I just noticed that last year I did a fun post of my favorite observations of 2022, but didn’t do anything similar at the end of 2023.
Let’s see… there’s the pareidolia lichen, of course. And my first encounter with Sphex ichneumoneus, a species I had previously admired but never before seen in person. There’s my first loon and my first river otter, and the wonderful brightly fluorescing mushrooms I found along the trail to Irely Lake. There’s the very probable bear that I caught on my trailcam in December (who hasn’t returned since) and the western meadowlarks who visited the wildlife refuge. There’s the Canada jay who perched in front of the trailcam for a while. There are countless wonderful springtails, of course, and a fascinating little myriapod. There’s my first harbor porpoise. There’s the tiny garter snake in my yard. There are some lovely organisms I met tidepooling.
I have a special place in my heart for the snipe I saw at the beaver pond by North Fork Campground, the absolutely silly looking creature. And for the sooty grouse whose deep courtship calls echoed mysteriously through the woods.
How can I forget the beautiful little spider I found on a wind-downed branch of bigleaf maple after a winter storm? Or the weird orange rockslater? Or my first pseudoscorpion?
That isn’t even counting the beavers I didn’t get pictures of, the various owls I heard, the one barred owl who decided to perch directly in front of my car, that I decided not to post to avoid promoting approaching wild owls much too closely.
And 2024 has already had some very exciting observations and sightings as well, and the year’s barely started!
I don’t know anything about how to ID Pseudoscorps because the ones I found today were my first! I love them. They are wonderful little backwards-scooters.
Leaf litter investigation under red cedar
Contrast of the ventral shots was enhanced significantly to make detail visible. Specimen cooperatively decided to attempt to convince me it was dead, permitting clear ventral shots; when deposited back in the leaf litter, it exhibited a magical "revival."
On a branch that fell during the windstorm. Bigleaf maple I think.
Heard along North Shore Road and the grouse was in the woods to the north of the road. I don't remember the closest mile markers though.
My first! Hopefully first of many.
I think this is a marine flatworm of some sort?
Pretty little snake disturbed while removing brush from around structure. Moved to a safer spot.
Top of the cap (only) fluoresced under blacklight only when scraped.
Found on Russula https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/191407776
So hard to get a good pic of these. Found at home (in Tacoma) in a leaf litter sample taken under bamboo at Kobayashi Park months earlier. Date is the date of observation in the sample. I debated posting this for a long time but the whole order has no other observations in Washington at all.
Behold, my absolutely stunning photo of one of three meadowlarks spotted today.
I observed this bird together with another on the ground in this spot of low and flattened grass (see second image for a zoomed out view). The other bird was usually hidden from sight but appeared briefly, and then I observed both birds hopping downward (as if going down into a tunnel or deep depression) and completely disappearing from view.
Later three meadowlarks (I assume the two I observed on the ground plus a third) were sitting in shrubs near the gravel path, to the delight of photographers.
Sorry about the picture quality. I need to prune around this trailcam and put some defogger on the lens. When there isn’t a bear. Species inferred by being on south Olympic peninsula. (In case it’s not obvious from the terrible pictures, you can see more easily by comparing pictures that the animal is a large rounded bulk which the eyes are towards the bottom. The head is also… SLIGHTLY identifiable and you can sort of see the large bear nose.) (by the way, I have another probably-bear image from the same camera around noon the previous day but it’s SOMEHOW EVEN WORSE. Probably the same bear though.. but in that image it’s going the other direction so the image sequence shows foggy blurry animal butt.)
In moss and leaf litter collected under mature W Redcedar near W Fk Satsop river.
Oh no this lichen is guys
Two Canada jays on trailcam. Seen on 12/24 as well, but this is a better picture.
Observed from Haines Wharf Park.
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