Skywatch Friday: Brooding

A bit of orange sets off an otherwise dense overcast over Skagit Bay.  It is common for the Olympic Rain Shadow to open a hole in the sky that lets a bit of sunshine through.  This bright spot only serves to emphasize a brooding sky.

Birdcam Sabotage and a Lesson

Webster's New World Dictionary defines "sabotage" in part as:

"Destruction of railroads, bridges, machinery, etc., as by enemy agents or an underground resistance."

"The deliberate obstruction of or damage to any cause, movement, activity, effort, etc."

This is the current state of affairs at my Birdcam 2 station in the back yard.  The key words in the definition are "enemy agents," "deliberate," and "damage."  In this case, the enemy agents are the non-native Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis):

This Birdcam photo shows the suet feeder under attack when it was still relatively undamaged.  For several weeks I had been getting virtually nothing but squirrel photos at the Birdcam from dawn to dusk.  Two entire cakes of suet would be consumed in a single day.  The situation was insufferable.  I took some steps to try to solve the problem.  You can see these in the photos:

1. I used a more robust latch to lock the suet cages shut.  The squirrels had learned to destroy the flimsier latches, open the cages and run off with entire cakes.
2. I noticed the squirrels preferred to chew at the suet from the bottom where it was easiest to reach.  In response, I put a small piece of sheet metal on the bottom to block access.
3. Using hardware cloth, I added a second wire cage around the suet.  This made it more difficult for the squirrels, but still allowed the birds to reach it.

These efforts were only partially successful.  While the suet cakes were now lasting up to two weeks, I was still getting almost nothing but squirrel photos.  You can also see the damage the squirrels did to the feeder in response.  These wily critters found a way to inflict revenge for my efforts.

This is what has become of most of the feeder now.  It is gradually being reduced to cedar shavings scattered on the ground.

I installed my first Birdcam a year ago last October.  From the start, and for more than a year, I had wonderful successes.  You can follow the Birdcam tag links here to see these for yourself.  There are more Birdcam photos at Wild Fidalgo.  Those successes inspired the origin of the Wild Fidalgo blog as well as the installation of a second Birdcam station.

Recently, however, my Birdcam successes seem to have gone completely off the rails.  On Birdcam 1, I am using safflower seed which the squirrels don't like.  House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) seem to love it.  At this station I am now getting almost exclusively House Finch shots in mobs.  This is a non-native bird which has been spread by human activity, agriculture, and ironically, bird feeding.  They have been lured into new territories far distant from their homeland in Mexico and the Southwest US.  In the process, they are outcompeting and displacing our native Purple and Cassin's Finches.

There is a lesson to be learned here and it is revealed by the House Finch story.  Bird feeders are not a normal part of the environment.  In fact, we see that they change the environment significantly.  They disrupt natural feeding habits and alter the wildlife normally found in a particular spot.

Eastern Gray Squirrels and House Finches have found food sources they like in my yard.  More and more are attracted, and now these aggressive species are displacing everything else.  When things go awry, we have nobody but ourselves to blame.

For the moment, both Birdcam stations are shut down.  I am only stocking a couple of feeders the squirrels cannot reach and with food the House Finches don't relish.  Hopefully, a period of cooling down will help get things back to normal.

This post is also being published at Wild Fidalgo.

Visiting the Highlands

After several days of overcast and gloom, the skies cleared and the sun come out.  Friday was a perfect day to do some exploring around the east shore of Padilla Bay.  I spent about two hours trekking the Samish Flats West 90 Ponds just south of Samish Island.  More on that later.

On the way home, I stopped at the Breazeale Interpretive Center and took a quick spin around the Upland Nature Trail (.pdf).  This is a great spot to catch a glimpse of Mount Baker.  As luck would have it, the Scottish Highland Cattle in the adjacent field had gathered to add a unique pastoral setting to the view.  Baker is an active volcano, one of several in the Cascade Range born of the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Also called kyloe, these have to be the most charming of all breeds of cattle.  They are described as a very sturdy breed having been developed in the harsh conditions of the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland.  Both the bulls and cows sport horns.

A warm, sunny day in early February is a perfect time for a snooze.  The shaggy hair over the face projects an air of laid back contentment and peacefulness.  I was completely won over by these beautiful animals.

The pile of stones in the center of this photo gives evidence of our glacial origins.  The stones were gathered from the fields to make them suitable for farming.  Another pile of stones can be seen in the first photo on the left side.  A third will be found along the Upland Nature Trail.  The very same stony conditions are found in my yard on South Fidalgo Island.  This entire region was shaped and carved by successive Ice Age glaciations.  Stony ground, of course, is a piece of cake for Scottish Highland Cattle.

Across Padilla Bay to the west is Fidalgo Island and the oil refineries on March's Point.

Skywatch Friday: Low Ceiling

I have been able to catch a few interesting and Skywatch-worthy photos recently.  The big pink cloud appeared to be right over the beach at my eye level.  I wondered if I would be enveloped by it.  The late afternoon sky opened briefly over Skagit Bay between a series of snow events that rolled through western Washington.

Skywatch Friday: Winter Light

Snow has been lurking around Western Washington this past week.  It came with a vengeance on Tuesday and Wednesday and it is not leaving without a fight.   A rare freezing rain ice storm has characterized Thursday and it has shut down much of western Washington.  This is why we appreciate a break in the clouds over Skagit Bay and a little late afternoon sun.

West Beach in Winter

Cranberry Lake Wetlands

One of my favorite spots to explore is the West Beach/Cranberry Lake area in Deception Pass State Park.  A variety of landforms and ecosystems are packed into a relatively small area.  These include seashore similar to oceanfront, sand dunes, rocky shores, fresh water lake with adjacent wetland, old growth coniferous forest and a unique dune forest.  All of this sits amid some spectacular Northwest scenery.

