Field Notes August 10th-September 7th 2009

Well the Mushroom Rains have come to the NW at last and all those wonderful flowers of the fall are starting to burst and bloom from the soil and wood. Looks like the Indian plums are yellowing and the Ashes and Hawthornes are heavy and colorful with berries. Enjoy the rains!


August 25th, 2009:
This morning its cloudy with a still-warmish wind and the sound of wind in the leaves overhead. Random droplets of rain and birds "wreek wreeek wreek wreek" "Twee twee. Twee twee" "Wreek! Wreek! Wreek!" Twee twee twee" "ssweeyou" "chleskp" "tweep" "tsss-joss" (rich layering of sound~is there a bird language alphabet? :) I'm going to get a bird book and start there.) Thanks for the notebook space!

(Try this book, its reccomended by bird nerds everywhere)

August 28th, 2009:
Please keep this note book inside the the small ziplock bag to keep it dry. Thank you
(good idea I'll place one for every notebook after they dry out)

August 31, 2009:
Our first time here. Beautiful day, Stellar's jays. Ripe blackberries YUM!


September 7th, 2009:
Evening: a break in the clouds after a great weekend of fall rains. Feels refreshed outside. Japanese Knotweed growing at San Francisco entrance, Oh No! mushrooms sprouting out everywhere! Hooray for the mushroom rains. Indian plum starting to yellow, European bittersweet in bloom. -FTW

Field Notes July 27th - August 9th, 2009

July ???, 2009:
Thanks to whoever left the faire folk in the horsetails!

July 31, 2009:
Walk with 3-year-old daughter ~@ end 3 deer in front of us. Magical moment for my girl and 1♥

August 4th, 2009:
-Peace. Kent & Yadira

August, 6th, 2009:
-Found the biggest red huckleberry I've ever seen! Its huge and bearing THOUSANDS of big red sweet berries! Just West of the Maple with the swing. Enjoy!

-Saw a Great Horned Owl yesterday at 8 am, not here today.
-Another Great Day- I'm grateful for this lovely space!

August 8th, 2009:
Thimble Berries- nice to see more than blackberries! And are the small pink berries huckleberries? (ftw maybe young salal berries?). Well there is a lot of wildlife to feast on right now, and we saw plenty of scat to prove it! 2 small snakes, one about 6" another about 2" long. Both were black with blue striper. It was a very pleasant, overcast, but warm afternoon.

August 9, 2009:
-Blackberries coming. What is the scorch mark on the Big Maple Swing Tree? Ouch! Tears…

-Don in Ho and Trout cuzed on a 58 and 63 Schwinn across the trail knowing it's not for bikes (we did it Cautiously) wanting the solitude we expect from this park- GOAL! Asp
(FTW- sorry if I butchered your tag there)

-Beagle and I saw 3 snakes sunning before a light drizzle came.

Field Notes July 13th-July 26th, 2009

Another hot dry summer week, when will the rain return. Fireweed tall and bright in the park the last several weeks. Legends say that when the top blossom of the fireweed blooms summer is over. Berries are nice and ripe, but nobody has mentioned all the tasty thimble berries that are out, although it seems like some critter sure has been enjoying the cherries! Don't forget that there is a chance to help Mission Creek stay healthy and beautiful this August 1st at the Fir street Entrance. Postings about the volunteer workday are posted in the park...See you there.

July 13th, 2009:
-(July ???) This park is the S#$%. Much love.
One Deer (female)
3 chickadee
1 dragonfly
lots of different bird noises.

-I Like Cheese
Sometimes I sneeze
But not before I wheeze
Sometimes people jump or say they're in a slump and don't like the speed bump
Thump...Thump...Thump...
PEACE

-I'm Just a tourist, but I'm falling in love and maybe we'll see something here. A map later.

July 20th 2009:
-Andes, Maggie, tim, Nora, Gregor(?) went to what we call "the Giant's Swing." There is a new swing there now. We saw wild blackberry, Huckleberries, & fireweed in Bloom. We alos saw some sort of Squirrel or bird in brush bigger!

July 24th, 2009:
- 11:30am Ovecast->Sunny. WJW &FTW. Juvenile Brown Creeper foraging along giant Maple with swing. Fireweed tall and blooming throughout park.

