Album of Fox Island Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Gene Wan from our 14 December 2014 spider collecting trip to Fox Island, a quiet largely-residential landmass in south Puget Sound. We visited two park/natural areas on the island and a third nearby, getting good spiders at all three sites for 36-39 species in all. Included were uncommon Linyphantes eureka at two sites and an oddly-colored Sclerobunus population in littoral forest. Conditions were cool (but not too cold), clear and peaceful.
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
usgs topo map of west half of Fox Island, Washington 2009 aerial view of Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington
You can drive to the island with dry feet         (USGS) Fox Island's island of habitat among the houses         (Pierce County, 2009)
western hemlock foliage, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington seral forest with varied tree species, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington
Gene beat spiders from hemlock foliage      © Rod Crawford The forest was varied with several tree species        © Rod Crawford
complex understory, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington mixed alder-conifer forest, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington
Complex, dense understory        © Gene Wan Alder stand with conifer stand behind          © Rod Crawford
deep shade under red cedar tree, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington trunk of red cedar tree Thuja plicata, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington
Deep forest shade           © Rod Crawford Big red cedar trunk                    © Rod Crawford
western hemlock growing from nurse stump, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington western hemlock tree growing from nurse stump, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington
What gave hemlock tree buttressed look?   © Rod Crawford It's growing from a tall nurse stump, that's what!          © Rod Crawford
alder leaf litter and trunk moss, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington maple and other forest trees, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington
Alder litter and trunk moss       © Rod Crawford Maple, alder and hemlock trees       © Rod Crawford
sword fern Polystichum munitum understory, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington sifting alder-maple litter, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington
Spider-rich sword-fern understory        © Rod Crawford I sifted leaf litter on a big log        © Rod Crawford
small marsh, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington small marsh, Fox Island Nature Center preserve, Pierce County, Washington
Small marsh beside trail             © Rod Crawford Unfortunately, it was too dew-wet to sweep               © Rod Crawford
Fox Island Sandspit Park from air, 2009 trail to shore, Fox Island Sandspit Park (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington
Nearns Point sandspit       (Pierce County, 2009) Trail to shore, Fox Island Sandspit Park              © Gene Wan
Carr Inlet of Puget Sound from Fox Island Sandspit Park (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington view across Hale Passage of Puget Sound from Fox Island Sandspit Park (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington
Looking out at Carr Inlet of Puget Sound     © Rod Crawford So peaceful, we could hear a dog bark across Hale Passage     © Rod Crawford
maple trees against sky, Fox Island Sandspit Park (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington littoral maple forest, Fox Island Sandspit Park (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington
Maple trees against the sky         © Rod Crawford Classic littoral maple forest               © Rod Crawford
bigleaf maple trunk with moss & litter, Fox Island Sandspit Park (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington rich maple leaf litter, Fox Island Sandspit Park (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington
Bigleaf maple rises out of deep litter         © Rod Crawford Spider-rich maple litter             © Rod Crawford
ferns hanging down bluff, Fox Island Sandspit (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington Gene Wan sorting out spiders at picnic table, Fox Island Sandspit (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington
Ferns hanging down bluff, good for spiders   © Rod Crawford Gene sorts through a net-full of fern beatings        © Rod Crawford
family at the beach, Fox Island Sandspit (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington sandspit, Fox Island Sandspit (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington
What would a beach be without kids?       © Rod Crawford View down the sandspit          © Rod Crawford
gravel substrate, Fox Island Sandspit (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington sandspit habitats, Fox Island Sandspit (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington
Fine gravel substrate           © Rod Crawford Sandspit habitats                  © Rod Crawford
Protolophus harvestman, Fox Island Sandspit (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington waterfront at dusk from Fox Island Sandspit (Nearns Point), Pierce County, Washington
Protolophus harvestman, note bifid palps    © Rod Crawford Waterfront scene with dusk approaching          © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 17 December, 2014