Environmental Study Of Lechtenberg Park

[Cedars]

i suspect they are resident birds as i used to see a group of them regularly riding thermals ~4 miles south of the park on a Columbia River bluff. i never could get a photo for a good ID as they stayed so high. i have one more vid with one flying, but i have to figure out how to cut out all the wild camera swings and garbled babble. :eek::)

 

in video #3 there are actually 3 Vultures. at the begiining you see one swoop to the ground, then i pan right and pause and there is one hidden center frame, and then i pan left to the obvious bird.

 

sorry for posting it here and letting the birding thread go a bit lame. :doh: thanks Cedars for taking up the slack over there plus helping out here with id's. :) :cup: :)

 

Vid 2 cracked me up. If I ever discover an animal I think I am gonna include Its a "flipping" whatever in the designated name...

[Hill]

:( Racoon San accompanied me on an impromptu visit to Lechtenberg today of some 5 hours duration. debriefing to follow at a turtle's pace.

 

of premier interest - and thanks to Racoon's keen eyes - we sighted and videographed a Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura.

 

Turtle, I hear a Steller's Jay during the clip. Is that species on your bird list yet?

[Turtle]

Turtle, I hear a Steller's Jay during the clip. Is that species on your bird list yet?

 

Good ear Hill! It's not on my list for the park, no. I think Racoon comments on the call as a Scrub Jay? I honestly don't think I know the difference in hearing. :(

 

I'll be on the lookout next trip. :doh:

[Turtle]

After running through the park, Lacamas Creek drains into a people-mad lake and then over a dam to the mighty Columbia River. Just recently they have drawn down the lake in order to make some repairs and as a consequence this increased the outflow into the Columbia and as a consequence the salmon were confused and diverted towards Lacamas. People were fishing them, and particularly snagging them :bow_flowers:, so officials closed the entire area to fishing. The news said they were going to try & slow the rate of lake draining so the fish will get back onto their normal course.

https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/erules/efishrules/erule.jsp?id=557

 

I really need to learn more local history, but I suspect this dam is at least 80 years old. If I get the chance I'll sally out there & get some pics for an exclusive Hypography report. :bow_flowers:

[Racoon]

Well done on the video and editing Turtle san! :hyper:

 

I am impressed, as I usually am with your ability and creativity!

 

The turkey vulture was a huge bird!

and there were also red tailed hawks when we entered.

[Hill]

Good ear Hill! It's not on my list for the park, no. I think Racoon comments on the call as a Scrub Jay? I honestly don't think I know the difference in hearing.

 

I'll be on the lookout next trip. :coffee_n_pc:

 

Here's a Steller's Jay sound file.

ADW: stja2.wav

 

And a Western Scrub Jay

http://kaweahoaks.com/html/scrjay1.wav

 

You are in one of the few parts of your state that has both Steller's and Western Scrub Jays. Steller's Jays are found in most of WA in just a small area.

[Turtle]

Here's a Steller's Jay sound file.

ADW: stja2.wav

 

And a Western Scrub Jay

http://kaweahoaks.com/html/scrjay1.wav

 

You are in one of the few parts of your state that has both Steller's and Western Scrub Jays. Steller's Jays are found in most of WA in just a small area.

 

Sweet audio files. I have photographed both species nearby, but never recorded the calls. We have a birding thread here which I have neglected by postng birds exclusive to Lechtenberg here. Here's the thread: >> http://hypography.com/forums/earth-science/2339-birding-35.html

 

The Jay photos may be down in there so here they are from the Science Gallery untill I find where I commented on them. :coffee_n_pc:

 

[Turtle]

No fancy editing for me yet, but I learned how to clip out unwanted bits. :) Result, the Turkey Vulture flying vid. >>

 

YouTube - Turkey Vulture flying - Cathartes aura http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AFgUFxpDvc

[Turtle]

Went alone for 2 hours or such-a-matter and Fall is fat on the forest already. I saw no birds and only heard a single Scrub Jay. In the 2 hours I was there, 4 small fixed wing craft, 1 helicopter, and a commercial jet passed overhead. The park is under assault from all sides but West. Ivy (hedera) is infesting the forest just 3 miles South, and cattle are in the creek immediately North of the park, and blackberry blankets the East.

