Wild Fidalgo

The other day, I made an early morning visit to West Beach in Deception Pass State Park.  There is a short trail from the parking lot that heads over to the amphitheater and the beach on Deception Pass.  I wanted to see how the bridge looked.  On the trail, I ran into this fellow, an American Robin    (Turdus migratorius) .  I was surprised that he allowed me to get as close as I was without flying off.  He wasn't even paying attention to me.  Sometimes park critters become accustomed to having people around. Then I noticed why he was standing his ground.  He was working on an earthworm  for his breakfast.  They are one of the annelids or segmented worms.  From my observations, they are a favorite food of Robins.  When I am planting or digging in the garden, the birds will gather in a perimeter around me.  As soon as I leave, they will fly in to snatch the goodies I kicked out of the soil.  They have lea...

Mycophagy (my-COUGH-a-gee) is an interesting word derived from Greek meaning "fungus glutton."  Our native Banana Slugs (Ariolimax columbianus) are apparently mushroom epicures.  Hiking the North Trail in the Kukutali Preserve I spotted the mollusks dining on our local portobellos.  With October, the rains have returned, and damp weather seems to bring out both slugs and mushrooms. All along the trail, I found evidence of mushroom munching.  It was obvious the slugs relish these mycological delights. I do not recommend following their lead.  I don't know enough about mushrooms to declare these safe for people to eat.  What is dessert for slugs could be deadly for humans.  It seems the slugs have evolved to cope with potential toxins produced by the fungi.  It is well known people have not. At this point, allow me to editorialize.  Wherever I hike, I find smashed and dead Banana Slugs.  Hikers seem to be going out of the...

As usual, if I go hiking to find something specific, I usually find something else instead.  This morning, I headed to Ginnett Hill in Deception Pass State Park.  My quest was to check out midsummer wildflowers.   Last year, they were prolific , but it looks like now is too early.  There were basically none to speak of.  Instead, I had some interesting wildlife encounters. I spotted several Banana Slugs (Ariolimax columbianus) on the trail.  The two sleeping on the cut end of a fallen tree were the most interesting.  My theory that Fidalgo Island slugs have no spots is now officially refuted.  Ginnett Hill is in the Fidalgo section of the park. Shortly after beginning the hike, I encountered this Douglas Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii) .  It was notable that he wasn't barking at me.  Persistent chattering and scolding is their usual demeanor when humans enter their territory.  Unlike the Eastern Gray Squirrel which ha...

Last weekend while scouting rocks for International Rock Flipping Day , I noticed this young lady by my entry porch.  I snapped a couple of photos and returned to my rock hunt.  When I took another look at the photos, I realized what a beautiful creature this is. She is a European Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) .  As the name implies, she is an immigrant from Europe and not a native North American arachnid .  Nevertheless, this has become one of the most familiar spiders seen in the Pacific Northwest.  They are most prevalent in late summer and fall.  Other common names include Diadem Spider, Cross Spider and Cross Orbweaver. Orbweavers (family Araneidae) are the spiders that build wheel-shaped spiral webs.  The third pair of legs are specialized for building orb webs .  They are of little use out of the web.  The web is not the spider's home.  It is a trap for catching food.  This spider will build a new web early every...

Yesterday was International Rock Flipping Day .  This has become an annual event to encourage people to get outside and explore the natural world.  Nature bloggers, in particular, go out to favorite spots to see what is going on under the rocks.  This is also meant for families to provide their children a little STEM -ulus to explore science in their own backyards and beyond. My plan was to head to the beach at low tide for my first IRFD post.  While I waited for the tide to go out, I did some practice flipping in the garden: It's been pretty dry here since June.  So far, it has only rained once this month and conditions in the garden are quite arid.  I didn't expect to find much.  Our ubiquitous Woodlice were nowhere to be found.  I did discover this beetle under a stone at the edge of a gravel path.  I had some problems identifying it.  Click or right-click the photo to see it full size.  Based on image searches, i...

One, two, three, four, five, six.  "Cornucopia" is the collective noun for slugs.  I had to look this word up since I had never seen slugs in a group.  In fact, during all the treks I have taken in the woods, over all the years, I have never seen anything quite like this. One week ago, I was in the newly opened Kukutali Preserve which comprises Kiket and Flagstaff Islands in Skagit Bay.  Near the west end of the South Trail is a heap of fallen trees, rotten wood and bark.  It appears to be windfall that was cut up and piled next to the trail.  The stuff was swarming with Banana Slugs (Ariolimax columbianus) .  Most seemed to be resting with their antennae pulled in under their mantles. Banana Slugs are familiar forest denizens in the Pacific Northwest.  What we usually see are solitary individuals here and there along a trail.  There might be one or two of these reclusive creatures seen on a hike.  If it has rained overni...

Today, I visited  Skagit County's Sharpe Park for the first time.  I only recently discovered that it was there.  I found a network of old growth forest trails I can spend many hours exploring.  The headlands offer terrific views of the San Juan Islands across Rosario Strait.  I also found a large pond and wetland, tailor-made for wildlife.  The park is located on the west side of Fidalgo Island off Rosario Road. The pond was my first stop and right off the bat I spotted two handsome male Hooded Mergansers ( Lophodytes cuculattus ) in the company of a male Ring-necked Duck ( Aythaya collaris ).  The peaked crown and a more decorated bill distinguish the latter from either the Greater or Lesser Scaup .  I saw no females of either species. The Hooded Mergansers were eager to display their crests.  This makes me think there were hens somewhere in the area.  Like Wood Ducks , they like to nest in tree cavities near water. ...

After a month and a day with no measurable rainfall, it finally rained last night.   My weather station recorded 0.07 inch (1.8 mm).  Some are surprised to learn that during July and August, the Pacific Northwest is one of the driest places in the country.  My garden is testament. After early morning overcast, the skies quickly cleared.  It looked like a good day to check out Deception Pass State Park nearby.  Now that school is in session and most of the tourists are gone, may I declare that the park is all mine again? I crossed the Deception Pass Bridge and headed over to West Beach and Cranberry Lake on Whidbey Island.  I found it breezy with surf rolling in off the Strait of Juan de Fuca, an aftermath of last night's rain system. I set off on the Sand Dunes Interpretive Trail .  As usual, a couple dozen gulls were in Cranberry Lake for their morning swim.  Northwestern Crows were patrolling the outer dunes.  There were no C...

I thought I would try something different and use a birdbath as a BirdCam lure.  I got the idea from a recent post by David Lindquist at Cary BirdCam Blog .  I found a little birdbath on sale at Ace.  I thought it would look good in photos.  It also fit nicely within the depth-of-field setting on the BirdCam. When I started reviewing photos, I was taken aback to find this Eastern Gray Squirrel showing up on the first day out.  As some may know, I have been engaged in something just short of hand-to-hand combat with these invasive and  resolute feeder pests . In the end, I would only get three squirrel shots, these two and one that was blurred.  What a relief.  This is in stark contrast to the 1,200 a day I was getting with a suet lure.  As long as he is behaving himself, he will be welcome to come for a drink now and then. My very first customer was actually this Song Sparrow .  They have always been reliable BirdCam vis...