Week 3- Field Trip

October 11^th-12^th, 2014

8am-8pm

Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge and Mt. Rainier National Park

Mostly cloudy all trip with light rain at the Nisqually River Delta

Overall, I enjoyed the field trip greatly. I went to places in Western Washington I would never have otherwise known to visit. The highlight of the trip was seeing a waterspout form. There was thunder while our groups were walking around and I look over and see there is what appears to be smoke coming from the Delta. I did not think much of it and continued to observe the delta. To my surprise, I notice a tornado like phenomenon occur right in front of my eyes. Right were the lighting had hit the Delta, a waterspout had formed. It began gaining momentum, picking up more water as it went. Luckily, the waterspout was short lived. Once it hit land, the waterspout dissipated and that was the end. The occurrence was so unexpected and amazing to watch.  I am still in disbelief that I saw it happen.

Part 1 

Puget Lowlands

This species of plant can be identified as the bracken fern. It was found in the Mima Mounds location, which is a natural prairie. Noticing this fern was not difficult to do because it took up large areas on north side of each of the hills. The reason these fern grow well on the north side of the hill is due to the fact that the north side receives less sun. I continued to examine the fern and found that the fern could grow on a sloped hill. It had lost most of its color, due to the changing of seasons. In the spring, the ferns would be dark green color. This type of fern tends to expand in areas like a prairie. The plant contains a chemical that allows it to dominate other vegetation in the area.

This species can be identified as the kinnikinnick. This plant was found in the Mima Mounds, prairie location. The plant grows relatively close to the ground and does not grow much in height. It grows on the north side of the hills as well. After examining the plant species, it appears the leaves are losing some of their green color around the edges and inside the leaves themselves. In the past, this has been useful to Native Americans. Native Americans would smoke kinnikinnick in a mixture along with a few other plants.

This species can be identified as the common snowberry. I found the plant in the Nisqually delta. It is poisonous to humans but is used as a source of food for the winter. Many birds will eat the snowberries to survive during the colder months. This plant grows in lowland areas. The berries are white and grow in a popcorn like cluster.

I identified this species as the broad-leaved Cattail. This plant grows in wet areas, generally marshes and creeks. The plant in this picture appeared to be 2 meters in height. I noticed the cattail does not tend to grow close to each other. The plant grew in small clusters along the river. The cattail itself causes sediment to collect and creates water areas into marshes. If you examine its seeds, there are male and female parts.

Subalpine/Alpine area of Mt Rainier

These pictures are of the plant species, the black huckleberry. It grows in multiple types of locations, from the hemlock zone to the sub-alpine zone. In the hemlock, the leaves of the huckleberry were a light green color. Compared to the leaves in the sub-alpine zone, the huckleberry had changed color to a deep red orange color. This plant can be found in the understory and low to the ground. I did not notice any berries, but the huckleberry produces fruit that are edible to both humans and birds. After examining the leaves, I decided that the type of huckleberry was black.

This plant species can be identified as the pink heather. It grows as a shrub and be can be found in sub-alpine meadows. I noticed the pink heather grew at the top of the hills, generally with little incline. The lobes of the plant come in groups of 5. After examining the plant, I found a mix of live and dying buds of the plant. The plant has the ability to grow in snowy weather and is a food source for goats.

The plant species pictured above is a white rhododendron. The plant grows in high elevations. I found it in the both the hemlock and in the snow at the top of panorama point. This means that the white rhododendron can grow in alpine locations as well. The plant has leaflets that appear to come in groups of 5. In the spring, flowers would grow for it. The white rhododendron grows as a shrub with a height of about 4 meters. Once the plant starts growing, it can take up large areas. It tends to expand over ground cover.

The picture above shows the moss species the Oregon beaked moss surrounding a mushroom called the artist’s fungus. The moss grows like a mat on decaying matter. It is abundant in old growth forests and I found it on a nurse log on the forest floor. The artist’s mushroom grows on decaying wood. It has a white underside and grew low to the ground on the nurse log. The width of the mushroom was no more than 10 centimeters.

Part 2

The Nisqually River Delta is located at the southern end of the Puget Sound. The Puget Sound mixes with fresh water to create an estuary for animals. During the fall, the Nisqually Delta is a stop for migratory birds. As birds go south for the winter, they need to stop before they make the trip. The Delta allows the birds to eat as much food as they can, given the estuary is rich in nutrients and plant life. While I was at the Nisqually Delta, I was able to see a bald eagle, Canada geese, a Swanson hawk, gulls, and mallard ducks. It is necessary to take this information and apply it to my thumbnail. The location I choose had 4 dead trees in between the mass of mud in the Delta. There were shrub plants growing in the foreground and the river is in the mid-ground.  The snags, in my thumbnail, show that the ecology of the area used to be different than it is today. This means the area I choose could have had less water in the past, creating a forest like landscape. The water of the river could have been diverted, creating a new type of landscape. Now the new thriving plant life is shrubs and grasses. This natural history can be applied to the animal life in the area. When I was at the Nisqually Delta, I found that the migratory birds do not stay in this type of open landscape. All types of birds found cover in the mixed conifers in the area. Hawks and other birds of prey would easy find a group of Canada geese in this shrub and grassland. It is important to understand that the change in landscape negatively affected some of the bird populations. An additional aspect to the thumbnail is a plateau covered in trees, far in the distance; this is the Tacoma area.

This location was at Mt. Rainier National Park in the sub-alpine zone. Specifically, this area is called the silver Fir Zone. The characteristics of this type of area are it is located at 3000 feet elevation, has cold temperatures, and is wetter than the hemlock zone. There is a river, which is formed from melting glacier ice, going through the valley. There are mountains on either side with rock cliffs and silver fir trees. Large rocks fill the valley and divert the river into different directions. The natural history of this thumbnail is that a large glacier from Mt Rainier ended towards the back of my thumbnail. This means that the glacier line could be seen thousands of ago from this one point. Now, the Rainier glacier is in retreat and no longer has a presence in this specific area. Looking at the valley, you can still see the legacy of the glacier. When you look at the trees you can see an ice line, which marks the new growth. The rocks in the valley also show signs of past glaciers. The amount of rocks and the size can only account for a large glacier pushing them into the valley area.

Part 3

Above is my thumbnail of the Mt. Rainier glacier. To draw this thumbnail, I stood on a lateral morane covered with grass and pink heather. The area would be considered a glaciation zone, which means that it is melting. As the glacier melts, it forms a river at the bottom. This mouth of the river is the start of the Nisqually River. The natural history of the glacier is important in understanding the area. The Mt. Rainier glacier has been in retreat for thousands of years. When a glacier is in retreat it means that the glacier is melting more than it is freezing. This causes the ice to move slowly back towards the peak of the mountain. The glacier is retreating at a rapid rate. It is estimated that in 50 years, the entire glacier will be melted. As I look out at the valley, I see many crevasses. Crevasses are cracks formed by the glacier that go through the valley. In the far distance, you can see the white ice glacier. As you look down the valley, further from the mountain, layers of ice and dirt have formed. Unfortunately, I could not see the entire glacier because fog covered most of it.

It is important to study glaciers because they tell humans a story. If you look at the ice layers of the Mt. Rainier glacier, you can understand how things were many years ago. An example of this is with air quality measurements. Scientists, in Antarctica, drill large pieces of ice to find air pockets. These air pockets can help scientists know what the air quality was like thousands of years ago.