Mason Lake Outing
On August 9, 2008, the South King County
Group
led an outing to Mason Lake, which lies just inside Alpine Lakes
Wilderness. Much of the trail leading to it is not currently
protected as wilderness, but will be if Congressman Dave Reichert’s
HR 4113 -- which would add 22,000 acres to the wilderness -- is
passed. In addition to learning much about Reichert’s proposal, we
had a bear encounter -- not just a sighting, but an actual sow and
cub encounter. It took about 20 minutes to resolve and required us
to use all the recommended do's and don’ts for
such a situation. Ultimately, it turned out OK for both the
bears and us. We expect to lead outings in the future to
introduce participants to other areas covered by Reichert’s
bill.
2008 Summer Solstice Picnic & Nature Walk
On July 18, the South King
County Group, accompanied by members of Rainier Audubon and the Sierra
Club's Tatoosh Group, enjoyed a wonderful full moon evening at our
annual summer solstice potluck picnic. The picnic was held at Gary Grant
Park near the north terminus of the
Soos Creek
Trail. We celebrated the many accomplishments during the past hectic
year, both politically and in supporting local natural areas. All the
potluck foods and drinks were great augmented by various fresh
salads and several homemade desserts.
We gathered together for our
Nature Walk led by our Group's chair and avid birder, Dan Streiffert. At
this time an additional group of people, who came just for the Nature
Walk, joined everyone. Dan provided a brief introduction to the Soos
Creek Trail and its history. We then proceeded s outh
in small groups along the trail. We passed by several areas our Group
had recently rid of invasive Scot's Broom. We watched Swallows swooping
high over our head and noticed many birds singing high up in trees as
well as in the underbrush, including Swainson's Thrush (pictured at
left). Several birds including Marsh Wrens were first heard and then
seen low in the bushes near wetlands. All had a wonderful time and look
forward to a "long" sunny summer.
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2007 Summer Solstice Potluck Picnic
 On July 19, 2007, over
20
South King County Group members and friends experienced a wonderful
break in the weather to enjoy our annual solstice potluck picnic. We
met at Gary Grant Park near the north terminus of the
Soos Creek
Trail. We celebrated our Group's many accomplishments for the past
year, both politically and on the ground. We also discussed plans for the
rest of the year, including encouraging South King County cities to
become Cool Cities and begin to address climate change. We welcomed
several new and old members and recruits. Potluck dishes were wide-ranging and delicious, with a distinctive summer flair
-- freshly picked
salads, berries, and homemade desserts. Our evening was capped off with
a leisurely and informative walk south on the Soos Creek Trail led by
our Group's resident bird expert, Mark Johnston. We heard the throating
sounds of bull frogs at a nearby pond, marveled as acrobatic Barn
Swallows swooped overhead, and observed a variety of birds perching high
up in trees or low in the bushes skirting still ponds.
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Des Moines Naturalist Beach Walk
On Saturday, May 19, 2007, the South
King County Group held its first Annual Beach Nature Walk at Des Moines Beach
Park. Seattle Aquarium's noted naturalist Alli Larkin led over 37 people of all
ages on a beautiful walk of wonder along Puget Sound during one of the lowest
tides of the month, -3.3 ft.
We walked along a myriad number of
tide pools of all sizes, each containing a variety of very small crabs and other
creatures. Ms. Larkin -- and other naturalists who
accompanied us -- pointed out many fascinating creatures that often are seen
only at such low tides. Some of the larger creatures we observed were: Clams,
Limpets, Mussels, Barnacles, Moonsnails, Chitons, Sea Stars, Sea Cucumbers,
Anemones, Sea Lettuce, kelps, and Turkish Towels (they really do look like
purplish-red towels).
 Ms. Larkin and her crew of
naturalists were very informative and answered all the many questions we
posed.
For instance, we learned that when crabs leave their
shells (molt), they leave
behind their lungs and eye lenses.
Moonsnails (softball-size) produce a
distinctive egg collar (it looks like the bottom of a large toilet plunger) that
can contain up to a half million eggs.
We also took a short walk up from the
beach on the Des Moines Creek Trail to view the new fish ladder. There were
beautiful native plantings all along the creek, thanks to the Friends of Des
Moines Creek. We observed downed tree stumps placed in the creek to provide fish
shelter.
The day went so well, the South King
County Group intends to hold these beach walks annually.
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Cedar River Trail Bike Ride
On Saturday, October
14, 2006, the South King County Group hosted a Fall bike ride along the
Cedar River. The group met at Lake Wilderness Park in Maple Valley for a
14-mile roundtrip ride along the Cedar River Trail to Landsburg Park. The
trail itself is packed gravel and was good for all types of bicycle tires.
