Album of Union Creek Falls Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 23 July 2016 spider collecting trip to Union Creek Falls along the American River highway, Yakima County, Washington. I had hoped the waterfall gorge would still be moist enough to have a spider fauna — and it was, to a certain extent, but with one exception the species taken there were common. The nearby uplands were well dried-out with a sparse fauna. The riparian zone near the trailhead yielded enough to boost the sample to 24 species, and also had white pine cones for Laurel. See Laurel's account of the trip here.
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
2011 aerial photo of Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington trailhead parking lot, Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington
Collecting sites: trailhead (T), falls (F) and upland (U)
(Yakima County, 2011)		 Guess which car is the spider collectors'?          © Rod Crawford
Rod Crawford crossing log bridge, Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington gorge below Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington
Rod crossing the log bridge      © Laurel Ramseyer Gorge below the waterfall              © Rod Crawford
Union Creek Falls from below, Yakima County, Washington Union Creek Falls from below, Yakima County, Washington
Yes, it's a real waterfall         © Rod Crawford First glimpse of the falls                © Rod Crawford
forest floor in the gorge of Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer at Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington
Forest floor in the gorge; vanillaleaf understory    © Rod Crawford Laurel below the falls              © Rod Crawford
Callobius spider web Amaurobiidae on wall of gorge, Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington female Callobius spider Amaurobiidae, Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington
Typical Callobius web on rocky wall of gorge      © Laurel Ramseyer Female Callobius                  © Laurel Ramseyer
pile of bark chips in gorge of Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington young female hikers at Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington
Sifting bark chips brought one good spider   © Rod Crawford Tourists              © Rod Crawford
dead wood on forest floor, gorge of Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington bark fragments on forest floor, Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington
Dead wood habitat             © Rod Crawford Fallen bark fragments, a good habitat           © Rod Crawford
top of Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington Union Creek Trail above Union Creek Falls, Yakima County, Washington
Falls viewed from higher up          © Rod Crawford On the trail, climbing out of the gorge         © Rod Crawford
fallen logs in windthrow area, Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington forest windthrow area, Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington
Fallen logs made travel difficult     © Rod Crawford Upland windthrow area added a few species         © Rod Crawford
grass in windthrow area, Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington green Misumena vatia crab spider Thomisidae, Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington
Sweeping upland grass…        © Rod Crawford …netted just one species, Misumena vatia            © Laurel Ramseyer
alligator lizard hiding under loose bark, Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington female orbweaver spider Cyclosa conica from Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington
Alligator lizard peeks out       © Laurel Ramseyer Laurel spotted this nice Cyclosa conica in a lofty web            © Rod Crawford
juvenile harvestman with Leptus mite parasite, Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington female spider Linyphiidae Neriene radiata from Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington
Juvenile harvestman with a Leptus mite   © Rod Crawford Laurel also spotted a nice Neriene radiata        © Rod Crawford
Laurel Ramseyer crosses log over creek, Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington forest landscape from trail, Union Creek Falls area, Yakima County, Washington
Laurel crosses the log on our way down     © Rod Crawford Forest landscape viewed from Union Creek Trail               © Laurel Ramseyer
forest understory near Union Creek trailhead, Yakima County, Washington gravel bar on Union Creek near Union Creek trailhead, Yakima County, Washington
Diverse riparian understory           © Rod Crawford Gravel bar on lower Union Creek            © Rod Crawford
geometrid moth, Scopula sp. prob. junctaria, in riparian zone, lower Union Creek, Yakima County, Washington gravel bar flowers, lower Union Creek, Yakima County, Washington
Geometrid moth: Scopula sp.        © Laurel Ramseyer Attractive floral display on gravel bar              © Rod Crawford
white pine Pinus monticola trunk, lower Union Creek, Yakima County, Washington lower Union Creek near trailhead, Yakima County, Washington
White pine tree, a welcome sight    © Laurel Ramseyer Lower Union Creek; note Laurel on right               © Rod Crawford
xnow on Naches Peak, Chinook Pass, Washington, 23 July 2016 Mount Rainier from viewpoint below Chinook Pass, Washington, 23 July 2016
Still snow on Naches Peak        © Rod Crawford Mt. Rainier from a highway viewpoint               © Rod Crawford
true fir Abies foliage, Union Creek trailhead, Yakima County, Washington sunset from south Seattle, Washington on 23 July 2016
Fir foliage near the trailhead       © Rod Crawford Sunset as we come into Seattle                © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 23 October, 2016