March 18 - Scatter Creek

It was a sunny day, so I drove out to the WDFW Scatter Creek wildlife area this afternoon to look at the Bluebirds.

Western Bluebird

Many starlings were feeding across the prairie; we can only hope they will move on, rather than usurp the nesting cavities from the bluebirds.

Prairie Starlings

This is still early in the season, so the only flowers I saw were not flowering, the lupine and prairie buttercups.

Not-yet-blooming prairie lupine (Lupinus lepidus)

As I arrived at the west side of the prairie, I saw that the ‘mixed’ forest, where fir trees had invaded the oak savannah, was being restored.

Looks like a clear-cut, but it's not . . .

I was impressed that the agency is removing many Douglas Firs from the prairie area, but the equipment has taken a toll on the soil.

And, on some of the older oaks . . .

Ouch!!  Bark damage invites insects and rot.

There will be a lot of re-seeding work to do to restore this piece to prairie conditions.

The fir removal will certainly help the Oregon White Oaks, but the native grasses and forbs will not recover unless planted back.

But, when the restoration is completed, this will be a nice piece of the Scatter Creek native prairie.

Scatter Creek eBird Checklist is Here

March 12 - Mountain Quail and Garry Oaks

There was a high overcast and it was 38° F when we got up this morning.  I got Marty off to work, then drove out through Allyn to the Kitsap Peninsula where Mountain Quail had been reported to eBird this past week or so.  As I drove north on U.S. Highway 101, the Olympic Mountains were showing above the clouds.

Dontcha just hate having to live in the Pacific Northwest?

However, when I got to the clear-cut where the quail have been seen and heard, it was pretty foggy.  As I got out of the car, I heard the clear whistle of the Mountain Quail,

There's a quail calling out there

repeatedly coming from the brush to the west.  I walked out to the power lines and back,

Still foggy, still hearing the quail off to the right . . .

but never got a view of the quail, although I got a sound recording.

Go to the eBird report for the sound recording . . .

On the way back toward Olympia, I stopped at the Bayshore Preserve, owned by the Capitol Land Trust.

The preserve covers 74 acres on the western shore of Oakland Bay, Puget Sound, about three miles northwest of Shelton in Mason County, Washington on Oakland Bay.

The property features 27 acres of pristine salt marsh habitat, over 4,000 feet of Oakland Bay shoreline, and the lower portion of Johns Creek.

Don't walk on their marsh

A portion of the preserve includes the 47-acre former 1948 nine-hole golf course that closed at the end of 2013.  The Trust notes that the course is “… being restored to native habitat.”  Unfortunately, much of the “restoration” consists of planting a lot of fir and pine trees, along with willows and other deciduous starts in what was obviously a remnant of Puget Sound native prairies.

Many conservation groups believe that "restoration" means planting trees . . .

Rather than planting “native” lodgepole pine, it would have been so nice for the Trust to have worked with other conservation organizations to restore the critically endangered prairie habitat.

Remnant white oak prairi

There are many beautiful “heritage” Garry Oaks on the site, but the “restorers” have planted “native” trees and shrubs underneath these ancient oaks.  The problem is that when the trees and bush grow up into the limbs of the oaks, and finally over-top them, it will kill the white oaks by shading them and increasing the moisture and insects for a tree that needs open, dry growing conditions.

"Restoration" will likely kill this oak in about 40 years . . .

Part of the completed restoration includes removal of buildings and a 1,400 foot tidal dike, and the creation of new tidal channels along the marine shoreline and new side channels on Johns Creek.

In spite of the land-use "restoration" issues, this is a nice place to stop and bird along Highway 3 in Mason County.

146^th Street Quail Spot eBird Checklist is Here

Bayshore Preserve eBird Checklist is Here