-Goddesses in the trees. Let them be.

July 25th, 2009:
-Saw some poop on trail with lots of cherry seeds-Raccoon??

Field Notes June 23rd-July 12th, 2009

Well, the rain has finally returned and with a bang! Its nice to see rain washing and wetting everything down again. Thimble berries are ripe and the young birds of the year are putting out an effort to exercise their wings.

June 23rd, 2009:
-We found a secret trail- Quinn and Azalea

June 28th, 2009:
-Morning Partly Cloudy, Park is full of birdsong
Willow Flycathcher
Warbling Vireo
Wilson's Warbler
Swainson's Thrush
Song Sparrow
Many more seen
-Jim Parker

June 29th, 2009:
-noonish Birding and photography: Swainsons thrush -3 (1 carrying food). Pacific Sloped fly catcher singing, Vireo spp= sing and warbling vireo, Wilson's Warbler- 1 male with food. Blackheaded Grosbeak-singing male. Song Sparrows, Black-throated Grey Warblers.- 1 male. Western Tanager-1 male
-Jim and Debby Parker, Bishop, CA

Field Notes June 14th-22nd 2009

June 14th, 2009:
- we saw so many berries. You can't believe how many grow in the forrest. They are everywhere you go. -Roma

June 16th, 2009:
- Mama bird sitting on a nest (thrush?) in a vine maple on path to left off San fran entrance. 6pm warm overcast

June 18th, 2009:
- Enjoying reading peoples' identifications and descriptions! (thanks to the person who named Hawthorne trees on April 2nd!). So many different bird songs happening! Thanks to all the writers for the notes! - a neighbor

June 20th, 2009:
-There are so many Salmon berries! They are a little bit sour-but Ella gobbled them up!
-Rebecca

June 22nd, 2009
-We found the secret swing and fixed it. Beautiful!

Field Notes June 1st-7th 2009

The bracken fern keeps getting a little taller every week and the open spaces are almost all filled in with inumerous shades of green. I bet those lizards were Northern Alligator Lizards.


June 1st, 2009:
-1:30pm- saw lizards scuttling away in the sunny meadow. Black capped chickadee, Flicker, Robins, Spotted Towhee.

June 2nd, 2009:
-A WILD ANIMAL APPEARED FROM THE BRUSH

June 7th, 2009:
-We saw a daisy and sipped nectar from a red clover- AJALEA and Abbe

-9pm- raccoons on the prowl, bats on the wing, where did the Ethridge St sign go?

Field Notes May 27th-31st, 2009

May 27th, 2009:
-We live in the Garden of Eden.

-Happy Sunny day and Warm Evenings. The Swainson's thrushes are back and they're singing. Now its dusk and the bats are about. The hush of the sweet calm and the lovely scents of Spring. Glorious Green Belt! Doggy is very Happy and so am I!!!!

Unknown date, May 2009 (27-30th):
This is my first time on the trail. What a nice piece of nature to immerse yourself in, so close to so many neighborhoods.

May 30th, 2009:
-roufus sided towhee!

-4pm Moo oooon

- 8pm and warm, great evening for a walk in the woods in the lovely forest of Mission Creek. -Carol

Field Notes May 17th-26th,2009

May 17th, 2009:
-Are those those gooseberry bushes? They have enormous thorns.



May 18th, 2009:
-6:30am, overcast and still. Raucous birdsong breaks the morning.

May 19th, 2009:
-We saw a hawk (missing a few feathers), and hawthorne in bloom + the bleeding hearts make the forest enchanting. ~Ella and Mama

May 24th, 2009:
-Bushtit seen near wetland loop feeding in a tree. Bleeding heart still bleeding.

May 26th, 2009:
-11pm clear and starry evening: Twinberry blooming (Lonicera involucrate) by creek bridge. A couple bats flitting around. What happened to the Etheridge entrance sign? Waterleaf blossoms complementing the bleeding heart. Love the duck crossing sign on Pine Street. Berries and fruit looking tart on bushes and trees.

