Album of "Mosquito Mountain" Field Trip
Selected photos from a spider collecting field trip to an
unnamed mountain, nicknamed Little Deer Creek Mountain or even more appropriately
Mosquito Mountain, King County, Washington (in the Cedar
River Watershed) on 1 August 2007 with Laurel Ramseyer, Rod
Crawford, and Tom Van Buren who manges data for the watershed's Habitat
Conservation Plan. Photos by Laurel and Rod, as credited. Not far west of the
Cascade Crest and north of the South Fork Cedar River, this is quite a nice
mountain to have no name. Accessed by a clearcut on the south slope, it has
old growth on the north and west, a 5130-foot summit, diverse subalpine meadows
(one with small ponds), and talus. Despite the late season and no prior records,
we came away with 26 species including some novelties and rarities.
READ TRIP NARRATIVE | PHOTO ALBUM INDEX | MAIN JOURNAL INDEX |
Clearcut, summit ridge, & meadows (USGS, 1998) | Tom starts up the clearcut © Laurel Ramseyer |
Going up! © Laurel Ramseyer | Summit ridge, just into forest from the clearcut © Rod Crawford |
Looking across at Goat Mountain © L. Ramseyer | The summit meadow © Laurel Ramseyer |
Tiger lily in meadow © Laurel Ramseyer | Looking up the summit meadow © Rod Crawford |
Crambid moth in meadow © Laurel Ramseyer | Spiraea densiflora in meadow © Rod Crawford |
Meadow surface © Rod Crawford | Beargrass dominates much of the meadow © Rod Crawford |
Cyphoderris monstrosa juvenile © Laurel Ramseyer | Litter in summit forest © Rod Crawford |
Actual summit is in this copse © Rod Crawford | Woody debris from snags: richest spider habitat © Rod Crawford |
Tree frog swims with its shadow © L. Ramseyer | Mini-pond on lower bench meadow © Laurel Ramseyer |
Talus block: nature's stonemasonry © L. Ramseyer | Talus above lower bench meadow © Laurel Ramseyer |
Trees give evidence of soil creep © L. Ramseyer | When the shadows start to creep © Rod Crawford |
Tetragnatha laboriosa web © Laurel Ramseyer | Laurel ponders a beat sample and the vast distances © R. Crawford |