The weather cooperated with mild temperatures, no wind, and no rain. The
trail from Lake Wilderness gradually led downhill for a mile or two until we
reached the main Cedar River Trail that starts in Renton. The trail snakes
around the meandering Cedar River and several stops were made at bridges
overlooking the fast-moving river below. Many sockeye salmon were seen in
the clear waters struggling to move upstream against the current. One of the
bridges was constructed in 1912. The trail also had several short tunnels
that allowed us to go under roadways.
The first half of
our journey ended at Landsburg Park east of Ravensdale and south of Hobart.
There, the riders were met by volunteer naturalists with the Friends of the
Cedar River for an informative tour of the
Seattle Public Utilities facility along
the Cedar River. Salmon management and water treatment were both explained on
a short walking tour beyond the facility's gates to the salmon hatchery
and management station.
The Cedar River
watershed is carefully managed to supply clean drinking water to 1.3 million
people in the greater Seattle area. The watershed covers 91,339 acres and is
owned by the City of Seattle. There is in place a Cedar River Watershed
Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). It is a 50-year, ecosystem-based plan to
address the declining populations of salmon, steelhead, and other species of
fish and wildlife in the Cedar River basin. The HCP addresses needed actions
to re-establish the health of our salmon populations: habitat protection,
restoration of access, watershed management, sufficient instream flows,
research into the underlying causes of decline, and the prudent use of
hatcheries.
The return trip to
Lake Wilderness was pleasant. We again stopped at some of the bridges
overlooking the Cedar River. We now had an even better appreciation of the
salmon struggling in the waters below. Near the conclusion of our ride, we
traveled through the Lake Wilderness Arboretum,
a 40-acre expanse maintained by volunteers under the direction of the South
King County Arboretum Foundation. The Arboretum focuses on Northwest native
plants and has one of the world's largest collections of Western Azalea. We
ended our ride with a beautiful view of the waters at Lake Wilderness.
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 On June 14,
2006, South King County
Group members and friends braved a less-than-bright forecast to enjoy our
annual solstice potluck picnic at Gary Grant Park along the Soos Creek
Trail. Our annual picnic is held to celebrate the Group's accomplishments
for the past year, as well as the coming of summer. The skies, which had
been pouring on and off for days, cleared long enough for us to make a
sizeable dent in all the delicious food and drink, as well as take
a wonderful walk along the trail. Highlights of the walk were the scolding
buzz of Marsh Wrens near a secluded pond, the darting flight of Barn
Swallows over nearby horse paddocks, and a large hawk perched high up in a
tall fir tree. It was probably a Red-tailed Hawk, but the daylight was
fading so it was difficult to confirm. We all look forward to enjoying the
great outdoors during the northwest's glorious summer.
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Nisqually
National Wildlife Refuge Birdwatching Trip
April 8, 2006 - Our first joint outing
with Rainier Audubon was a great, if soggy, success! Drizzle on the way to
Nisqually turned to steady rain by the time we arrived. We took advantage of the covered
viewing area by the visitor center to watch Common and Hooded mergansers, Canada
Geese, Ring-necked Ducks, Red winged Blackbirds, and Buffleheads. Then,
led by Carol Schultz of Rainier Audubon and Dorothy
Johnston of the Sierra Club South King County Group, the group headed
across the refuge to McAllister Creek. More Buffleheads, American Wigeon, and
Northern Shovelers were in the shallow ponds while the beautiful Green-winged
Teal preferred the mud. A wet Northern Harrier (marsh hawk) was sitting in a
field, while Violet-green, Tree and one Cliff swallow soared for insects.
Yellow-rumped (myrtle) Warblers inspected the willows, and Marsh
Wrens scolded from the reeds. Around the corner toward the Sound, we couldn't
see any eagles on the distant nest but did find
two tiny Bushtits tending their sock-like pouch nest.
We returned to the visitor center to warm up and dry
off a little. Birdwatching from the comfort of padded chairs in front of the
huge picture window was rewarded with a pair of Wood Ducks, the male in his
elegant breeding plumage.
