5:00 - 6:00 PM
Partly cloudy about 70 degrees Fahrenheit
Another dry day! It has been sunny and warm for at least a week now so parts of the swamp away from the lake are a little more drier than usual. The first thing I noticed once I got to the swamp was that the Nootka rose had flowered. The large pink flowers now provide even more useful information of identification. Once into the swamp, I was again surprised by how much growth had taken place. Each week it seems like the trail is getting narrower and narrower due to the plant growth. About halfway down the trail to the lake there is some kind of grass that had really grown a lot that I wouldn't be able to see over if I was much shorter. This is a good example of the different kinds of niches you can find just within this small space.
Further down the trail I got to the skunk cabbage and it was about the only thing that didn't seem to have grown a whole lot - if at all. As I walked up to the skunk cabbage which is just a couple feet from the lake, something jumped into the water. I'm assuming it was a frog, and from now on I'm going to try being extra sneaky when I make my way around that corner. After all that, the last stretch of trail to the lake was very different than it had been before. There was a tree knocked over and in the way, and there were a ton of flies. This is the latest I've come to Yesler Swamp and it has been nice and warm out, so maybe this is a prime spot for these little flies that fly in packs and zig-zag every which way.
Here is the Nootka Rose in full bloom!
This is the same Nootka Rose. Next week there should be flowers all over!
Here is one of two fallen trees over the path. The base was in very loose watery soil, so it isn't too surprising.
The main assignment this week was to closely observe birds. The birds I saw and can identify were American crows, mallards, great blue heron, gadwalls, song sparrows, and American robins. One bird that I couldn't identify I tried following as long as I could. The bird was a little smaller than a robin but bigger than a sparrow and was a solid brown color with a solid white breast. It had a distinct song that I tried to remember but failed at doing so. It was standing on the top of a shrub very close to the trail and singing it's song loudly and with a consistent gap of about 5 seconds between finishing it's song and starting it again. I was close enough to it that I didn't need binoculars and I was surprised it didn't fly away immediately, but it must be used to people walking by on the trail and not hanging around very long. I tried unzipping my backpack to get my guidebook to identify it, and as soon as he heard the zipper he flew down away from the trail and on to the ground where I couldn't see him but I could still hear him. After about a minute he stopped his song and I never heard from him anymore.
The other bird I followed were a pair of mallards. The whole time I observed them (about 10-15 minutes) they were just swimming around the little cove of water and occasionally skimming their beaks across the water and picking at lily pads now and then. That's literally what they did the whole time. They never got much more than 6 feet a part either - they just hung together eating and drinking.
This sign is at the beginning of the trail. It's a cinnamon teal! I haven't actually seen one at the swamp yet, but I hope I do soon.
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