Album of Birch Point Peninsula Field Trip

Selected photos by Rod Crawford, Laurel Ramseyer and Markku Savela from our 6 July 2019 spider collecting trip to a peninsula south of Blaine, Whatcom County, Washington. The peninsula has no official name but Birch Point is the western tip. The waterfront property around the periphery is mostly occupied, but I identified an area in the middle that appeared to be working forest. Expecting to find a clearcut, I was amazed to find a vast, stumpless grassland area, freely accessible at least for the present. The spider fauna included a full share of non-native species, but brought us 22-23 species; a nearby forested site enhanced the sample to 37-38 species.
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2019 aerial photo, Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington grassland habitat, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Red dot shows our site           (USDA, 2019) Unexpected, beautiful grassland habitat                  © Laurel Ramseyer
European skipperling Thymelicus lineola, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington vast grassy plain, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Thymelicus lineola             © Markku Savela Like being a pioneer beholding the Great Plains        © Laurel Ramseyer
cerambycids mating on a daisy, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington noctuid moth Caenurgina erechtea, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
2 cerambycids doin' it on a daisy        © Laurel Ramseyer Caenurgina erechtea, a noctuid moth                    © Markku Savela
Douglas-fir in tree grove, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington habitats in tree grove, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Mature Douglas-fir in a tree grove      © Rod Crawford Different vegetation in the groves                 © Rod Crawford
Very young Douglas-fir in grassland, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington edge of tree grove and grassland, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Very young Douglas-firs had conifer spiders   © Rod Crawford Grassland at edge of a tree grove                © Rod Crawford
pillbug Armadillidium vulgare, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington grassland seen from grove, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Armadillidium vulgare            © Laurel Ramseyer Looking across the grassland from a grove               © Rod Crawford
crambid/pyralid moth Udea profundalis, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington flowerly area of grassland, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Udea profundalis               © Markku Savela Flowers along a grassland track                      © Rod Crawford
polyphemus moth larva Antheraea polyphemus, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington Laurel Ramseyer on the grassland, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Polyphemus moth larva            © Markku Savela Markku and Laurel on the grassland                  © Rod Crawford
Rhagoletis-like tephritid fly showing salticid spider mimicry, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington two gnaphosid spiders genus Zelotes in retreat, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Jumping-spider mimicry in Rhagoletis-like fly © Laurel Ramseyer Under-wood retreats with two Zelotes           © Laurel Ramseyer
fruits of trailing blackberry Rubus ursinus, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington trailing blackberry Rubus ursinus, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
For a change, NON-invasive blackberries      © Laurel Ramseyer Very tasty!                     © Laurel Ramseyer
jumping spider Evarcha proszynskii on daisy, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington dead wood habitat, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Evarcha proszynskii on a daisy      © Laurel Ramseyer Dead wood habitat                 © Rod Crawford
shelf fungus in a grove, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington grass and sedge in a grove, center of Birch Point peninsula, Whatcom County, Washington
Shelf fungus in a grove              © Laurel Ramseyer Sedge and grass in a grove                   © Laurel Ramseyer

Leaving the amazing grassland, we visited a nearby roadside forest site for additional species.

Rod and Laurel by the side of the road, Birch Point, Whatcom County, Washington roadside forest, Birch Point, Whatcom County, Washington
Two roadside arachnologists         © Markku Savela Roadside forest                      © Laurel Ramseyer
slug Limax maximus, Birch Point, Whatcom County, Washington Markku Savela and Laurel Ramseyer on forest track, Birch Point, Whatcom County, Washington
Limax maximus                © Laurel Ramseyer Markku & Laurel on the forest track               © Rod Crawford
leaf litter, Birch Point, Whatcom County, Washington sword fern understory Polystichum munitum, Birch Point, Whatcom County, Washington
Very unproductive leaf litter!        © Rod Crawford But fern understory produced 10 species            © Rod Crawford
Markku Savela approaching cliff top at Birch Point, Whatcom County, Washington view of Strait of Georgia from Birch Point, Whatcom County, Washington
Markku nearly on the brink         © Rod Crawford Looking out over the Strait of Georgia, but no way down    © Rod Crawford
red cedar bole, Birch Point, Whatcom County, Washington near-sunset from Interstate 5 in Skagit or Snohomish County, Washington on 6 July 2019
Impresive red cedar bole            © Rod Crawford Near approach to sunset over a farm along I-5              © Rod Crawford
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This page last updated 5 November, 2019