Then we headed along the boardwalk toward the twin
barns. There were more Wood Duck pairs -- this species seems to be increasing at
the refuge -- and a small flock of Golden-crowned Sparrows on the way. Several
Great Blue Herons were in the fields west of the barns and a huge flock of
Cackling (Canada) Geese flew over and landed to graze in a field. A Rufous
Hummingbird whizzed overhead. Winter Wrens were heard along the way toward the
Nisqually River. Near the junction of the barns trail with the river trail,
sharp eyes spotted a rather bedraggled Great Horned Owl hunkered down in the
crotch of a huge maple near a white-washed nest tree. As we turned along the
river trail back to the visitor center, a bright yellow goldfinch was singing -
a fitting finale for a great outing at a wonderful place!
We
look forward to more joint ventures with Rainier Audubon.
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Black River Heron Rookery Bike Trip
On Saturday, March 11, South King County Group hosted a bike trip through the
Kent Valley along the Green River to Renton's Black River Heron Rookery. A few
brave souls, despite some cold mid-March temperatures (but no rain), gathered
at Russell Road Park in Kent and bicycled along the Green River Trail to Tukwila
and on to the Heron Rookery on a combination of sidewalks and bike paths -- six
miles in all, one
way. At the rookery, they were joined by several less-brave souls to view the
magnificent herons and their high treetop nests. The Black River herons begin to
nest in February and by the time of our outing were in full nesting preparation,
carrying twigs and branches to their nests. They reuse their nests year after
year and routinely repair those from previous seasons. Herons arriving after the
existing nests have been claimed build new nests.
Great Blue Herons are
colonial nesters and thus nest in groups. They are four feet tall and have a
wingspread of six feet, but weigh just 5 to 8 lbs. These herons, who
normally eat fish and small amphibians in the summer, depend on small mammals,
such as voles and shrews, at this time of year. The Black River Riparian Forest
offers them plenty of food; along with mature, tall cottonwoods that offer them
a clear 360-degree view. During our outing we set up scopes to get a very
close-in view of the herons and their nests. Our estimate was close to 100
herons. There were nests spaced close together and nest spaced far apart --
quite a bit of variety.
To find out more about
the rookery and herons, check out the web site of Herons Forever (http://www.heronsforever.org/),
a local all-volunteer nonprofit organization that works to protect Renton’s
Black River Great Blue Heron colony. If you were unable to attend our outing,
you can still visit this very special place in the hearts of so many south King
County residents. Here are directions to the Black River
Heron Rookery:
Via I-5: Take I-5 South to Exit #157, Martin Luther King Way E / 900
E, which takes you east on SR 900. Stay on SR 900 for 2.9 mi. At the second
stoplight at 68th Ave S turn right. Go down a windy wooded hill. The name of the
road will change to SW Oakesdale. At the bottom of the hill, cross railroad
tracks. Drive the equivalent of 2-3 blocks after crossing the tracks. Black
River is on the left. Turn left into the small parking area.
Via I-405: Take I-405 to the Interurban/West Valley exit and turn east
on Grady Way. At the first traffic light, turn left on to SW Oakesdale. At the
next light, go straight. Drive the equivalent of 3 long blocks. Turn right into
the small parking area.
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Middle Green River Naturalist
Outing
On Saturday, November 12, 2005, the skies parted for our
outing along Icy Creek and the middle Green River. Lisa Parsons, Executive
Director of the Middle Green River Coalition (MGRC), led our outing. We had
a great group of about 20 people of all ages who enjoyed Lisa's on-site talk
at Icy Creek on the history of the area and attempts to preserve its unique
heritage. We hiked through lush mature forest to the Icy Creek Overlook
trail for a view of the watershed towards the northwest. We followed the
trail to where Icy Creek comes out of the ground and saw some of the old
spillways. We proceeded to Fish & Wildlife hatchery ponds which had a
variety of salmon species. Hiking through more lush forest, we reached the
Green River to view resident wildlife and multiple layers of sandstone, coal
seams, etc. on the far side cliffs.
It is clear the
Middle Green River and its various tributaries comprise a truly ecologically
rich area to preserve and protect. Unfortunately Icy
Creek remains
unprotected. The MGRC has had a constant struggle to keep Icy Creek on the
priority list with King County and other governmental agencies. There are
many competing projects, and funding for open space acquisition is limited.
We who live in south King County recognize we have some unique areas that
need to be preserved. Clearly, we are experiencing the same development
pressures as the rest of the county and have a need to protect some of our
most valuable open space areas including the Green River Gorge. We must
contact our elected County and State representatives to express our
concerns.
The MGRC seeks to
protect the Middle Green River and its tributaries. By identifying and
preserving key natural areas it seeks to ensure the protection of wildlife
and habitat for current and future generations.
Further information can be
found on the MGRC web site:
http://www.mgrc.org/index.html.
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Washington
State - Cascade Chapter
