Kamana 2 Begins...

So I've been itching to get started on Kamana 2 ever since the family and I moved back to Washington state, but I also started a new job when I returned and that really consumed a lot of my time...I know...excuses, excuses. Suffice it to say, I am now committed to getting Kamana 2 underway and completed by January of 2014.

I had explored a few areas where I was hoping to establish a sit spot for this core routine, but ultimately never settled into a good consistent schedule.  I had been consistently visiting one particular area that called to me as the "right area", given the diversity of habitat and animal sign I have encountered over the last 2 years including: coyote/fox scat, deer tracks, rabbit scat, shrew and mole activity...as well as some great songbird activity. For Kamana 2, I needed to commit to a spot, so I decided that this area would be the right one. Over the last few days,  I have been establishing a consistent morning routine of sitting, and given the chance I have also tried to return in the evening on my way home from work.  The area I go to is not technically "open" during some of the times I have accessed it, but its given me a good opportunity to foxwalk in to my anchor point to limit my presence in the area.

I love this spot during the day, but I have to admit that I am still overcoming my fears of being there in the darkness.  In the dark, you are acutely aware of every noise around you...so until I get to know the noises of this spot, I think I will remain on edge. Over time, I know that I will build a comfort with this spot under the large Western Red Cedar, as I had grown accustomed to my sit spot in Ohio.

Summary of today

Morning Sit
Arrival: 0645; Departure: 0745

Major activity: smaller birds making short "chip" calls (juncos, sparrows, robins); Eastern gray squirrels eating big leaf maple seeds to the south of my anchor point; Several Steller's Jays (up to 3) making alarm calls off and on just west of my spot in a forest edge that leads to marshier terrain.
Learnings: I will definitely pay attention to the area where I heard the Stellar Jays, as this seemed to be the highest "alarm activity" area. I need to explore this area in the day time, to understand what is really back there.

Evening Sit
Arrival: 1745; Departure: 1845

Major Activity: Identified the sound of chickadees,juncos and several calls I did not recognize.  Highlight was getting an exploratory fly over by an owl on my way out. Could not identify due to the darkness, but got a good look at its silhouette. Consulted a field guide and internet photos at home and my hypothesis is that it was a Barred Owl. This owl did 4-5 figure eights over my head as if he wanted to get a good look at who/what the heck I was before flying off to the west. It was a bit disconcerting while it was happening, but afterwards (when I caught my breath), I let the excitement sink in. When foxwalking out I heard a loud screech that scared the cr@p out of me. Awesome night:)
Learnings: Maybe the owl activity and the Stellar Jay alarms could be related; I will pay more attention to this in the coming days.

With thankfulness and appreciation,
Greg (aka J.A.A.N)

The Spawn is On

The Spawn is On At North Creek!

Yesterday, a friend of mine reminded me great a spot I have near my house to observe birds and wildlife.  It is actually a wetland and open grassy field near an office park in Canyon Park, WA through which North Creek flows. I have been here numerous time before, but lately had not had the chance. Since I had not been on this trail in quite some time, today I decided to go there for a walk along the North Creek Trail. 

To my delight during my morning stroll, I saw a ton of bird activity.  My first encounter was with a Common Yellowthroat (one of my favorite birds), which really got me excited again about my decision to walk this trail today.  As I progressed on my morning jaunt, I saw a number of birds: mallards, coots, red-winged blackbirds, fox sparrows, black-capped chickadees, spotted towhees, robins, and plenty of Oregon juncos. I walked for about 30 mins just enjoying the sites and listening for bird sounds to determine if I could recognize what types of birds I was hearing. 

Fox Sparrow

Common Yellowthroat

 As I was about to head back to my car, I decided to take a walk across a small wooden bridge which crosses North Creek, to see if I could find any animal tracks along the side of the creek. 

Wooden bridge across North Creek

 I checked a few spots I had been to before, but did not see anything I could definitively identify as a track. Just as I rounded the corner, a young man on a mountain bike came flying by me on the trail and scared the Buh-Jesis(sp?) out of me.  I think he felt bad and as he flew past called out "Hey the Pinks are back!...down there", pointing behind his bike and a little further down the trail in front of me.

North Creek Trail and Spawning Site (Red Dot on Map); Sockeye in foreground (red body)

I was really excited because I had no idea that salmon actually even ran in North Creek. You see...out here in the Pacific Northwest there are plenty of signs to remind you that little creeks are part of watersheds that support salmon in Puget Sound, but the creeks look so ordinary...just running through suburbia.

Sockeye salmon in North Creek

Sockeye salmon

Well today....to see salmon running in the little, ordinary looking North Creek was spectacular. As I got to the spot the young man pointed me toward, I saw large red bodies hanging in the running water, pointed upstream.  At first they were just holding in the fast moving water, but then as I watched for a while, I noticed them begin to move around. In some cases, it look like typical milling around salmon do around spawning beds, but in other cases there looked to be some degree of territoriality taking place.I am no salmon expert, but I did notice right away that these salmon looked more like sockeye salmon than pink salmon.  Pink salmon are nicknamed "humpies" because  the large hump males get on their back....but these fish did not have any humps. I stayed there for a while, just enjoying the payoff I got from the guy who almost ran over me with his mountain bike. I was really excited and decided to go home and get my camera to see if I could take some pics. 

When I returned to the spawning site, not only were the salmon still there, the friend who had reminded me of this place was also there.  We talked for a while, and he mentioned that he had been checking everyday to see if the salmon had returned, but today was finally the first day that they showed up. I thanked him for reminding me about this place and then I headed for home.  On my short drive home, I reflected on how spectacular nature can be...even in a small, ordinary-looking and unassuming neighborhood like mine in suburban Seattle. Geesh...I really need to get outside more.

With Thankfulness and Appreciation,

Greg (aka J.A.A.N.)