(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Daily Bucket: Ridgefield NWR - It's all in the details [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-08-02 I spent about three hours wandering through a portion of Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. My goal was to walk at a slower pace and carefully observe and absorb the web of life that makes this place special. The Refuge is a quiet corner of western Washington state; a place composed of wetlands, small lakes, ponds, and waterways. The Refuge lies in the southwestern portion of Washington state next to the Columbia River where the river’s reach having flowed west for many miles through the Gorge, turns north before bending west again to discharge to the Pacific Ocean. For physiographic perspective, the Refuge is west of the Cascade Range, i.e., the Pacific side of the Cascades, the wet side. THE DAILY BUCKET IS A NATURE REFUGE. WE AMICABLY DISCUSS ANIMALS, WEATHER, CLIMATE, SOIL, PLANTS, WATERS AND NOTE LIFE’S PATTERNS. WE INVITE YOU TO NOTE WHAT YOU ARE SEEING AROUND YOU IN YOUR OWN PART OF THE WORLD, AND TO SHARE YOUR OBSERVATIONS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. As a preface, this Bucket is very photo heavy with lots of details, covering everything from earth to birds, the big to small, the common to the overlooked. It’s everything I could jam in over a three hour walk. The season is midsummer: July 25, 2023. It’s dry. No appreciable rain has fallen for several weeks, which is not terribly unusual for this part of the country at this time of year. But this has been an unusually dry summer, so far. The walk I did is very well described in the following links from OregonHikers.org. Check out these links because they’re crammed with some good information and include trail maps. Oaks to Wetlands Loop Hike Carty Lake Hike I walked both of these hikes, starting with Oaks to Wetlands and finishing with Carty Lake. Physical Setting Let’s start from the ground and work our way up. We’ll take a trip back in time. The biggest influence on the landscape here is the Columbia River that forms the western margin of the Refuge. Let’s look at a couple maps and then I’ll briefly explain. This is a topographic showing the general lay of the land. The yellow highlighted area is where I walked. The Columbia River on the left flows north. The nice arcing contour lines show the influence of the Columbia River as it flowed, flooded, shifted channel, and deposited sediment. But look at the hilly, hummocky area at the top of the map where the contour lines are all crazy. Same map as above but with the geology superimposed. The straw yellow (Qa) are all floodplain deposits — silt, sand, and gravel. The brown blob (Tgsb) at upper right is all basalt, a rock formed from a cooled and solidified lava flow. The lava flow originated in eastern Washington and flowed to this location where it cooled and came to rest. About 16 million years ago, lava erupted from fissures in eastern Washington over a timeframe of several million years. These lava flows, layer upon layer, covered a vast area that we now call the Columbia Plateau. The lava flowed all the way down the ancestral Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. The brown blob on the geologic map above is part of this lava flow. The rock is basalt, i.e. cooled and solidified lava. Now advance forward in time to the last Ice Age and the Missoula Floods. Between 15,000 and 13,000 years ago, whenever the ice dam on Lake Missoula gave way, a vast torrent was unleashed that swept across the Columbia Plateau and down the Columbia River out to the Pacific right through the Refuge area. The floods created the Channeled Scablands in eastern Washington, scouring away the soil and carving relict flood channels in the layers of basalt. That brown blob on the above geologic map is like a mini channeled scabland right here in southwest Washington, all scoured and carved by the floods as evidenced by its hummocky surface with interconnected waterways. The trace of the Columbia River was historically a conduit for both fire and ice. The basalt rock was once quarried here for use as pavement blocks on the streets of Portland. The interpretive sign below explains. Landscape Let’s go walking now through the landscape so you get a big picture view of the area. Later we will burrow down. Oaks to Wetlands. 