Ravenna Park Nature Blog: Journal 3

When we arrived at Nature Bridge on the Saturday, April 15th, it was approximately 2 pm, and it was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit outside, overcast, and with a very cold wind coming in from across Lake Crescent. Upon arriving, I was wowed by the ecosystem of the forest. The old-growth forest became more and more apparent the deeper we hiked into the forest. There were nurse logs with ferns, small trees, mosses, lichens and other plants growing all over them. There were big trees, snags, uneven canopies, and an extensive understory. There was also a diversity of plants and animals everywhere. Even standing on the edge of the forest, we could hear a plethora of bird calls coming from the forest. On the morning of the second day, we learned how many birds and animals were found on the edge of the forest, as they then had access to two different kinds of ecosystems- old growth, and a normal forest through which to forage. Hiking in the forest, I saw trees dripping with mosses and lichens, and I was able to see how different aspects of the old growth forest fostered the life within the forest. For example, any of the birds I saw were able to use snags to land on top of and call throughout the forest. It was also interesting to see how different birds stayed in different levels of the forest. For example, I often saw the American Robin and the Dark Eyed Junco on the ground foraging, while I saw birds like the Pacific Wren, the Northern Flicker, and the Steller's Jay in more of the middle area between the top of the canopy and the forest floor. Something really interesting I learned about the Dark Eyed Junco was how in the forest, the white tail feathers of the male birds that mirror the amount of testosterone the birds have is much more prevalent in forest birds, where as the same male birds in cities have had decreasing amounts of white in their tail feathers, as city birds need less testosterone to affectively defend their territory and need more skills for foraging. This fact was really interesting, as it showed how animals adapt over time to their surroundings. We also learned about how factors like human interference causing the migration of Bard Owls has led to the decrease of Spotted Owls in the forest because of the Bard Owls' greater aggression. Deeper in the forest, as the diversity increased, it was really interesting to be able to look around and see all different kinds of plants and animals within a couple of feet from each other. The specific ecosystem created deep within the old growth forest I believe fosters this diversity as there tends to be little interference from other ecosystems, allowing for very interesting development much like rainforests like the Amazon. For example, at one point I was searching in the river for a salamander that is specific to the forest we were in, but instead found what Tim believed to be a baby Western Red-backed Salamander. A couple of minutes later, we found a Tailed Frog tadpole suctioned to a rock. The tadpole was extremely adapted to its surroundings, having a suction to attach to rocks in fast flowing water, and also being extremely camouflaged and barely discernible from the rock it was attached to. This tadpole exhibits how the animals are distributed and affected by both abiotic and biotic factors. The fast flowing river served as an abiotic factor that shaped the development of the tadpole, while the predation of the tadpoles served as a biotic factor that shaped the development of the tadpoles camouflage. Another abiotic factor that I think helped the diversity of this forest develop was its proximity to Lake Crescent- this easy access to freshwater allowed for animals to live within the area without the issue of water. There were many streams and rivers flowing within the forest as well. Something else I noticed within the forest was the thicker fur of the Douglas Squirrel as compared to squirrels that I see in the city and other lower elevations that are not as cold.

Varying levels of tree height

Sword ferns growing on hills, lichens on trees

Tailed frog tadpole

River that stream with salamander and tadpole flowed into

Nurse log leaning into river- surprisingly small amount of organisms growing on it, probably because it's so close to fast flowing water

On Sunday, it was sunny and approximately 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day. We got up and went out in the morning to identify birds that I have already mentioned and their calls and songs. We then packed up and headed to the Strait of Juan de Fuca tidal flats, arriving around when it was low tide. This was yet another extremely diverse ecosystem that we encountered. There were a multitude of different seaweeds, anemones, grasses, sea slugs, crabs, fish, birds, and other animals and plants. We saw two sea slugs that were light brown/tan in color, approximately 2 inches in length, and with darker brown spots on their backs. They were well camouflaged. We also saw chitons, seagulls, two gray whales (!!, believed to be a mother and a calf), what I believe was a black gunnel fish, tons of mussels, and one small camouflaged fish that I forgot the name of. As soon as we walked up to the tidal flats, we saw a raccoon on the tidal flats, and a couple of seagulls were flying around as well. Because of the exposure of the tidal flats, I noticed that almost all of the organisms were very well camouflaged, as they had to deal with predators within the water and out of the water. Something interesting that I noticed about the gunnel fish (which was about 5 inches long and black/dark brown) was that when we found it, it wasn't in water, and when we tried to put it back in the water, it kind of umped back out. I think that it had learned to hide in the shade, perhaps, rather than staying in the water, because it was shady and safer from predators. My favorite part of the trip was definitely the gray whales. They surfaced every couple of minutes and were super cool :)