Album of Fidalgo Head Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 21 November 2015 spider collecting trip to Fidalgo Head, a rocky headland west of Anacortes, Skagit County, Washington. We collected here on this lovely, though somewhat chilly day because it just edges past the 122.7° longitude line, the only part of that area we could access without a boat. But the rocky (ultramafic, as it turns out), near-shore habitat proved interesting for its own sake, though not quite what I expected. Madrona-fir litter in particular, plus Douglas-fir foliage, Douglas-fir cones, and a few species from other habitats gave us 23-25 species for the site. See Laurel's account of the day too!
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Laurel Ramseyer taps pine cones by parking lot, Anacortes Marina, Anacortes, Washington Mount Baker behind Anacortes Marina, Anacortes, Washington
Laurel taps pine cones by an Anacortes parking lot   © Rod Crawford Mount Baker behind the Anacortes Marina           © Rod Crawford
2011 aerial view of Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington trailhead for Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Aerial view of Fidalgo Head      (Skagit County, 2011) Somewhat inconspicuous trailhead              © Rod Crawford
sea cliff on Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington outcrop, short grass, juniper and Douglas-fir on Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Sea cliff adjacent to fir-beating site      © Rod Crawford Basic, rocky habitats on the headland           © Rod Crawford
deer scat, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington deer tracks, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Plenty of deer sign: scat…        © Rod Crawford …and tracks              © Laurel Ramseyer
Balsamorhiza plant, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington precipitous slope to salt water, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Unexpected Balsamorhiza flower         © Laurel Ramseyer Precipitous and slippery!             © Rod Crawford
madrona Arbutus menziesii in forest, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington Amaurobiid spider Zanomys aquilonia from madrona litter, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Madrona in forest             © Rod Crawford Zanomys aquilonia from madrona litter             © Rod Crawford
red madrona wood, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington madrona-fir leaf litter, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Red madrona wood           © Laurel Ramseyer Madrona-fir litter, best habitat (when warmed up)         © Rod Crawford
Douglas-fir cone with spider web on it, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington Douglas-fir foliage, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Note web near base of Douglas-fir cone  © Laurel Ramseyer Douglas-fir foliage rich even though cold           © Rod Crawford
unidentified linyphiid spider from Douglas-fir cones, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington stratigraphy of ultramafic rock, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Unidentified linyphiid from cones         © Laurel Ramseyer Stratigraphy (serpentinized dunite & harzburgite)          © Laurel Ramseyer
spider egg sac post-predation, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington Theridion californicum from Douglas-fir foliage, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Something has eaten the spider eggs    © Laurel Ramseyer Theridion californicum from Douglas-fir foliage               © Rod Crawford
shadow of Laurel Ramseyer and her net, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington Laurel Ramseyer sweeping exceedingly sparse grass, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
What spiders lurk? Only the Shadow knows!     © Laurel Ramseyer Laurel sweeps the exceedingly sparse grass        © Rod Crawford
possibly new Tenuiphantes near zibus from litter, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington "meadow" of very short grass, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Possibly new "Tenuiphantes"      © Rod Crawford When the grass wasn't sparse it was super-short             © Laurel Ramseyer
pseudoscorpion, Chthoniidae, from Douglas-fir cone, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington trail through a clearing, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
20 chthoniids from 50 fir cones!      © Laurel Ramseyer Trail enters the sparse forest             © Rod Crawford
carapace of corinnid spider Meriola californica, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington Burrows Island from Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Carapace of Meriola californica       © Rod Crawford Burrows Island across the channel             © Laurel Ramseyer
moss on boulder in woods, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington sparse woods with mossy boulders, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Moss on boulder had some spiders        © Rod Crawford Sparse woods with mossy boulders             © Rod Crawford
atypically colored Theridion simile spider, Theridiidae, from fir foliage, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington fruticose lichens, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Atypically colored Theridion simile       © Rod Crawford There were little forests of fruticose lichens             © Laurel Ramseyer
park-bench-like seat, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington Phrurotimpus borealis spider from madrona litter, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Seat overlooks a vewpoint            © Rod Crawford Phrurotimpus borealis from madrona litter             © Rod Crawford
dusk at Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington sunset, 21 November 2015, Fidalgo Head, west of Anacortes, Washington
Our day comes to an end       © Laurel Ramseyer Sunset from Fidalgo Head             © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 4 December, 2015