 

I took just a few photos; 2 shots of one lone small mushroom (~3" tall) and another wrinkling gob growing on the broken end of a twig (measure ~ 3/4" across). No scale in the photos; they're art pieces. :P

 

Oh...I was stung twice by some forest bees or wasps. First one was the inside of my thigh, next one 1/2 hour later was my chest. I used cortisone cream on them but still stinging and read blotches 4" round the sting point. No worries; price of admission is all. :confused:

 

 

 

[freeztar]

The first pic...I have no idea.

 

The second and third pics make me think conocybe, but small mushrooms are a perilous journey into gray. :confused:

(not everyone has a microscope with resolutions dedicated to spores)

[Cedars]

Went alone for 2 hours or such-a-matter and Fall is fat on the forest already.

 

I took just a few photos; 2 shots of one lone small mushroom (~3" tall) and another wrinkling gob growing on the broken end of a twig (measure ~ 3/4" across). No scale in the photos; they're art pieces. B)

 

My last two trips to Crex Meadows showed a large number of various mushrooms. I was kinda surprised with the variety this late in the year.

[Turtle]

My last two trips to Crex Meadows showed a large number of various mushrooms. I was kinda surprised with the variety this late in the year.

 

I only know one type to pick that is safe to eat for sure; the boletes. I was on the look for them, but they seem to prefer to grow under Doug Fir and I didn't get over to any of the stands in the forest.

 

I forgot to mention I saw 1 small Garter snake at the park boundary going in. Later, when I had stopped to hunker on my trail for a rest & look around, I thought I heard a single whoof from a bear. :eek:

 

Today found me stiff & sore & the bee stings itching like crazy. :) So much for going right back. :cheer: Its 6 months now since I found the place & I can't wait to get in there in the dead of Winter. B)

[Cedars]

I only know one type to pick that is safe to eat for sure; the boletes. I was on the look for them, but they seem to prefer to grow under Doug Fir and I didn't get over to any of the stands in the forest.

 

I forgot to mention I saw 1 small Garter snake at the park boundary going in. Later, when I had stopped to hunker on my trail for a rest & look around, I thought I heard a single whoof from a bear. :eek:

 

Today found me stiff & sore & the bee stings itching like crazy. :( So much for going right back. :Exclamati Its 6 months now since I found the place & I can't wait to get in there in the dead of Winter. :xparty:

 

I never learned the edibles vs the poisoned. My grandpa used to come out and pick bags of 'shrooms and toadstools for eating but us kids were never allowed to try them. Grandpa drank alot.... er... A LOT and the parents were never sure about his skills when blowing a .2 bac while out gathering natures bounty.

 

This thread has been great fun and I am glad your planning winter treks into your little wilderness.

[freeztar]

For those lucky enough to live in the PNW, these two books are the definitive guides for mushroom collection. The first one is what I would recommend for the beginner. It gives great descriptions of the mushrooms in a very easy to use format. It even tells you poisonous look-a-likes and how to tell them apart from the good ones. It only covers mushrooms that are easy to identify in the feild, so you can feel confident with your ID and go home to some good mushroom soup.

 

Amazon.com: All That the Rain Promises, and More ...: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms: Books: David Arora http://www.amazon.com/All-That-Rain-Promises-More/dp/0898153883/ref=sr_1_6/105-7069588-3814062?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192488059&sr=1-6

Amazon.com: Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi: Books: David Arora http://www.amazon.com/Mushrooms-Demystified-Comprehensive-Guide-Fleshy/dp/0898151694/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b/105-7069588-3814062

 

 

Happy Haunting..err..I mean Hunting! :Exclamati :xparty:

[Turtle]

For those lucky enough to live in the PNW, ...

