Album of Iron Creek Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 26 August 2019 spider collecting trip to Iron Creek along the Illabot Creek Road (USFS Road 16), Skagit County, Washington. We envisioned being able to walk away from the road into forest and meadow habitats, but the road was lined with dense alder thickets and the forest was jungle-like with lots of random ups-and-downs on the ground. Hard to get far from the road! Available habitats had spiders, but not so diverse, giving us in the end 24-25 species. Fortunately we were able to supplement this from a clearcut habitat where we stopped to take view photos, giving us 30-31 in the end.
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2017 aerial photo, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington roadside alder thickets, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Field site (red dot) looked to be near meadows  (USDA, 2017) The reality: impenetrable alder thickets                  © Rod Crawford
impenetrable alder, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington daytime roadside, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
When I say impenetrable, I mean it!   © Rod Crawford But the roadside looked nice and lush in the sunshine      © Rod Crawford
looking in direction of supposed meadow from Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington twilit roadside, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
My hoped-for meadow somewhere up there!     © Rod Crawford Late in the day, roadsides still lush               © Rod Crawford
moss in stream ravine, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington leaf litter in stream ravine, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Plenty of moss in stream ravine     © Laurel Ramseyer And reasonable amounts of leaf litter           © Rod Crawford
devil's club in stream ravine, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington understory in stream ravine, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Big devil's club plant           © Laurel Ramseyer Enough riparian understory to sweep            © Rod Crawford
gravel bar, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington gravel bar, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Gravel bar, wet part           © Laurel Ramseyer Gravel bar, drier part               © Laurel Ramseyer
light show on stream bed, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington light show on stream bed, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Light show on stream bed            © Laurel Ramseyer Maple leaves cast shadow on light show                © Laurel Ramseyer
Vine maple on banks of creek, Iron Creek at FS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington large stonefly Plecoptera possibly Pteronarcidae, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Vine maple casting shadow      © Laurel Ramseyer Impressive giant stonefly               © Laurel Ramseyer
small waterfall below road, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington forest floor in stream ravine, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Mini-falls downstream of road    © Laurel Ramseyer Forest floor in stream ravine                    © Rod Crawford
front of male spider Tetragnatha versicolor, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington roadside verge, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Front view of male Tetragnatha versicolor    © Laurel Ramseyer Sunny roadside verge                     © Rod Crawford
jungle-like slope forest, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington dead wood in conifer forest, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Jungle-like forest above the road       © Rod Crawford Dead wood in slope conifer forest                   © Rod Crawford
admiral butterfly Limenetis lorquini on road, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington vertical "meadow" above road, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Limenitis lorquini on road        © Laurel Ramseyer The other "meadow" was all but vertical!                © Rod Crawford
Laurel Ramseyer in stream ravine, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington derelict truck, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Laurel begins exploring the ravine     © Rod Crawford Derelict truck adds color to our roadside                         © Rod Crawford
roadside dead wood, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington steep slope above road, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Less productive roadside dead wood   © Rod Crawford At one point, I accessed the steep hillside                © Rod Crawford
Rod Crawford writes specimen labels on an old truck, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington roadside verge at twilight, Iron Creek at USFS Road 16, Skagit County, Washington
Rod writes labels on old truck        © Laurel Ramseyer Roadside verge looks even lusher late in day               © Laurel Ramseyer
Roadside in clearcut on Illabot Creek Road west of Iron Creek, Skagit County, Washington view from clearcut on Illabot Creek Road west of Iron Creek, Skagit County, Washington
Driving out, we stopped in a clearcut…   © Rod Crawford …to take pictures of this view           © Rod Crawford
Douglas-fir foliage, clearcut on Illabot Creek Road west of Iron Creek, Skagit County, Washington unnamed mountain across valley from clearcut on Illabot Creek Road west of Iron Creek, Skagit County, Washington
And found tons of productive fir foliage       © Rod Crawford Unnamed mountain across Illabot valley        © Rod Crawford
Douglas-fir foliage, clearcut on Illabot Creek Road west of Iron Creek, Skagit County, Washington Whitehorse Mountain from Darrington, Washington on 26 August 2019
Douglas-fir beat brought us to 31 species       © Rod Crawford Whitehorse Mountain from Darrington near sunset            © Rod Crawford
Burger Barn in Darrington, Washington on 26 August 2019 sunset west of Darrington, Washington on 26 August 2019
Burger Barn offered a satisfying dinner © Rod Crawford Late sunset west of Darrington                  © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 15 January, 2020