vicinity of the park.  I was not able to determine their exact location of where the mob was assembling but their distinct "caaw" sound led me to look up.  Since there were so many of them I decided to try to sketch  them as they flew overhead. 

The sketch and photograph above are of what  I believe to be a Brown Creeper (Certhia americana). This little guy was very fast but was noticeably found creeping along the trunk of  a tall big leaf maple tree.  I had to refer to the photograph because this specimen had disappeared so fast that I was barely was able to get it into my photograph.  From what I could tell it has a white marking on both sides of its head with a dark head and back.  It was most likely probing the moss and bark on this tree for insects.  

Observations of Boren Park: A Sensory Experience - Journal Entry 6

It's November 11th, 2015 and it's about 11:30 in the morning at Boren Park.  Like my last observation post it has been two weeks since I was last here.  (Mid-Term last week)  There is no denying that autumn is in full swing and that winter, soon approaches.  Crepuscular rays from the rising sun gleam across the ravine and reveal that most of the trees have dropped their leaves.  According to my trusty thermometer the temperature of the under story is 43 degrees which is about five degrees cooler than Seattle's official temperature out at Sea-Tac Airport.       

My observation spot is relatively the same with a few noticeable changes since my last visit.  As I mentioned in the opening paragraph of this post almost all of the leaves have dropped from the big leaf maple trees that dominate the park revealing a clearer view of my surroundings.  The ground is squishy as I walk upon the trail, the leaf litter acts like a sponge soaking up the recent rains.  Another noticeable change is that the number of mushrooms has significantly decreased in only the span of two  weeks.  When I came to the park to hunt to look for mushrooms  a few weeks back I found numerous different kinds and of plenty of them.  Now only a few varieties remain and even their numbers are far and few between. The forest is a bit more quite than previous times.  While sitting at my observation spot it became so quiet that I could hear the floating falling leavings crashing into the forest floor.  In these moments of silence I was able to hear two distinct bird calls for which I am fairly certain I know which species of birds made them.  I was able to clearly discern the "caaw" of the common Crow and the distinct "chicka-dee-dee-dee-dee" call of the Black-capped Chickadee.