Album of Upper Schnebly Coulee Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Hannah Dykstra from our 25 May 2014 spider collecting trip to upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington. Aimed at supplementing an old sample, we almost made it, getting a number of good records but finding several groups and species that ought to have been common, totally absent. Hannah (from Georgia) enjoyed her first exposure to Artemisia shrub-steppe. No disasters, and the day ended with great Mountain High burgers.
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
sign on gate, Highline Canal access road, NE of Ellensburg, Kittitas County, Washington gate, Highline Canal access road, NE of Ellensburg, Kittitas County, Washington
How dare they!           © Rod Crawford Last access to a square mile of public land, forbidden!        © Rod Crawford
aerial photo, 2014, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington spider collecting site, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Aerial view of our consolation site   (Kittitas County, 2014) We parked beside the Old Vantage Highway           © Rod Crawford
Hannah Dykstra at car, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington wind turbines on hill overlooking upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Hannah gets ready to sweep grass          © Rod Crawford The hills are alive…          © Rod Crawford
wind turbine on hill overlooking upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington wind-bent grass, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
…with the wind in turbines           © Rod Crawford The wind also gave grass a permanent stoop            © Hannah Dykstra
Heteroptera from grass, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington grassy field in coulee bottom, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Heteroptera were common in grass       © Hannah Dykstra We swept lots of orbweavers from field habitat                  © Rod Crawford
Icaricia butterfly, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington male orbweaver Metepeira foxi, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Token butterfly photo from famous butterfly site  © Hannah Dykstra Orbweaver Metepeira foxi was commonest spider           © Rod Crawford
invasive cheat grass Bromus tectorum, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington invasive cheat grass, Bromus tectorum, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Invasive plants are everywhere             © Rod Crawford Bromus tectorum, cheat grass                 © Hannah Dykstra
seeds of cheat grass, Bromus tectorum, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington Bromus tectorum surrounding native grass, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Bromus grows up to 300 nasssty seeds per plant!   © Hannah Dykstra Bromus has native bunchgrass surrounded         © Rod Crawford
small sagebrush at upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington small sagebrush at upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Sagebrush was sparse…          © Rod Crawford …and small at the site               © Rod Crawford
ant, Formica sp. on sagebrush, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington dead branches, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Formica ant on sagebrush         © Hannah Dykstra Dead branches frame steppe habitat            © Rod Crawford
scarab beetle Paracotalpa granicollis, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington blue sky, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Steppe scarab, Paracotalpa granicollis      © Hannah Dykstra Some blue sky appears between the clouds              © Rod Crawford
flowers of Ribes shrub, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington Ribes sp. shrub, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Ribes flowers           © Hannah Dykstra Thorn of a Ribes shrub stabbed me to the quick               © Rod Crawford
blanketflower Gaillardia aristata, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington hawksbeard, Crepis sp., upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Blanketflower, Gaillardia acuminata        © Rod Crawford Hawksbeard, Crepis sp.              © Rod Crawford
faded Balsamorhiza plant, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington lupine, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Faded Balsamorhiza              © Rod Crawford Patch of lupine              © Rod Crawford
Eriogonum plant, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington robber fly, Asilidae, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Eriogonum plant            © Rod Crawford Robber fly              © Hannah Dykstra
bee fly Bombylius major, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington black widow web Latrodectus hesperus, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Spring bee fly Bombylius major       © Hannah Dykstra Black widow web            © Hannah Dykstra
dictynid spider habitat with no spiders, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington deer droppings with purple Allium flowers, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Typical dictynid spider habitat; no spiders    © Rod Crawford Deer droppings with flowers                    © Rod Crawford
Allium flower, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington pirate spider Mimetidae Mimetus  hesperus, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Allium (wild onion) flower            © Hannah Dykstra Mimetus hesperus from a tumbleweed        © Rod Crawford
darkling beetle Eleodes sp., upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington bigger sagebrush at second site, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington
Eleodes darkling beetle         © Hannah Dykstra Bigger sagebrush at second site                    © Rod Crawford
bigger sagebrush at second site, upper Schnebly Coulee, Kittitas County, Washington rain on Interstate 90 near Tinkham Road exit, 25 May 2014
This site produced 2 additional species      © Rod Crawford Back to rainy western Washington                    © Rod Crawford


This page last updated 26 June, 2014