4/14/12

Location: My house in Bryn Mawr Skyway, close to South Seattle.

Coordinates: (47.4927114, -122.239218)

Weather: It was partly cloudy and 61 degrees F. Every now and then the clouds would part and it would be quite warm. Overall it was a pleasantly warm day.

Habitat: Down the gravel road from the busy street, is my house. My driveway is surrounded on all sides by brambles and blackberry bushes. Tall trees grow in piles of common Ivy. As the driveway proceeds, the trees seem to get taller. The tallest trees are Big Leaf Maples. They are the home to many small sparrows and other small mammals. Lining my yard are medium shrubs and prickly brambles. Birds like to perch there and chat with each other. Surrounding my house is a giant grassy yard. The yard is always green and growing. In the middle is a bird feeder so that squirrels can't get to it. It attract songbirds from all over the area. Ever since we set it up, I've been seeing newer and more colorful birds. The back yard is just as large as the front yard. A very tall laurel hedge divides our house and yard from our neighbor's. Birds and other creatures like to hide in there. There is a very suspicious trail from the beneath the shed to the laurel hedge. It never goes away even when we mow the lawn because I assume it is well traveled by some strange creature at night. I also often hear coyotes calling to each other at nighttime. Sometimes I hear them by my window in the middle of the night and they sound like crying babies. It's rather scary.

Vegetation: The large plantlife is mostly deciduous trees. Many of them are native, like the Big Leaf Maple and Black Cottonwood. However, some are also planted by my family like Dogwoods and fruit trees. Somehow, in my backyard, wild grapes of some kind decided to grow from my neighbor's yard and climb up our ancient apple tree. Next to our apple tree grows cherry, plum, and pear trees. There are also little, non-tree plants growing everywhere at my house. There are many bushes and shrubs, wildflowers, berry bushes, and blackberry bushes.

General Comments: I have seen and heard a wider variety and greater amount of birds at my house than I have at state parks. My house really feels like a natural area away from the city and away from a lot of people. It's a great place to bird watch and see all kinds of birds, from hummingbirds to eagles. Before this class, I never knew the wide variety of nature growing right at my house.

Species List: Carpenter Ant (Camponotus floridanus)
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri)
Black House Spider (Badumna insignis)
Lawrence's Goldfinch (Carduelis lawrencei)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Leycesteria formosa
Form Prunus laurocerasus rotundifolia
Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium)
An unidentified berrying plant
American Plum (Prunus americana)
Common Pear (Pyrus communis)
Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota)
An unidentified moth

Publicado el 01 de mayo de 2012 a las 07:20 AM por velizo