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!