Album of Bear Mountain Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 5-6 October 2013 spider collecting trip to Bear Mountain, overlooking Chelan, Chelan County, Washington. Bear Mountain and nearby Bear Creek were the first stops on our week-long expedition to eastern Washington in aid of Laurel's pine-cone spiders project (her version of the day is here, second site here). Excellent weather and good habitats brought us 30 spider species here, making 36 with prior records, and including one microspider new to the state. This was the 500th gridspace sample for the Washington Spider Survey! Our first and main site was on the summit ridge of Bear Mountain at a radio facility:
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
Aerial view of spider collecting sites on Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington Bear Mountain as seen from Chelan, Washington
Our site was where road loops, center right (Chelan County, 2008) Bear Mountain seen from Chelan in the evening         © Laurel Ramseyer
Mule deer on Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington Mule deer on Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Mule deer…               © Rod Crawford …were in abundance along the road          © Rod Crawford
Laurel Ramseyer puts on shoes, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington Meadow with Purshia shrubs, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Laurel dons footwear for the field      © Rod Crawford Meadow with Purshia shrubs         © Rod Crawford
male linyphiid spider Pityohyphantes kamela, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington Douglas-fir foliage Pseudotsuga menziesii, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Pityohyphantes kamela        © Rod Crawford Ever-reliable fir foliage               © Rod Crawford
stink bug, shield bug, Pentatomidae, from sagebrush, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington shed antler from young deer, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Big green shield bug from sagebrush    © Laurel Ramseyer Young deer left his calling card             © Laurel Ramseyer
radio facility where we collected spiders on Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington microspider Scotinotylus sanctus from fir foliage on Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Our road led to this radio facility       © Rod Crawford Male Scotinotylus sanctus            © Rod Crawford
isolated sagebrush Artemisia tridentata, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington diverse grass and herbs in meadow, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Lonely but fragrant sagebrush bush   © Rod Crawford Diverse grass and herbs in the meadow    © Rod Crawford
female microspider Meioneta fillmorana Linyphiidae from Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington edge of ridgetop meadow, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Female Meioneta fillmorana        © Rod Crawford Edge of the ridge crest meadow        © Rod Crawford
Pine cones ready to sample for spiders, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington grove of Ponderosa pine trees, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Laurel found plenty of pine cones       © Laurel Ramseyer Grove of Ponderosa pines              © Laurel Ramseyer
clouds, evening of 5 October 2013, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington view of Chelan from Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Evening cloud formation         © Rod Crawford View of Chelan from the mountain (day)              © Rod Crawford
Rod's tent on Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington sunset, 5 October 2013, Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
Rod's tent, a bit off the beaten track   © Laurel Ramseyer Sunset on Bear Mountain         © Rod Crawford
Lights of Chelan at night, from Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington Sunrise, 6 October 2013, on Bear Mountain, near Chelan, Washington
View of Chelan from the mountain (night) © Rod Crawford And then came the dawn!                © Rod Crawford

Our second site (the morning of October 6) was on Bear Creek, draining Bear Mountain to the northwest.

aerial photo of spider collecting site on Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington grassland and riparian habitats, Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington
Road comes down hillside grassland to riparian woods
(Chelan County, 2008)		 Looking up at the grassland, all fenced and dew-covered      © Rod Crawford
Ponderosa pine trunk, Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington fall colors, Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington
Ponderosa pine trunk            © Laurel Ramseyer Fall colors beginning already                © Laurel Ramseyer
European earwig Forficula auricularia from pine cones, Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington Crab spider Ebo sp. from pine cones, Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington
Pine cones contained earwigs…       © Laurel Ramseyer …but also an interesting crab spider, genus Ebo         © Rod Crawford
female microspider Linyphiidae from riparian leaf litter, Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington grassy hillside, Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington
Microneta viaria from riparian litter        © Rod Crawford Sunny, grassy hillside             © Laurel Ramseyer
Sign for Bear Mountain Private Conservancy, Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington solitary Ponderosa pine tree, Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington
Mysterious "private conservancy" refuge   © Rod Crawford Well-separated roadside pine trees             © Rod Crawford
Rod Crawford at Bear Creek, 8 miles west of Chelan, Washington Laurel Ramseyer at
Rod looking up the road          © Laurel Ramseyer Laurel coming down the road                     © Rod Crawford
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This page last updated 13 February, 2015