Field Notes May 11th-17th

What a turn around for the weekend! I saw a note monday morning that some one sighted a Swainson's thrush last sunday evening. Its spiraling song is a herald of summer! I'll make sure to pick up the note books later Sunday evening from now on. There was a Barred owl hooting as I went through this evening around 10pm, and even more exciting it was still warm.

May 11th, 2009:
-I spy -green oso berries
-hawthorns in bloom
-bald eagle being pursued by 2 smaller birds
-Bracken fern as tall as me!

May 17th, 2009:
-Ahha, who knew the world could be so wonderful?

Mission Creek Field Notes April 27th-May 10th 2009

Weeks with a million shades of green, bursting leaves and flowers, heavy rains and warming sun, but most of all the this entry in for the perfumes of plants delighting our often under used noses with the sweet smell of growth and freshness. Take a deep breathe and enjoy.


April 27th, 2009:
-7:30ish PM Dogwood and Elderberry blooming and budding, respectively. Maples are opening their leaves. Reminds me of moist crinkly baby hands. Redwing blackbirds call. Somewhat overcast. With Ruby (5years old) ARBB. Abandoned (?) yellow bike "Olympian" near swing Maple.

April 29th, 2009:
-I've been gone for three weeks is in the desert & oh, how Olympia has come alive in that time. Thanks be to our communal rebirth.

May 1st, 2009:
-Sunny! Warm 72 F° (?) 3pm (been here since ~1:30 pm). HIGHLIGHTS: Towhee foraging in the leaves & fallen limbs of this Maple right here near Fir St. Entrance.
Female deer sunning on grassy slope not 50 years from Edison St. Entrance. Turned my back and she melted silently away. Lots of different singers: Chickadees, sparrows, robins-one evidently collecting for a nest. Saw buff-yellow bird walking along small branches hunting insects to pick off. Bumblebees, white butterflies and orange and brown butterflies, dragonflies (BIG ONES).

- Deep Gratitude for this exquisite park. Brown bird in muddy draw with up tilted tail. Over and outJ
-Saw a few dark headed juncos in the wooded area between here and Fir St.

-Bald eagle flying over park heading east. Saw 2 little snakes ♥

May 5th, 2009:
-8pm 2 Barred Owls

May 8th, 2009:
-Partly cloudy 50's calm. Spotted Towhee, Wilson's warbler, song Sparrow, Violet Swallow, Chestnut-backed chickadee, Stellar's Jay, Pacific-sloped Flycatcher, Townsend's Warbler, Rufous Hummingbird, Robin, Crow, Black capped Chickadee, House Finch. Vine Maple leafed out and Stunning. FTW & SRC

May 9th, 2009:
-7:30pm saw heron flying over park heading North

Field Notes April 18th-26th 2009

This week marks our first reptile sighting of the year and also a number of new bird species and observations. Hawks fighting in the treetops and blossoms bursting from the soil and trees, what more could we ask for on the week of Earthday? I'm curious to learn more about the happenings at the mouth of Mission Creek. Wednesday's Field Note is a wonderful reminder that we at the headwaters are connected to all of Puget Sound, and from Puget sound, the Pacific and from the Pacific, the entire world. Who can know where the waters of Mission Creek will travel? All I know for sure is that they will travel farther than anyone of us can dream ...



April 18th, 2009:
I saw a duck!!!!! Plus I even saw three slugs on a leaf. My name is Leo Spencer.

April 22nd, 2009 EARTH DAY!:
-Earthday dedicated to mission creek headwaters. Hey Ya'll, see whats happening at Mission Creek enters the Sound in Priest Point Park- Tearing down the dam! I always like to have clippers or a saw to take on select ivy while walking through the park. Multi-task!

April 24th, 2009:
-Bird list (heard) by Lowell and Oliver Dickenson: Orange Crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata), Hutton's Vireo (Vireo huttoni), Black-capped Chickadees, Robins, Red Breasted Sap-Suckers, Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia canadensis), Black-Throated Grey Warbler (Dendroica nigrescens). Indian Plum has done bloomed, Big Leaf Maple Blooming!

