Amphibian monitoring catch up!

Two rough-skinned newt egg masses above; 1 below. Look for the pearls.

I have been neglectful in my amphibian monitoring reporting. I will catch up on the findings and the wonder of the days here. We conducted monitoring on April 4th and again on April 24th. The 1st pond- 7 tree frog egg masses; 82 long-toed salamander egg masses; 2 northwestern salamander egg masses. 2nd site- 2 rough-skinned newt egg masses. The latest visit- 1st pond- 16 tree frog egg masses; few tadpoles; and at least 20 larval salamanders of unknown species. 2nd site- 71 rough-skinned newt egg masses! (This compared to our first visit in February- 1st site 104 tree frog egg masses/14 long-toed egg masses. 2nd site- nothing.) Photos of rough-skinned newt egg masses above are from our latest visit. They lay the eggs in a few inches of water attached to the leaves or twigs/branches under water. These masses can have 2 eggs or 20 and often are well-hidden. I chose to let my partner walk in the ponds alone.

This Monday was a warm gentle Pacific Northwest spring day. As I stand recording my field partners' findings, I also keep track of the birds and other goings-on around me. I watch black-capped chickadees excavate a cavity in a small snag and dark-eyed juncoes and a golden-crowned kinglet bathe in a tiny groundwater-fed stream across the pond. The soft thudding of a downy or hairy woodpecker in the background is heard between the din of traffic- lots and lots of traffic. This whole little natural world is adjacent to a busy arterial and surrounded by homes on large lots. All this life- amphibians, birds, flowering shrubs, snags, and small ephemeral streams going about their business while dump trucks and family cars speed on by, never realizing this little island oasis exists. I hear a flock of evening grosbeaks as we finish up our survey. In the time we were at this site I also saw crows nesting, and heard the songs of bewick's wren, song sparrow, and spotted towhees.

The small seasonal ponds at the second site are fed by a seasonal stream. This is a newly created wetland area so the shrubs are sticks with leaves. The ponds are found at the end of a dead end street just off another incredibly busy street. It's much quieter here and the area is surrounded by a mostly deciduous forest with scattered western hemlocks, Douglas-fir, and western redcedar. I catch the pungent aroma of skunk cabbage from nearby unseen wetlands. The scent mixes with that of the freshly-emerged leaves of black cottonwoods, red alder and a myriad of shrub species. One of these little ponds is full of rough-skinned newt egg masses. As I'm standing at the edge looking in I also spot what appear to be caddisflies carrying their spun home of needles and leaves all around them to protect their soft bodies. I wonder if they will survive the drying up of the pond as it becomes disconnected from the stream. The newts must know, otherwise would they lay their eggs here? We know tree frogs are around but their egg masses are not in our ponds. Maybe they know more than the newts. Keep checking back as this adventure continues once a month through August.

Chickadee nest

First pond site

Second pond site

Spring sparrow

Amongst the noise of the city- buses, sirens, semi-trucks, studded tires, and so on comes the long sweet song of springs' return- the white-crowned sparrows. I don't know where they disappear to during winter in Everett; I think they just blend in because they are quiet. I see them around our place here on Camano Island but not in the city. Now they're singing back and forth across the blocks setting up their territories and looking for a mate. They sing from the wires, from the tops of lampposts, branches of rhododendrons, and other shrubs and trees throughout downtown. Here they nest on the ground (sometimes above ground in a shrub) somehow dodging opossums and stray cats.

I actually heard the first one of the spring on April 3rd in the Tulalip Casino parking lot (no I don't gamble, I was attending a conference). The next day was the first one I heard in Everett. Now I hear them every morning. A day later I saw the first violet-green swallows of Everett. Since then I see them all over the place. So many birds so little time.

Okay- not swallows or sparrow but I wanted to include a nice photo. Black oystercatchers, Washington Park May 2011.

I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder

for a moment. I felt that I was more

distinguished by that circumstance

than I should have been by any

epaulet I could have worn.

Henry David Thoreau



The front yard greeting

The backyard greeting













Not sure how to line up these photos but here are my spring greeters. I generally have to dodge the rufous hummingbirds coming in for nectar at these two red flowering currant bushes. I'm sure they are visiting the others on our property, too.

So much is happening that it's near impossible to keep up with it all. I have seen my first violet-green swallows, turkey vulture, and mourning cloak butterfly of the spring. With the return of the swallows, I finally put up the birdhouse my son made for me a few years ago. It's a special design to keep starlings and house sparrows out. It has a diamond-shaped entrance hole. Check out the backyard wildlife habitat section on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website.

The natives are greening up left and right. Serviceberry and big leaf maple are flowering. leaves of red alder, ocean spray, red elderberry, willows, cottonwoods and more are decorating the landscape with too many shades of green to describe.

chocolate lilies blooming in the oak barrel

The sweet heady scent of the newly emerging and emerged leaves of the black cottonwoods cause me to roll down my windows while driving, no matter the temperature or weather conditions, so I can absorb the scent into my soul. In this area we have plenty of rivers and streams and wetlands; and where there's water, there's often black cottonwoods. I love this tree for it's scent, it's vibrant green leaves, its seed fluffs, and it's affinity for water. I have seen some old growth cottonwoods up the Stehekin River valley easily 10 feet in diameter. Pretty big so I hugged it anyway! If you want to see some exceptionally large Fremont cottonwoods, check out the San Pedro River Riparian Reserve in SE Arizona. Short-lived trees but give them a constant supply of water and they will thrive.

So if you see some woman sniffing a cottonwood branch in the next few weeks, come join me!

"There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me, nor any thing that moves."

Thomas Jefferson

Backyard Bald Eagles

My treat this morning was to hear and spot the bald eagles as they came in to perch in the neighbors western hemlock tree that towers over our backyard.

A juvenile and adult bald eagle decided to hang out, rest, and take in the view. It must be a great view from atop the tree looking out over the fields and past them to Port Susan. I never get tired of seeing them. When the sky turned blue and the sun warmed the air I could hear bald eagles calling. I looked up to see 5 kettling on a thermal with 1 red-tailed hawk. I always wonder where they are going, are these parent birds taking a break, or are they the single adult birds of the season.

This is an energizing time of year with so much life emerging. The open spaces of the forests are filling in with light greens, dark greens, bright greens, and medium greens. The edges are aglow with whites, pinks, and yellows. I got my first whiff of the sweet scent of spring on Friday. I guess it's obvious that spring is my time of the year.

Spring's Break
Some wind
Some clouds
Some rain
Some snow

Rising upward
All the little
Flowers
Will grow

Into the hearts
Into the minds
Of those who
Cherish
The Divine

Nicholas Kirsten-Honshin