Album of Cowiche Canyon Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford from my 19 October 2014 spider collecting trip with Michael Sweepe and Laurie Line to the Cowiche Canyon nature preserve, Yakima County, Washington. After a brief stop supplementing the earlier Upper Schnebly Coulee sample, we proceeded almost to Yakima and found the trail parking lot with no trouble. Cottonwood, sumac, and others were in full fall color. After trying some too-dry litter, we hit a nice (if impenetrably dense) cottonwood grove that gave us a good sift sample. Then we hiked along the trail sampling riparian grass, a couple of lone pine trees, a sagebrush stand and other habitats. Ultimately we had 28 identifiable species from the preserve, plus 13 more ID'd to genus from juveniles for the list I'll submit to the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy.
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2013 aerial photo, trailhead of Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington Looking up trail from east trailhead, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
Riparian canyon amid sagebrush & agriculture  (Yakima County, 2013) We set off up the colorful route       © Rod Crawford
Russian olive grove Elaeagnus angustifolia at trailhead, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington too-dry Elaeagnus leaf litter, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
At the trailhead, a Russian olive grove     © Rod Crawford Elaeagnus litter was too dry to yield much                  © Rod Crawford
Laurie Line at cottonwood grove, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington cottonwood grove on Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
Laurie Line standing by…       © Rod Crawford …a much more productive cottonwood grove         © Rod Crawford
cottonwood leaf litter, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington sifting leaf litter, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
Cottonwood leaf litter          © Rod Crawford Michael scans the sifting cloth         © Rod Crawford
wolf spider Trochosa terricola from leaf litter, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington edge of dense cottonwood grove, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
We sifted this Trochosa wolf spider      © Rod Crawford "Impenetrability! That's what I say!"        © Rod Crawford
Light colored male Hololena nedra agelenid spider, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington willow leaf litter by stream, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
We also sifted this unusually pale Hololena  © Rod Crawford Willow litter had some different spiders           © Rod Crawford
smooth sumac Rhus glabra red in fall, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington fall colors on Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
Fall-colored smooth sumac          © Rod Crawford Cowiche Canyon Trail goes on being colorful           © Rod Crawford
creekside grass, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington creekside grass, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
I swept 3 species from creekside grass       © Rod Crawford But the grass was greener across the creek!          © Rod Crawford
upland trail junction from the air, 2013, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington sagebrush along Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
"Upland Trail" goes up a side canyon (Yakima County, 2013) This site had rich sagebrush habitat              © Rod Crawford
Michael Sweepe and Laurie Line beating sagebrush, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington hikers silhouetted above us, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
Laurie & Michael beating sagebrush     © Rod Crawford Hikers silhouetted above us              © Rod Crawford
snowberry Symphoricarpos albus, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington light and dark canyon sides, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
Snowberry bush          © Rod Crawford Sunlit and dark sides of canyon              © Rod Crawford
red osier dogwood Cornus sericea, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington fall color in sagebrush area, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
Red osier dogwood           © Rod Crawford Fall color in the sagebrush area         © Rod Crawford
shrub overhanging stream, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington riparian vegetation, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
Beat-worthy shrub overhangs creek       © Rod Crawford Riparian foliage              © Rod Crawford
lone cottonwood tree, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington rimrock, Cowiche Canyon Trail, Yakima County, Washington
Lone cottonwood tree          © Rod Crawford Rimrock                   © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 11 November, 2014