Album of Rudolf Reese Park Field Trip

Selected photos from a solo spider collecting trip to disturbed forest and field habitats at a park on the outskirts of Sultan along the Stevens Pass highway. I'd hoped for the last dry day before the end of Daylight Savings but, though it didn't rain while I was there, rain had fallen not many hours before. Also, much of the park was infested with invasive blackberry. But after a slow start with sparse, unproductive leaf litter, I found enough good habitats to bring the day's catch up to 34 species, including the same rare Pachygnatha I'd caught ten days before in a much better habitat. All in all, no major cause for complaint – but if I didn't complain about anything, there'd be no story! Photos by Rod Crawford.
READ TRIP NARRATIVE PHOTO ALBUM INDEX MAIN JOURNAL INDEX
aerial photo of Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington Sultan River on 28 Oct. 2009, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Aerial view of park and moble home "park"   (Snohomish County) High water in the river gave riparian grass habitat wet feet       © Rod Crawford
Invasive Himalayan blackberry along Sultan River, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington fresh rain puddles in park road, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Evil, habitat-destroying blackberry!   © Rod Crawford The whole park was rather wet when I arrived           © Rod Crawford
male orbweaving spider Metellina segmentata on storage container, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington Sultan River not far below flood stage, 28 Oct. 2009, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Male Metellina segmentata on metal storage unit     © Rod Crawford Sultan River really was decidedly full of water     © Rod Crawford
riparian leaf litter unproductive of spiders, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington set up for sifting leaf litter in picnic shelter, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
First leaf litter I tried produced few spiders  © Rod Crawford But it's very nice to have a picnic shelter to sift in!         © Rod Crawford
juvenile jumping spider Platycryptus californicus from Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington fall-colored bigleaf maple Acer macrophyllum, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Platycryptus californicus found in sports-field dugout © Rod Crawford There was still plenty of fall color in the forest           © Rod Crawford
western hemlock foliage Tsuga heterophylla, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington male microspider Wubana pacifica, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Hemlock foliage was productive       © Rod Crawford Male Wubana pacifica (note characteristic carapace)         © Rod Crawford
bear waring sign, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington triangle spider Hyptiotes gertschi from hemlock foliage, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
It's not everywhere that a black bear rates 4 exclamation points!!!!
© Rod Crawford		 I was more impressed by this unusual color form of Hyptiotes gertschi    © Rod Crawford
lush moss on vine maple limb, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington mossy vine maple grove, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Lush moss on tree, a spider's paradise      © Rod Crawford Dilligent search led to grove of spider-rich mossy saplings        © Rod Crawford
bigleaf maple Acer macrophyllum with hollow trunk, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington abdomen of microspider Cybaeota shastae from moss, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Kids must enjoy this hollow-trunked maple  © Rod Crawford Atractive abdomen of Cybaeota shastae       © Rod Crawford
unidentified microspider Linyphiidae Erigoninae from grass, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington grass field (part marshy) at edge of baseballl diamond, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
These attractive microspiders were juvenile, alas!   © Rod Crawford Marshy field with good spiders in unlikely location        © Rod Crawford
litter under western hemlock tree, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington Erigone capra male microspider Erigoninae from marsh, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Hemlock litter produced one spider     © Rod Crawford Male Erigone capra, a good record from the marsh        © Rod Crawford
juvenile crab spider Xysticus cristatus from grass, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington fall-colored bigleaf maple Acer macrophyllum in thicket of invasive blackberry Rubus discolor, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Only one Xysticus cristatus taken in the field     © Rod Crawford Colorful maple rises above invasive blackberry thicket       © Rod Crawford
nurse stump supporting maple trees, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington wet sword ferns Polystichum munitum, Rudolf Reese Park, Sultan, Washington
Huge nurse stump supports 5 maple trunks  © Rod Crawford Understory ferns remained too wet to sweep all day       © Rod Crawford

[Native Wildlife Gardening Home]     [Bug Information from The Scarabs]     [Bugs of the Month Home]

This page last updated 6 November, 2009