April 26th, 2009:
-Partly Cloudy, 60 F, Calm. Beautiful day. Saw the sharped-shin/cooper's hawk on nest by Etheridge entrance. Then two more accepters flew to the nest and had a squabble & now no-one is on the nest. More Trillium fading to violet & the Bleeding heart are blooming. Northwestern Garter Snake (Thamnophis ordinoides) out sunning beside the trail and several Ash (Fraxinus latifolia) have leafed out by the NE fir street entrance. Dogwoods (Cornus spp) and Bitter Cherries (Prunus emarginata) in bloom. -FTW & SCP

-16:30, Partly cloudy, but mostly sunny!

Field Notes April 6th-12th

Another week for the see-saw of spring weather. From a Monday in the 70's to a Sunday in the 40's the plants keep on budding, and the stories, both fanciful and factual, keep telling more secrets of Mission Creek. The Maples started blossoming this week and the creek and wetlands were at full capacity this sunday evening. Hope everyone had a good spring break!



April 6th, 2009:
-Sunny!… nice to have the open meadow to enjoy it
-9am Monday of spring break, So quiet! Lots of birds singing and woodpecker tapping. 40° F and sunny
-Our dog is getting too old to walk this far…This might be her last summer.

-Sorry about your doggie. I know you'll enjoy every minute with her
Saw the native brown squirrel scampering up the maple by the trailer on the Northeast side of the park. And the black and white kitty at the beginning of the North Loop. He gets around!


April 7th, 2009:
-It’s a beautiful and sunny afternoon. Me, Heather, and Emily are on a search for wildlife and vegetation.
4:20pm: Roosters can be heard in the distance. Their cries sound angry with sexual frustration
4:25pm: Just braved a treacherous swamp and ate some huckleberries for much needed nourishment.
4:29pm: Bees begin to swirl overhead and I an getting nervous. We seem to have been walking in circles, where is the exit? The Roosters are screaming even louder almost as if they are warning us.
4:30pm: The forest has fallen silent. It is eerily still, which makes us very uneasy
4:32pm: Emily thinks she heard a noise-like something is following us. We hurry our pace.
4:32.5pm: There are crates ahead. Has someone been living here? We wonder if we need to start looking for a place to set up camp.
4:35: We've stripped ourselves completely naked and connected all the fabric from our clothing to make a tent and small blanket.
4:36: We see the shadow of a figure on our makeshift tent and huddle close for warmth.
4:37: A horrifying face just protruded into the tent, His cheeks and brow had a scattering of thick hair, but he only stood about 3 feet tall.
4:37: Demetrio has dropped 3 large fruits into the tent and advised us to consume them.
4:40: We've made our way to the end of the trail with the help of Demetrio and his magical fruits, and we saw this animal.


April 8th, 2009:
1 male and 1 female duck under the bridge here. My dog scared them, but not to flight, continued down the stream to finish courting. Dog on leash is so important, or is it?

Mission Creek Field Notes March 24th-April 5, 2009

March 30th, 2009:
-10:20am-saw the Pileated woodpecker in the alders to the right at Edison St entry!

March 31st, 2009:
-Saw 5 deer! Near the San Francisco entrance in the field. They saw me and my dog and jumped the fence one by one.

April 2nd, 2009:
-The Hawthorn trees (with the red berries) are budding. Saw a coyote dropping with lots of fur in it. Elderberry bushes have new sprouts.

April 3rd, 2009:
-Temple entrance: Overcast to the South and East. High Clouds and blue sky to the Northwest; chilly. Rooster, frogs, and birds: Cheep, cheep, cheep. Be still and know that I am geese in the East. 4 Fly in formation, overhead circle.

April 4th, 2009:
-Clear and Sunny ~45 °F and rising. Stellar's Jays and Junco out along with a cocaphany of songs. Stellar's Jay with mouth full of nesting material at SF entrance. The Grass is greening. Willow and Avi pointed out the hidden trilliums and a sharp-shinned hawks nest on the Etheridge loop! Hidden treasures to watch grow. The swallows (violet-green) are back! flying over the Lybarger entrance and meadows. Spring is really here. Red-breasted sapsucker tapping away in the distance. Pacific chorus frog egg masses in the retention pond near Lybarger entrance. -FTW

April 5th, 2009:
-HAIKUS

"Top of Clay Hill"
wood chop echo sound
fat bee buzzing on catkins
bright blue light clear sky

"Clearing"
Creep under thorn arch
Divergent paths meet and branch
Snake swish through bramble

"Sky Meadow"
Ecstatic lichen
Tiny chicks, ground harmony
Lone pine and half moon

"Tree Park"
sharp straight lines point up
like sky reeds, ephemeral
red berries kiss brown

"Sky Lines"
Thrush hum over left
Tiny mouse looks up black eyes
Three white stripes cross sky

"Up Ahead"
hollowed out cedar
evening sun brings sky estate
flies tiny white moth
-♥LB

- Finally, we believe that the Blue Band of Spring has Broken;
Two days of relief, and our appetite only grows.
But we are joined in our merriment:
The flying crow, peepers from the marsh,
Even the old rooster remembers the refrain.
Together, our voices raise and lift this promise of change.

- The first truly spring days. Saturday and Sunday. Trillium and Skunk Cabbage in bloom.

-Spring has sprung,the grass is green
The birds are on the wing
But that's "absurd" was the Robin's word
The wing in on the Bird!

Field Notes March 23rd-29th 2009

Looks like more and more of our Pacific Northwest plants are sprouting and summer birds are showing up. Willow pointed out one of the prettiest, poetic, and overlooked flowers we have. Later in the summer look down and enjoy the blushing violet heart that lays close to the duff that is found mostly by the curious and the romantic day dreamers.

March 23rd, 2009:
-On the Northern most loop trail (leading to Etheridge entrance) a carpet of waterleaf (Hyrdophyllum tenuipes) and Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa) seedlings have popped up! -Willow

-We saw a rare dark dark brown squirrel. It had a red belly and it was young.
{This sounds like a Douglas Squirrel of Chickaree (Tamiasciurus douglasii)}-FTW

March 27th, 2009
-Two deer right next to this entrance. My dog was on lead. They stood still as we passed.

-Saw a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, three Anna's Hummingbirds (Calypte anna), and a Pileated Woodpecker.

Field Notes March 15th-22nd

We made it to Spring! Looks like lots animals were roaming, flying, and swimming through the park last week. There are a couple mystery birds sighted, perhaps they were similar to the varied thrush another person saw? There has been lots of interest in organizing Ivy and Himalayan blackberry removal team (kudos to those already working hard!), and our poor cedar has been tagged again! Hopefully I will post a copy of a Floral Survey that the City of Olympia conducted in 2002-2003 soon (thanks Willow!). I hope to catch up on the species list this week too. There should be a link to a webpage about every species list eventually. Thanks for all your entries and sharing your experiences.

March 15th, 2009:
-Snow and Slush (~2") everywhere ~34° F 29AM, S wind 5-10. Crows cawing and robins singing. 2 mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) male & female quacking where Pine Street crosses wetlands, Roosters heard near Edison entrance. First blossoms I have seen on the Indian Plums.

March 17th, 2009:
-Indian Plum (Olemleria cerasiformis) blooming & leaves coming out. Hazel (Corylus cornuta californica) catkins out in full. Heard roosters Crowing

March 18th, 2008:
-Saw a small black & red butterfly today!♥ Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum) beginning to come up by the bridge over the creek. Thank you to the brothers who cleaned grafitti off the cedars♥

-Spied a pair of birds, a bit larger than crows (although not crow shapped) dark back/wings lighter chests, striped tail when it took flight- reddish brown/ dark brown stripes in tail feathers. One was making a sound not unlike a dog's squeaky toy (although not quite as high pitched). Was a little hard to get a good look as they were silloutted against bright clouds. Perched in red alder (Alnus rubra) near San Francisco entrance (somewhere between SF and Etheridge).

March 21st, 2009:
-2 varied thrushes at Edison entrance, 2 towhees at Fir entrance. Skunk cabbages up at San Francisco entrance.

-Pulled some Ivy and Holly. Towhee and other birds were sighted. Flicker call.




March 22nd, 2009:
- Hooligans struck last night spraying names/signs on the large cedar uphill form the San Francisco boardwalk. Have you looked into the Center of the fern and seen the curled up ferns waiting for spring?

-I talked to the young, considerate couple who discovered the huckleberry bushes (vaccinum spp) lying like they had been pulled up and abandoned. They thought they were protecting them from further vandalism.

-11am -Heard a frog "R-I-B-B-I-T" in the marsh to the right of Edison street.

- Haven't been in these woods in a long while. As always, I am welcomed by the chickens down the street, but today I also hear the littlest birds sining the prettiest songs as I begin my walk into one of my favorite spots in Olympia.
-Just saw a deer- on the right side of the main path-about 20 feet between us. We were both surprised-it stared at me for awhile and then looked away-pretending to be relaxed-all the while keeping one gigantic brown eye fixed on me until I moved on. Wow! What an amazing welcome back to the woods. I love it here…Thanks for the books. I've always wanted to write about what I see here.

-Sprinkling. It sounds like spring here… I keep hearing tiny feet running through the crunchy leaves then an a occasional flash of brown wings passes by. Also, frogs are out singing to one another.

- 5pm cool, clear, sunny, windy. Entering at Lybarger entrance I hear lots of wind against the trees & randomly hear some songbirds. (I think this is such a neat project! Writing my observations will add to my observations will add to my walk, and viewing and being part of the neighbors sightings makes me aware of participating in this neighborhood community!J Thank you!)
There are 8 mole hills around the Park Message Board
When the wind dies down I can hear more birds.
The mole hills continue!
Just past the first meadow on the right, there is a (20' tall) tree with small round crimison berries. They look like cranberries of sort of.
I see a couple big cedar trees & lots of beautiful rust-colored branches against blue sky-awaiting spring

- ~9:30pm, partly cloudy cold wind, stars shining. pacific chorus frogs (psuedocris regilla) thrilling throuh out park. 2 ensantina (Ensantina eschscholtzii) under an log. Indian Plum sparkling in flashlight. FISH! Followes a trail of green ribbon & came to an old culvert crossing North of San Francisco boardwalk & saw 2 small Sculpin in pool. Diving beetles and water striders too. -FTW

Field Notes March 8th-14th

A very special thank you! to the individual(s) who took the time and energy to scrub the cedars and bridge clean this week.
One week until The official start to spring...
Looks like Father Winter and Daughter Spring are having their annual get together these past couple weeks. They are dancing around in circles at their annual reunion and every 2-step brings snow and cold from Father Winter followed by Sunshine and warmth from Daughter. Eventually we hope the old man tires out and goes to bed and Spring will come with her warmth and growth. I'll be willing to bet the old man still has a dance or two left with his daughter though. Have a good next week in the Vernal Equinox!

March 8th, 2009:
-Looks like someone pulled up several huckleberry plants (Vaccinum spp) just West (?) of this sign next to the big dead stump. Maybe they though it was Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius)? Please be careful and leave the restoration to folks who know their plants. Otherwise, saw one ruby-crowned kinglet (Regulus calendula) among other things & think I heard a hummingbird (Trochilidae Family).

March 9th, 2009:
-Snow and sun @ Lybarger entrance. Sing your own Song
-Temple Entrance, noon. Snow still on ground, blue sky, sunny high breeze from SW. Gorgeous.

March 10th, 2009:
-10am: 3 crows (Corvus spp) chased sharpshin hawk (Accipter striatus) east of San Francisco entrance. Hawk returned to cedar (Thuja plicata) east of path to Lybarger and the crows chased it to tall cedar (I believe) across meadow as I stand at bag dispensers by bulletin board on Lybarger.
- Saw Cleavers (Galium spp), Red Clover (Trifollium pratense), and Plantain (Plantago spp) sprouting up on a side trail.

March 11th, 2009:
-Snowy couple of days. Sun finally shining. Tons of Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum) coming up around the creek. Flowers coming out in certain bush, Whole flowers, so pretty, not sure what the plant is. (maybe Indian Plum(Oemleria cersiformis))?
-Lots of Birds singing. 4-5 red breasted birds, 5-6 smal songbirds. Lots of Chirping. Took note of the Ivy choking out many of the large trees. I will bring some clippers to cut or remove some in the coming days/weeks, See someone has been removed.-Thanks to whoever you are! -S

March 12th, 2009:
-Someone noted that the woodpecker at Edison St. entrance was smaller than other years. The Pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) that looks like Woody is usually there. I think the person must have seen the red-breasted sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) that I spied yesterday.
-11am: Absolutely gorgeous spring day 40° + and sunny, deep blue skies.

March 13th, 2009:
-Frost Coated blades of grass winking in the early morning sun.
- Thanks to whoever scrubbed the tags /signs off the trees and boardwalk. Their presence was jarring.
- A Hummingbird (Trochilidae Family)? In this cold? I couldn't believe my eyes, but it levitated straight up and hovered above me. Then it set on a twig and "scree scree"d at me. Definitely a hummingbird, in 42° weather. This was by the rotten cedar stump (just west of the Fir Street entrance) A.K.A. Squirrelopolis.
March 14th, 2009-40's light rain, breezy. Good stream flow, moss is out on trees

March 1st-7th Field Notes

March 1st, 2009
~9am: Overcast w/ mist, ~50° F, Calm wind, sun just breaking through.
-Robin, starlings, towhee, chickadees, stellar's jay, sparrow, junco, winter wren
- moles in park
-Trees, shrubs & other flora: Western Red Cedar, Big Leaf Maple, Douglas Fir, Pacfic Willow, Red Alder, Bitter Cherry, Sword Fern, Salmon Berry, American Holly, Himalayan Blackberry, English Ivy, Oregon Grape, Salal, Bracken Fern, Lady Fern, Grand Fir, Trailing Blackberry, Licorice Fern, Hawthrone, Creeping Buttercup, Indian Plum, Skunk Cabbage.

~ Later: Drizzle, swinging in the maple, and happy for a park to wander
tromped through the rain with my lover; got caught admist the plethora of blackberry bushes which line the maze-like paths… a peace for peace

March 2nd, 2009
-4pm: Last years Equisetum dry and pale in the brambles like a dozen snakes had shed their skin -SRKR

~ 11pm Clear ~35° F: 2 Ensantina under log at Edison entrance one juvenile, one adult. saw slugs and worms mating and heard tree frogs singing. Stars shining and moon a nice crescent.

March 3rd, 2009
~ saw and small woodpecker and an opossum near Edison entrance.

March 4th, 2009
-7am foggy with sun breaks: male and female mallards in standing water North of Edison entrance, yellow catkins on beaked hazelnut trees, towhee in the blackberries

March 5th, 2009
~I think I was the only human, with the only dog, in the whole park this late morning. Ahh, the solitude of windy cold rain in the woods, Yet the birds sing ever more consistently, Spring will prevail despite this last grab attempt by winter.

-Last winter (2007/2008?) neighbors worked with Olympia Parks VIP program to remove fence that separated the meadows from the wetlands at Lynbarger St trailhead. This opened up the area to wildlife and for vistas to enjoy this remarkable habitat- Jack Horton.

March 6th, 2009
~ Some one tagged th ecedar and the San Francisco entrance, & the footbridge, plus a tree at the Ethridge entrance. How do we clean a tree?

~6pm Fox sparrows chirping merrily, robins and towhees too. Tree frogs singing, but not to be seen! Too bad about the tagged Cedars.

-A fine fellow asked me if there was any interest in developing an Olympia specific urban forest restoration project. Because several of you have expressed interest in just that I thought I would share their information and their vision with you. They would be more than interested to hear any of your comments...

February 21-28, 2009 Field Notes

S
P
R
I
N
G

?
?









Snow and frost graced Mission Creek last week, but we are only 3 weeks away from the offical start to spring now!
Seems like we certainly have a canine visitor in our park, but whether it is a fox (Vulpes vulpes) or a coyote (Canis latrans) remains to be seen. Foxes can be many colors as can coyotes, but foxes are markedly smaller than even young coyotes. Which ever the species I hope it can live peacefully in the park and not come into conflict with pet and property owners. Another great question posed this week is for Olympia natives. Which is the best climbing tree in Olympia? The question is directed towards adults, but it might be interesting to see if a special tree has been climbed by many a generation of Olympians.
Thank you for all your comments and for heralding the coming of spring. -FTW


February 21: Budding trees @ 16:00 pm. Partly cloudy, warm
February 22: Rain the previous night. Birds singing- signs of spring
February 24: Rainbow @ Temple st entrance
coyote/fox (?) sighting
February 25: 8:30 am 44 degrees Breezy w/ rainbow. West rain clouds chasing, sun trying to peek through clouds
Pacific chorus frog (Pseudocris Regilla) calling by San Francisco st entrance.
February 27: Deer tracks by pond trail

February 28: Deer tracks by swing tree (big vine maple), 2 ducks flew over boardwalk

February 15-21, 2009 Field Notes

Hello again everyone. Looks like the early sights and sounds of spring are beginning to manifest themselves at Mission Creek Park. The Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis) is starting to leaf and flower and the willows (Salix spp) are budding too. Birds are singing and if I am not mistaken I heard the my first pacific chorus frog (psuedacris regilla) thrilling in the marshes earlier last week. February is always a tease. It seems like every year a high pressure system settles over Western Washington for this month letting us believe that winter has passed us by and spring is just around the corner. Despite the happiness the sunshine brings lets hope that we get the rain and snow we need to last us through the year. This is a wet country and many of our native species depend on the rain for breeding sites and to nourish the lush vegetation that follows. Keep on a look out for the skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum) putting out its fragrant yellow flowers and more amphibians moving into the marshes. Also this is a great time of year to be on the lookout for owls! Thank you for all your observations this week. I hope to make a survey and catalog of more of the species that live in our park late this month or in early march.
-FTW

Feb 16th: Overcast to South and East.
11am Blue skies to north and West. 3 different bird songs heard. Rooster at Vietnamse Temple. Robins Juncos and crows sighted.

FEB 17: early morning overcast and clearing. Sunny and mild weather. Leaf buds appearing. Chickadees everywhere. Hymalayain Black berries still in dormant winter stage. -CS

FEB 19th: Clear Skies and Birds singing

FEB 20th: Sunny and beautiful day. Notes on helping birds through the hard winter months by feeding with high quality seed and tapering off feeding as natural food sources become more abundant. Dandy lions blooming in western meadow

Feb 21: 13:30-14:30- 50ish F: robins and small birds. Pileated woodpeckers. The grass in the marshes is primarily the invasive reed-canary grass. Accipiter sited [accipiter= hawks and falcons) (buteos= eagles)] in marsh area. 4pm- partly cloudly and warm. Budds erupting on trees!

February 5-15, 2009 Field Notes

Welcome to the Mission Creek Community Naturalist Blog!  We will try and post a weekly update of your observations in the park.  Please share your comments here and in the field notebooks and send photos you would like be posted to: teal.waterstrat@gmail.com.  Thanks for participating and I hope you enjoy sharing your own sightings, feelings, and discoveries in the park!  

Here's our first weeks entry of species and observations.  We are looking forward to watching it grow!

• Feb 5 & 6:  Coyote (Canis latrans) sightings in the meadow early in day
• Feb 8: Pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) seen through out park.  Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in tall tree near San Francisco St. border of park. -CM
• Feb 9: Sunny and brisk with southerly wind and high cumulus clouds
• Feb 11: Snow on ground.  Sunny and clear.  Animal tracks and snowman sighted near bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) with swing.  Sparrow species (song or fox) and nuthatch (?) noted.
• Feb 13:  Pileated woodpecker spotted near Edison street
• Feb 14:  Unidentified songbird (possible towhee from song description- "part chirp, part quack")

February 8-15, 2009 Poems and Experiences

We have received a number of great creative contributions that describe Mission Creek and the feelings it manifests in the community.  If you would prefer we not publish your work on the website- please let us know and we will remove it!  Thank you.

2-11-09  10:30 am

snow melting

false rain

bejeweled branches

rooster crows

as crows caw

not silent or dark or deep

Mission Creek

-Anonymous

2-11-09

Snow blankets the park

warm sun melts it from the trees

three-legged dog and his human

pass me on the bridge

light refracts through water drops and brilliant yellow

I miss Emmett

-Anonymous

2-11-09

Snow!

clear sunny day

snow blankets park

joy

-Anonymous