Red Alder (Alnus rubra)

Winter is my favorite season to visit the park.  This is a time to enjoy colors, patterns and textures.  Don't expect to find it drab and lifeless.  The landscape sparkles and shadows play in the low winter sun.  With few visitors to disturb them, wildlife will be out and about making a living in this more difficult time of year.

In the sand dunes, deep-rooted dune grasses, moss, low growing trees and other plants are primary defenses against the persistent winds.  They also help trap and hold a little moisture since the sand can hold none.  Plants that are delicate, that require a lot of resources or those with shallow roots will not survive here.

Seashore Bluegrass (Poa macrantha)

Seashore Bluegrass (Poa macrantha)

Dune Grass (Elymus mollis)

A self-guided interpretive trail takes visitors through the sand dunes and the dune forest.  The trail is wheelchair-friendly.  Both people and dogs are welcome if kept on the paths and cleaned up after.

Several lichens decorate the trees and shrubs in the dune forest.  Still more grow on stones, fallen logs and even the path.  This is a sign of an old-growth forest.  I believe this could be Usnea wirthii, Blood-spattered Beard.  Please let me know if I am wrong.  Don't be mislead by the modest size of the trees here.  They are older than they look.

Pacific Madrona (Arbutus menziesii)

Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

This very special Douglas Fir has lived at the edge of the backdune for more then 850 years.

Oceanspray (Holodiscus discolor)

Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)

I have not been able to identify three of the plants pictured here.  I would appreciate hearing from anyone who can help with this.

UPDATE:  A friend emailed me with the ID for this flower, Pearly Everlasting.  What a charming and appropriate name.

Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis)

Out in the dunes, Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir grow low to the ground to duck the winds.  Grasses and other plants find some protection huddling around the trees.  The plants and trees help to stabilize their sand dune host against the winds.

Semi-Aquatic grass sleeps at the edge of Cranberry Lake.  When spring comes, this will become a nursery for aquatic life.

The outgoing tide leaves trails on the beach, perhaps to guide the way home again.

Bleached by the sun and polished by wind and sand, driftwood echoes the antiquity of the dunes.

Salal (Gaultheria shallon)

Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)

Douglas Fir Cones (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

Identify the female cones of Douglas Fir by the tails and hind legs of "mice" trying to hide under the scales.  Strobilus is the formal name for the cone.  This time of year, they are abundant in the litter at the base of the trees.

Shore Pine (Pinus contorta)

Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium)

The Deception Pass bridge connects Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands as well as the two sections of the state park.  The West Beach/Cranberry Lake area is on Whidbey on the right.  A short trail from West Beach leads to the Amphitheater and North Beach where this picture was taken.  The North Beach trail continues all the way to the bridge.  After my visit, the bridge will take me home to Fidalgo Island.

Skywatch Friday: Another Skagit Bay Sunrise

Sunrise over Skagit Bay, 9:03 AM January 5, 2012.  It would be a chilly but beautiful, sunny day.  This characterizes the weather here so for 2012.  That is supposed to end this weekend with possible lowland snow predicted for western Washington.

The Forest Moon of Endor

Star Wars fans will recognize the landscape.  Actually, some of the Endor scenes in the movies were filmed not far from here on Vancouver Island.  This photo was taken in Washington Park in the city of Anacortes, Washington.

Two of the trees pictured have special cultural significance in the Pacific Northwest.  The large trunks in the foreground are Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata).  They are actually Arborvitae meaning "tree of life," and not true cedars.  An alternate name is Giant Arborvitae.  We know the wood of this tree for its beauty, durability and wonderful aroma.  Dust Lichen imparts the gray-green color to the bark.  Western Redcedar is the official tree of British Columbia, Canada.

True to its name, Native Americans revered the tree as the "life-giver."  Some called themselves "People of the Cedar."  Wood, bark and roots were all used to make planks and posts for housing, canoes, clothing, textiles, mats, baskets, bentwood boxes, art works, masks and medicines.  Totem and story poles were carved from the trunks.  Elaborate carved and painted cedar panels decorated houses.  It was a special skill to strip some bark from a tree and leave it to survive and heal itself.  Trees marked with scarring from human activity are designated cultural heritage trees.  Those that date before 1846 are considered archaeological sites and protected by law in Canada.

The spindlier trees growing from the stump in the center of the photo are Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla).  The trees typically germinate in the rotted wood of so-called "nurse logs" which have fallen to the forest floor.  As in the photo, old, rotted stumps also serve this purpose.  The tree is extremely shade-tolerant.  Saplings may linger several years in the shady understory.  Then, when an opening in the canopy provides some light, their growth rate will accelerate and they assume their place among the giants.  In the circle of life, a tree downed by the wind might first provide such an opening.  Later, it will foster new generations as a nurse log.  The presence of mature Western Hemlock is an indicator of a late-successional forest.

The state tree of Washington, Western Hemlock is a primary source of lumber in the Pacific Northwest.  Like the Redcedar, it was also important to indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast.  The bark is high in tannin which was used for treating hides.  Textile dyes and paints were made from the bark.  Hemlock pitch and bark were used to prepare medicinals and cosmetics.  These included liniments, cold remedies, diuretics and hair remover.  The wood is durable and easily carved and was shaped into tableware, bows, basket rims and dip-net poles.  Shoots were chewed as an appetite suppressant when food was scarce.

The forests of the Endor moon, home of the Ewoks and the site of a speeder bike race are not fictional places.  For lovers of nature, they may be visited in the Pacific Northwest, from Alaska to Northern California.  Like great mythic adventures, the real stories from these forests can be endlessly fascinating.