 

That is well, and more than enough, said. All's the more for my little corner of it inasmuch as Lewis & Clark passed here and Fort Vancouver and the Hudsons Bay Company established my village as one of the earliest in the region.

 

I have lamented not finding much on the history of Lechtenberg, and while I don't know yet what of that I may have found, I have found a document from 1875 detailing the comings & goings, and geography of much of the area. (Fort Vancouver lies on the banks of the Columbia River 9.5 miles West & 1.5 miles South of Lechtenberg Park) The document is part of a collection that Google is building and details a legal dispute of some kind.

 

I found the document Googling "Cathlapootl", which was the Native people's name for the East Fork of the Lewis River, and found the name highlighted on page 103 or so along with descriptions of livestock, geography, and peoples activites. Well, I find it fascinating and plan to give the whole 300+ page document a thorough going over.

 

Papers - Google Book Search

 

...Ans.—That is to the best of my recollection.

Int. 345.—How do you know it extended ten miles north

from each of the points named?

Ana.—I have heen over large portions of it myself, where

the Company had bands of cattle and horses, pasturing from

time to time. In this way I got my knowledge of it.

Int. 346.—Do you mean to say tjie Company had cattle

and horses pasturing ten miles from Columbia river in a

northern direction from the points which you have mentioned?

Ans.—Perhaps not to the extent of ten miles, as there the

land became hilly and mountainous. But it was nothing uncommon

at certain seasons of the year to see bands of horses

feeding at distances of six and eight miles back from Fort

Vancouver, which must have been in a northerly direction.

Int. 347.—Have you any other knowledge that the line extended

ten miles back?

Ans.—I do not remember now. I have had the impression

on my mind all along that it did.

Int. 347J.—What do you mean by "recollection " of a line,

in your answer to the 344th interrogatory?

Ans.—That is my belief about it.

Int. 348.—Can you not answer the last interrogatory more

definitely?

Ans.—I looked upon the mouth of the Cathlapootl as the

natural boundary. I have no recollection of the line running

inland being blazed or marked any way by the Company.

...

[Turtle]

i think my plant #005 in the gallery is a hawthorn. i observed thorns on the small-tree-sized plants in the field, and encountered them in the area of the the old homestead.

 

Good call Turtle!

You also bring up a good point with the homestead. A colleague of mine claims to be able to tell the locations of old homesteads by using a combination of topology and what plant species are present.

 

Yesterday, while up at the Johnston Ridge Observatory at Mt. St. Helens, I picked up a copy of Trees & Shrubs of Washington, a Lone Pine Fieldguide written by Chester Peter Lyons. I also got his book Wildflowers of Washington and an National Audubon Society Fieldguide to North American Mammals .

 

So now to the Hawthorn above. We all accepted that it was not a native species, however that is not the case. According to my new reference, the non-native species of Hawthorn is the Common Hawthorn -Crataegus monogyna, but what I observed and collected is the native Black Hawthorn -Crataegus douglasii.

...Although edible, the rough seeds make them unpopular today, but at one time they were eaten by coastal aboriginal peoples, either fresh or dried. ... pg.58

 

While agin' my penchant for minimalization :cheer:, my purchase of the books seemed justified by this particular study and I assured my companion that should I decide to dematerialize the volumes I would prejudice her favor. As fieldguides, all have durable covers and small format perfect for going afield to resolve identity on the spot.

 

That's another wrap 'til next time. :) :phones:

[freeztar]

I thought the "non-native" call was assigned to the hooly you found in the homestead area (per linked post above). I don't recall ever having a discussion about whether the hawthorne was native or not, nor do I recall ever getting past the genus level on that one. :phones:

 

But kudos on getting some guides and nailing down the species. :)

 

Hawthornes are supposedly very good for you heart. I had a friend that would soak a bunch of them in vodka for several months and then drink the vodka (after filtering). I never tried it, but it sounds fun. :cheer: