Album of Blue Slough Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford, Laurel Ramseyer and Markku Savela from our 31 July 2018 spider collecting trip to Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington. Despite the lateness of the summer, the moist coastal habitats (as usual) yielded plenty of species. We took 29 species in our initial lush, dense riparian forest site and a nearby tree farm brought us up to 40! After a short time in the center of Cosmopolis we came away with a great 42 spider species.
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2017 aerial view of Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington public boat launch, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Slough & tree farm sites marked in red   (Grays Harbor County, 2017) Our site, a public boat lauch & trailhead                 © Rod Crawford
muddy shore of Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Muddy shore of the slough          © Rod Crawford There's a network of navigable tidal sloughs                © Rod Crawford
map/sign of interpretive trail, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington extremely dense vegetation near boat launch, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Trail marks border of Preserve; right side free for all!  © Rod Crawford We saw some areas of extremely dense, jungly foliage       © Rod Crawford
sitka spruce tree Picea sitchensis, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington sitka spruce needles Picea sitchensis, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Sitka spruce tree               © Markku Savela Sitka spruce needles              © Rod Crawford
sitka spruce trunk, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington deep shade in sitka spruce grove, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Sitka spruce trunk          © Rod Crawford Deep shade in spruce grove           © Rod Crawford
sitka spruce cones, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington sword fern Polystichum munitum, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Spruce cones produced some spiders    © Laurel Ramseyer Sword fern, productive understory component              © Markku Savela
mossy maple trunk, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer sifting moss, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Mossy maple trunk              © Laurel Ramseyer Laurel spent some time sifting moss on handy table            © Rod Crawford
fisherman at Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington grassy shore vegetation, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Fisherman joined us for a while      © Laurel Ramseyer Grassy shore vegetation              © Rod Crawford
crab spider Xysticus pretiosus with egg sac from moss, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington Interpretive trail near Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Xysticus pretiosus on her egg sac     © Markku Savela Interpretive trail goes 3.5 miles to Preachers Slough        © Rod Crawford
alder trunks, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington Rod Crawford sifting leaf litter, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
White-lichen-encrusted alder trunks       © Markku Savela Rod sifting leaf litter at the table                © Markku Savela
vine maple Acer circinatum, Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington trail through dense vegetation near Blue Slough near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Vine maple leaves & seeds             © Markku Savela Trail goes through the thick of it                 © Rod Crawford
illegal dumping at tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer and Rod Crawford at tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Illegal dumping at our tree farm site   © Laurel Ramseyer Laurel and Rod at tree farm site                  © Markku Savela
northwestern garter snake Thamnophis ordinoides, tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington Douglas-fir Pseudotsuga menziesii, tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Northwestern garter snake           © Rod Crawford More Douglas-fir than I could shake a stick at                  © Rod Crawford
field foliage at edge of tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer sweeping field foliage, tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Field foliage along the edges        © Rod Crawford Laurel sweeping the field verge               © Rod Crawford
cutleaf blackberry Rubus laciniatus, tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington redimita phase of cobweb weaver spider Enoplognatha ovata, tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Too much invasive cutleaf blackberry       © Rod Crawford One color form of introduced Enoplognatha ovata      © Laurel Ramseyer
cinnabar moth larva Tyria jacobaeae, tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington Bombus vosnesenskii on thistle, tree farm, Little North River Valley near Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington
Cinnabar moth larva doing its job         © Markku Savela Bombus vosnesenskii times 2, on thistle            © Laurel Ramseyer
wooden fence in Cosmopolis, Grays Harbor County, Washington fenced structure and row of planted Pinus sylvestris in park, Cosmopolis, Washington
Wooden fence in Cosmopolis        © Rod Crawford Planted Pinus sylvestris in a Cosmopolis park             © Laurel Ramseyer
Mount Rainier from Tacoma on 31 July 2018 sunset from interstate 5 in south King County, Washington on 31 July 2018
Mt. Rainier as we pass through Tacoma    © Rod Crawford Smoky haze makes for a dull sunset            © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 13 August, 2018