Album of Upper Winston Creek Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 9 November 2025 spider collecting trip to upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington. Just a few miles east of Winston Creek Campground where we collected in June 2024, this site had different habitats: a pond, meadows and wetlands, in addition to similar forest and creekside habitats. Two people in a short day still managed to get 41-42 species.
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2024 aerial photo showing field site on Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington Fall color at freeway rest area, Lewis County, Washington
Larger red dot, Port Blakely gate; smaller dots, walking route
(Lewis County, 2024)		 Fall color at rest stop                   © Rod Crawford
Invasive blackberry, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington Port Blakely Tree Farms gate, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Nasty blackberry!              © Laurel Ramseyer Port Blakely gate (note hunters in distance)                  © Rod Crawford
yellow vine maple, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington pond along Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Vine maple + cloudy weather = yellow      © Rod Crawford Pond along the creek                      © Rod Crawford
Rod Crawford beating trees, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington Douglas-fir foliage, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Rod sorting a tree-beat sample           © Laurel Ramseyer Rich Douglas-fir foliage                        © Rod Crawford
crab spider Xysticus pretiosus from moss, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington moss-covered maple trees, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Xysticus pretiosus sifted from moss      © Laurel Ramseyer Moss-shrouded maple trees by pond                   © Rod Crawford
noctuid moth, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington mossy trees, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Noctuid moth perches on car         © Laurel Ramseyer More mossy trees back in the woods               © Rod Crawford
beaver activity, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington leaf litter in sifter, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Unmistakable beaver activity              © Laurel Ramseyer Leaf litter in sifter                        © Rod Crawford
spider Ero canionis from ferns, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington fern understory, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Ero canionis from fern foliage              © Rod Crawford Fern understory to the max!                            © Rod Crawford
wet and dry foliage at upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington spider Rhomphaea fictilium from upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Grass sodden with dew; tree dry enough to beat   © Rod Crawford Laurel's Rhomphaea fictilium from ferns                      © Laurel Ramseyer
juvenile Pardosa wolf spider, upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington mossy trees and riparian meadow, upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Pardosa wolf spiders nearly all juvenile in fall  © Rod Crawford Behind the mossy trees, riparian meadow soaking wet with dew       © Laurel Ramseyer
Vespericola snail, upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington riparian meadow, upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Vespericola snail              © Laurel Ramseyer Late in the day, meadow started to dry              © Laurel Ramseyer
gravel bar, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington harvestman Sabacon occidentalis under gravel bar rock, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Gravel bar along Winston Creek       © Laurel Ramseyer Sabacon occidentalis under gravel bar rock               © Laurel Ramseyer
carapace of Drassyllus spider under rock, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington juvenile Drassyllus spider under gravel bar rock, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Carapace of Drassyllus             © Rod Crawford Juvenile Drassyllus under gravel bar rock                  © Laurel Ramseyer
caddisfly, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington road hiked for leaf litter, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Caddisfly from creek              © Rod Crawford Rod had to hike along this road to find siftable leaf litter        © Rod Crawford
sopping wet grass, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington meadow at dusk, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Sopping wet grass when we arrived     © Laurel Ramseyer Finally, toward dusk, meadow dry enough to sweep          © Laurel Ramseyer
Dismodicus spider swept from meadow, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Dismodicus sp. swept from meadow      © Rod Crawford Winston Creek upstream of meadow & pond                  © Rod Crawford
lynx spider Oxyopes scalaris from meadow, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Oxyopes scalaris from meadow   © Laurel Ramseyer Winston Creek at upper end of meadow                  © Laurel Ramseyer
Theridion simile spider from Douglas-firs at Longbell Road, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington alder trunk with fungi and ferns, Upper Winston Creek, Lewis County, Washington
Theridion simile from second site         © Rod Crawford Alder trunk with fungi and ferns                  © Laurel Ramseyer
location of second spider site on Longbell Road, Lewis County, Washington Douglas-firs at lower end of hayfield, Longbell Road, Lewis County, Washington
Location of second site near end of Longbell Road  (Lewis Co., 2021) Row of beatable Douglas-firs at lower end of hayfield         © Laurel Ramseyer
private hayfield near end of Longbell Road, Lewis County, Washington cloud-obscured sunset on way home from Upper Winston creek, Lewis County, washington, 9 November 2025
We didn't trespass on hayfield (or just barely)  © Laurel Ramseyer Cloud-obscured sunset on our way back to freeway         © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 17 December, 2025