Album of Olney Pass Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and new volunteer Chris Smitelli from our 7 June 2017 spider collecting trip to Olney Pass (near Spada Lake), north of Gold Bar, Snohomish County, Washington. In fine weather, a very good road brought us closer than I ever dreamed possible to Spada Lake (City of Everett water supply), at Olney Pass where a marshy pond feeds both Olney Creek (a major stream flowing SW) and a brook flowing NE to the lake. We found a spider-rich grassy field, a practically new clearcut that had good spiders nevertheless, and assorted rich forest habitats for a total of 36 species. I'd been hoping to sample this area for some time but never thought it would be so easy!
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circa 2012 aerial photo of Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington grassy
Our 2 collecting sites in red (either side of pass, Spada Lake upper rt)
(Snohomish County, 2012)		 Grassy field/meadow beside parking lot produced 14 species!    © Rod Crawford
Chris Smitelli sweeping grassy field, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington conifers across the road from parking lot, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Chris Smitelli sweeping the grass       © Rod Crawford Dense conifers across road from the grass field           © Rod Crawford
Misumena vatia flower crab spider on buttercup, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington within alder grove feeding NE-flowing creek, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Misumena vatia on a meadow buttercup   © Chris Smitelli In an alder grove near the meadow        © Rod Crawford
alder grove next to meadow, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington brook flowing NE to lake from Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Alder grove had good moss            © Rod Crawford Little brook in alder grove flows NE to lake           © Rod Crawford
litter-free ground under alder tree, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington devil's club Oplopanax horridus, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
No litter on ground under alder tree   © Rod Crawford Devil's Club             © Rod Crawford
Ceraticelus microspider Linyphiidae from understory, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington salmonberry Rubus spectabilis, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Ceraticelus microspider from understory    © Rod Crawford Dense salmonberry was common                    © Rod Crawford
inaccessible meadow by pond, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington pond below road (Olney Creek source), Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Marshy meadow by pond, inaccessible     © Rod Crawford Pond at Olney Pass          © Rod Crawford
Chris Smitelli photographing wolf spider, clearcut near Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington clearcut near Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Chris photographing wolf spider below   © Rod Crawford Far across clearcut, it looked like rich conifer foliage            © Rod Crawford
wolf spider Lycosidae Pardosa dorsuncata in clearcut, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington clearcut, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Pardosa dorsuncata with eggs in clearcut   © Chris Smitelli Once we got to far end, little access to trees          © Rod Crawford
western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla foliage, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington alder grove and understory, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Spindly western hemlock had some spiders  © Rod Crawford Alder stand with tall salmonberry                © Rod Crawford
trash litter in clearcut, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington shotgun shells in clearcut, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Different kind of litter in clearcut         © Rod Crawford Multicolored shotgun shells             © Rod Crawford
Cornus canadensis, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington Tetragnathid spider Tetragnatha versicolor, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Cornus canadensis            © Rod Crawford Tetragnatha versicolor, common in most habitats             © Chris Smitelli
old stump and fallen dead wood, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington old stump in young hemlock stand, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Stump from the old days dropping dead wood      © Rod Crawford Old stump in stand of not-so-old hemlocks              © Rod Crawford
Chris Smitelli collecting from dead wood habitat, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington western redback salamander Plethodon vehiculum under log, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Chris collects from rich dead wood under a snag     © Rod Crawford Western redbacked salamander under a log                 © Chris Smitelli
giant skunk cabbage Lysichiton americanus, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington Chris Smitelli glimpsed sweeping understory by tributary of Olney Creek, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Giant skunk cabbage                © Rod Crawford Chris glimpsed sweeping tall, dense riparian understory             © Rod Crawford
headwaters of Olney Creek or tributary, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington headwaters of Olney Creek or tributary, Olney Pass, Snohomish County, Washington
Olney Creek already substantial…            © Rod Crawford …just below source pond at pass             © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 11 June, 2017