Week 1 (Ravenna Park)

Date: Sunday April 14, 2013
Weather: Sunny, with a few cloud coverage blocking
Temperature: ~50 degrees F
Time: 3pm-4pm
Location: Ravenna Park (Note: I actually got significantly lost) did not know how huge this park actually was.

My observation spot for this quarter will be Ravenna Park. Originally, I was not too terribly fond about picking this location. Not because of anything that was displeasing (it's a fabulous park, that prior to this class I had never been to it interestingly enough) but because I did not want to use the same site as some of our class field work will take place. I am in an odd phase of moving out in the next few weeks so it did not make sense to find a natural habitat in the area I currently live, thus why I chose Ravenna park, it will be a lot closer to the new apartment I will be living in. When I got lost, I actually stumbled about some very cool areas that had a lot of natural growth. It also looked as thought they were doing some restoration projects where they were planting what looked like trees, shrubs, and various green vegetation. 

Anways, 

This was the first time I had been to the site with the exception of the class field work last Thursday. I was here briefly, it was actually quite beautiful because of the amazing weather. Here is a photo of the site below. It is in a different area of where we were during the class field work, so again, I was lost. But I found a nice patch of area that allowed me to view a variation of species. Here is a picture below of the spot that I have chosen. 

This is a very vague picture of my spot. To the right of this photo is a grass patch. It would be ideal for the summer months and just laying out and enjoying nature, I almost felt like I was in a secret spot that nobody knows about. It. Was. Magic. 

This was a great stress reliever to be out in the woods. Nature is my passion, so to be able to be involved in a course like this is truly amazing. I started off taking a walk around various off-beaten trail baths. I figured by doing this I would have found more natural/native species. I was correct. I found a lot of vegetation that had grown naturally and was uninterrupted. 

When I first got there, I was overwhelmed by the species that were present. I was first welcomed by some big trees, they were literally everywhere. I was skeptical at first because I am a rather rookie at identifying trees but as I started to look at my field guide I knew that it wasn't actually that difficult to identify a few of the trees.

I believe this is a Big Leaf Maple (Acermacrophyllum). I was not sure at first because it did not really look like a maple tree to me. When I took a closer look to see what had fallen of the tree, I noticed the leaves that fell were a yellowish clump that seemed appropriate for this species. Below is a picture of the fallen leaves from the tree. 

I could be totally mis-naming this species but I feel like I am right, it fits the description of the classification I had made.

Next, I found a tree that looked similar to a Cherry Blossom tree. The branches on this tree were very thin and so was the trunk of the tree. I am not sure if I could actually identify this one yet. I may have to come back and re-label this species. Here is a picture below.

This species (unidentified) had little white flower buds throughout the branches. It was very beautiful. If I had to take a stab at identifying this tree, I would say it would be a Pacific Dogwood (Cornus Nuttalli).

Here is another tree that I can no identify as of right now

The shape of the tree should be a massive indicator to what sort of tree it is, but I do not have the knowledge yet with identifying trees. I am more of a flower girl and can name more species of wildflowers than anything. This tree had a red bark though it was very interesting. Here is a close up of the tree below.

Again, the trunk is think and it has red bark. I am going to have to come back to identify this in the near future. 

I will post a few pictures now to conclude and try to identify them as I go. 

These seemed like they were everywhere!

These are very common in most places. Yet, I still did not know how to properly classify them. As I was looking through my field guide book I found two possible species. Out of the two, it looked more like the English Daisy (Bellis Perennis). 

I wanted to start off slow with identifying foliage. I am actually more interested in birding and wildflowers but this was still a lot of fun. As I was walking through and trying to find species, I saw a few birds that I was not expecting to see. First, I saw a Stellar Jay. He was perched on a tree. I used to see Stella Jay's all of the time by my old house. I have always liked this bird a lot. They are blue and just look rather fierce. I then saw a common bird of the Pacific Northwest. It was a Bushtit (funny name) but very cute species. They are small and look similar to a Chickadee (to which I saw many of those as well). 

I am anxious to get more familiar with the names of these species. Until then, I will probably have a lot of unidentified species that I will have to come back and fill in later on. Overall it was a great day at the park. I didn't realize how big the park was, it is insane!