15 tons seems like a lot of weight for this little wooden bridge. I’ve been losing weight so, no prob. Oaks to Wetlands. We’re walking through the oak woodland over the hummocky upland area underlain by basalt. The trees are Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana). Note their spindly upright appearance with hardly any lateral branches. More on that later. Oaks to Wetlands. We’re walking through the oak woodland over the hummocky upland area underlain by basalt. The trees are Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana). Note their spindly upright appearance with hardly any lateral branches. More on that later. Oaks to Wetlands. We’re walking through the oak woodland over the hummocky upland area underlain by basalt. The trees are Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana). Note their spindly upright appearance with hardly any lateral branches. More on that later. Oaks to Wetlands. We’re working our way into the wetland area. Oaks to Wetlands. This is a little pond is called Duck Lake. There were no ducks or other birds here until I came back by here later and then it got a little more exciting. Oaks to Wetlands. This is a little pond is called Duck Lake. Those of you who have visited National Wildlife Refuges will recognize this common sign. Carty Lake. Now we’re rolling out to Carty Lake. The fine print on the sign reads “Area closed to visitors Oct. 1 — April 30 for wintering swans.” Today, we’re cool. So, let’s proceed. Carty Lake area. Wide open spaces with wetlands and waterways. Carty Lake. We’re looking south toward Carty Lake. When I’d been here a few years ago in spring this spot was totally jamming with dragonflies. On this day, a dearth of dragonflies. Carty Lake. This is Carty Lake, a very shallow lake covered with Wapato (Sagittaria cuneata), an important food source for indigenous peoples. Oaks Oak woodland characterizes the landscape of the upland areas of the refuge and especially so of that hummocky area underlain by basalt described earlier. The native oak, Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana), reaches magnificent proportions where it’s allowed to spread its branches unimpeded by competing trees, like Douglas fir. Oregon Oak (Quercus garryana), this one is about 400 years old. Another magnificent Oregon Oak Oak bark In 2019, about 600 Douglas firs were felled and removed from the Oaks to Wetlands area to help restore the oak woodland to what it was before European settlement and fire suppression. These practices had encouraged Douglas firs to take over and crowd out the oaks. Article in The Columbian (Vancouver, WA) here: Oak restoration on track at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge One of many Douglas fir stumps left from the removal effort. I remember these big firs from my earlier visits before 2019. Various signs found along the trail where the firs were removed. Plants and Flowers Conditions were dry and had been for several weeks. Spring wildflowers had long passed. The remaining flowering plants were mostly nonnatives, many considered invasive. Nonetheless they were providing for the pollinators: bees, butterflies, beetles, and probably certain moths at nighttime. Let’s look at a few plants and flowers. Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea). Widespread nonnative. It grows everywhere that’s moist, which is most of the Refuge. It’s a Class C Weed in Washington state, which is the least onerous weed class. Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense). Nonnative. This is one of the most widespread plants in the upland areas, growing in dense thickets in open areas. It’s a Class C Weed in Washington state, which is the least onerous weed class. Creeping Thistle, showing all stages from flowering to seed dispersion. Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare). Nonnative. Not nearly as widespread as Creeping Thistle at the Refuge, but more spiky. Another Class C Weed in Washington state. Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum). Nonnative. Widespread at the Refuge. Another Class C Weed in Washington state. Tansy Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris). Nonnative. This was the only one I saw. But there is no doubt more. It’s toxic to horses and cattle, making it unwelcome. It’s a Class B Weed in Washington state, which generally means it must be controlled. Stinking Chamomile (Anthemis cotula). Nonnative. I found this single patch growing at the south end of Carty Lake. Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota). Nonnative. It grows throughout the Refuge in open areas of the upland. It’s a Class C Weed in Washington state. Broad-leaved Sweet Pea (Lathyrus latifolius). Nonnative. The beautiful sweet pea grows throughout the Refuge in open areas. Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus bifrons). Nonnative. Widespread and aggressively invasive. But the berries are enjoyed by humans and other animals. It’s a Class C Weed in Washington state. Something has been eating blackberries. Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea). Native! Widespread in the upland areas of the Refuge. Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium). Native. Widespread in the upland areas of the Refuge. See the hiding bug? Osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis). Native shrub or small tree. It’s among the first to bloom in spring and the first to turn color later in the summer. It’s a sequence from left to right. The chlorophyll is breaking down revealing other colors in the leaves. This Osoberry leaf has a fungus. I don’t know what fungus it is but the pattern commonly indicates a fungus, like tar spot on maple leaves. Insects Insects, mainly bees, were very active on all the nonnative and native flowers. It’s a bumblebee, for sure. It’s a T-BOBB, a tiny black or brown bee T-BOBB T-BOBB The following is for mature audiences. Parental discretion is advised. A sequence. Tumbling Mourner (Mordella atrata), a small beetle. The female casually sips nectar. The male arrives. They embrace. They exchange body fluids. The bee looks away. Whew! More bugs. Conchuela Bug (Chlorochroa ligata). They like soft fruit. Carolina Grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina). They take to the sky as one walks along the path. Their wings are black, bordered in white. They could be easily confused with the Mourning Cloak butterfly. Birds Okay, we finally get to the birds. Yeh! I’ll bet you thought we weren’t gonna do birds. Well, we are. To be honest, there weren’t many birds out, being midafternoon and seasonally disadvantaged for migrants. First, some not so great bird photos, then we have a surprise guest appearance. One of two Red-tailed Hawks circling by. Cedar Waxwing moving intently and staying hidden in a chokecherry tree. Despite the midafternoon timeframe and the offseason, my walk along Carty Lake revealed a few water birds and our smallest raptor. All were relatively distant from my vantage point. Far across Carty Lake were a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret. A small group of Northern Shovelers, some could be males in nonbreeding plumage. A female Wood Duck remained concealed among the wapato. Can you find her? A Pied-billed Grebe was less shy. An American Kestrel perched at the top of a tall Oregon ash tree. Note the abundant samara seeds. The most enjoyable finding of the day occurred as I was walking along the pond called Duck Lake as I was on my way out of the Refuge. It was an Osprey! The Osprey spent a long time circling over the pond, hovered at times with outstretched talons in preparation for a dive. The Osprey never did plunge and eventually gave up and moved on. It was a thrilling moment for me, a great way to cap off my three hour tour. The Osprey at Duck Lake Circling Circling Circling Preparing to plunge Built Environment A replica of a plankhouse modeled after houses of the local indigenous peoples is located at the Refuge. More about it here: Cathlapotle Plankhouse Cathlapotle Plankhouse Cathlapotle Plankhouse Cathlapotle Plankhouse The Refuge has a brand new administrative and multipurpose building. The new administrative and multipurpose building has offices for refuge staff, and a meeting room that staff, volunteers and nature-based community groups can use. It also provides a place for the public to stop and ask questions, buy national passes, learn about the refuge and pick up materials. The new building is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The new administrative and multipurpose building at the Refuge. When I first arrived at the Refuge, I stopped in at the new admin building. I asked the ranger at the front desk, “Is there anything special to see today?” Her reply was “Come back and tell us.” In a way, this Bucket is my reply. That’s all I have from my three hour tour. This turned out longer than I expected but I had fun preparing it. I hope that you all will get a chance to visit this Refuge, linger there, and would find this Bucket helpful. I included many links about the plants and bugs in case you wanted to take a deeper dive. What’s going on in everyone’s worlds? It’s midsummer, so most places are hot and critters are looking for water. Thanks for reading the Daily Bucket. Phenology is how we take earth’s pulse. We discuss what we see in each Bucket. We value all observations, as we ponder life’s cycles. Now it’s your turn. Please comment about your own natural area, and include photos if possible. We love photos! To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow, and join to write a Bucket of your own observations. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/2/2183856/-The-Daily-Bucket-Ridgefield-NWR-It-s-all-in-the-details Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/