Album of Cultus Mountain (W of Gilligan Creek) Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford and Laurel Ramseyer from our 7 March 2018 spider collecting trip to private forest tracts west of Gilligan Creek on the lower north slope of Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington. Coming out of a cold, wet winter, we jumped at a favorable weather prediction, but the day was colder than predicted and we got an unremarkable but still sufficient 25-species sample, including the second Washington record of European Ero tuberculata.
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2017 aerial photo of Gilligan Creek-Salmon Creek area, Skagit County, Washington clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington
Field sites in red on a very green landscape  (Skagit County, 2017) First stop in a clearcut covered with dense brush           © Rod Crawford
young-broadleaf-tree brush, clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington Looking north to Mt. Baker from clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington
Much of brush was young broadleaf trees  © Rod Crawford Mt. Baker barely visible across Skagit Valley           © Rod Crawford
crane fly, Tipulidae, clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington roadside ferns, clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington
Crane fly           © Laurel Ramseyer Roadside ferns produced our 2nd Ero tuberculata           © Rod Crawford
Laurel Ramseyer sorting a fern-beat sample, clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington leaf litter in clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington
Laurel sorting a fern-beat sample     © Rod Crawford Unusual to find clearcut covered with leaf litter             © Rod Crawford
spider Calymmaria nana under bark, clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington bark chunks on ground, clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington
Calymmaria nana under bark…      © Laurel Ramseyer …one of these bark pieces, that is            © Laurel Ramseyer
Laurel Ramseyer in upper clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington upper clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington
A hike brought us to another clearcut       © Rod Crawford This one had some grass among the brush                 © Rod Crawford
western hemlock cones, upper clearcut near Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington road gate at Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington
Western hemlock cones, spiderless!     © Laurel Ramseyer Our kind of gated road; public free to walk in!       © Rod Crawford
leaf litter, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington forest brook, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington
Promising-looking leaf litter        © Rod Crawford Picturesque forest brook                © Rod Crawford
Rod Crawford sifting leaf litter, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington leaf litter sifting setup, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington
Rod sifting leaf litter        © Laurel Ramseyer The litter was not unduly productive: a bit too cold?       © Rod Crawford
moss on stump top, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington moss on tree trunk, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington
Moss on old stump          © Rod Crawford Moss on maple trunk          © Rod Crawford
juvenile Ozyptila pacifica crab spider from moss, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington harvestman Paranonychus brunneus from moss, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington
Juvenile Ozyptila pacifica from moss      © Laurel Ramseyer Harvestman Paranonychus brunneus from moss    © Laurel Ramseyer
ventral view of jumping spider Neon reticulatus from moss, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington neobisiid pseudoscorpion and Tomocerus springtail from moss, Cultus Mountain Watershed, W of Gilligan Creek, Skagit County, Washington
Neon jumping spider from moss, 2.3 mm  © Rod Crawford Neobisiid pseudoscorpion & Tomocerus springtail        © Laurel Ramseyer
globular springtail Sminthuridae from conifer foliage, clearcut by Salmon Creek, north slope Cultus Mountain, Skagit County, Washington sword fern Pteros
Arboreal sminthurid springtail      © Rod Crawford Sword fern understory produced some nice spiders           © Rod Crawford
Gilligan Creek sign, South Skagit Highway, Skagit County, Washington Gilligan Creek from South Skagit Highway, Skagit County, Washington
     Just sit right back
     and you'll hear a tale…                 © Rod Crawford		 Gilligan Creek: had we known, we could have visited Gilligan Falls too!           
© Rod Crawford
entrance to gravel pit on East Gilligan Creek Road, Skagit County, Washington gravel pit off East Gilligan Creek Road, Skagit County, Washington
Gravel pit off East Gilligan Creek Road       © Rod Crawford Turning rocks produced no spiders            © Rod Crawford

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This page last updated 10 March, 2018